When protesters find something to say, perhaps they’ll be heard

(U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif. – Over the past few years, there have been fantastic rallies… (U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif. – Over the past few years, there have been fantastic rallies with large papier-mache puppets and longhaired hippies dominating the streets of Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco and many other cities around the world.

It is fun to pretend that these protests really matter that much.

Hey, I like a rally as much as the next bleeding-heart liberal, but I call them what they are: organized whining. These rallies tend to feel like festivals and do not address the problem. They are therefore ineffective and usually will not influence the decision-makers.

For one, the government does not listen to the clever rhyming chants of passing protesters because protesters do not vote in blocs. If they did, protests would be called social action and would be much less hip; however, it would be much more effective.

Voting is the most powerful tool citizens of the United States have in their civic arsenal. Yet money in politics has pushed a disillusioned public to believe that their votes are meaningless. Perhaps they are right. But in reality, if all of the longhaired hippies and puppet-wielding dissidents voted for a common cause, perhaps the vote would take back some meaning.

I was in attendance last spring during a major anti-war demonstration in New York City. It was very fun to be in Washington Square Park with hundreds of thousands of very pissed-off people. Groups from all over the New York area were there to voice their opposition to the war in Iraq. I asked a few people how they had voted in the last election. Most told me that did not matter.

Really? Voting obviously led to someone taking office that a majority – if not all – of the protesters disagreed with. Voting matters, and is a more effective instrument of change than screaming with a hundred thousand of your closest friends on a Saturday afternoon.

Another reason that modern protesters have not been placated with fulfilled demands is that no one knows what they really want. During the 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, I was privileged to witness the presidential nomination of then-Vice President Al Gore, and then go out to my car to watch thousands march through the streets of L.A.

What was strange was the multitude of signs. “End the War on Drugs,” “Free Mumia,” and “End the Occupation! Free Palestine” were just a few of the many posters being displayed.

The chant was a call and response:

Leader: “What do we want?”

The group answered with many demands in a muffled shout.

Leader: “When do we want it?”

The group knew the answer to this: “NOW!”

I felt like yelling back, “Get your act together and then start asking for something, you morons.” But I kept my mouth shut in fear for my life. The fact that no one, not even the protesters themselves, understands their demands means that the “demands” will probably never be granted.

“Ask and ye shall receive.”

Protests are not new anymore. They do not anger the old established community as much as they did during the 1960s. In fact, many established community members take part in these protests. Many of those that marched on Washington to end the Vietnam War are now living in Washington as members of the government. The thrill is gone.

Mass movements have lost their flair simply because people are just marching and screaming. In the past, people marched together, screamed for one set of demands and voted in blocs. The people of the street have changed history before – when they acted together.

Hopefully the utopian street marchers of today will look to their parents and older marchers for inspiration.

Take a lesson from the past.