Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with protest

Not that I don't like it when non-violent protesters get permanant lung damage, but...

Truthiness — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:36:20 -0800

NoveltyUseOnlyFilter: Chemists- do you think it would be possible to develop a chemical compound (aerosol? liquid?) which could counter tear gas by causing it to break down/change phase? Like I said, this is a PURELY theoretical question. I would never actually want to subvert any kind of authority. That said, I am rather curious. Compounds commonly used as tear gas:

CS Gas

CN Gas

CR Gas

Do you think the development of a counter-agent could be possible?

Hey, can I Yelp your faction?

evil holiday magic — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:02:43 -0800

Where to find upcoming protests in Los Angeles? I don't want to delve too deeply into a specific movement at this point (call me a dilettante, though I've been there, and done that), but I'm interested in lending my presence to left wing protests and rallies (anti-privatization, pro-gay marriage, pro-socialized medicine etc.) in Los Angeles.

The ("Anonymous") anti-Scientology protests were organized and scheduled (at least in part) via an online forum. Is there something like this for other subjects, or even a site that compiles many different upcoming political demonstrations according to area?

Anyone Speak Portuguese?

DOUBLE A SIDE — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:24:24 -0800

I really want to know what these Portuguese bullfight protesters are chanting. Here is the video. Shot this in Lisbon a few months back. Any help will be greatly appreciated. (Sorry it's a bit quiet)

Westboro: what the radical christian right logically leads to

history is a weapon — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:58:14 -0800

The homophobic looney tunes are protesting this weekend. What's the funniest sign I could possible have? The Westboro church, those of the God Hates Gay People signs, are coming to protest down the street from my house. In the past, I've seen hilarious signs that people have mocked them with. What is the funniest possible sign I could carry? Links to previous signs encouraged.

Note: I am not interested in ignoring them or trying to reason with them. I totally want to mock them.

How do we fight the anti-immigration propaganda?

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:06:22 -0800

I'm sick and tired of all the downright racist, anti-immigration rhetoric being bandied about in the UK and I want to do something about it. What can I do? It seems I can't go a day without hearing, reading or seeing something about how immigrants are overrunning the UK. The government milks us for money and gives us next to zero rights, the natives do nothing but complain, and, quite frankly, it's getting on my nerves.

I AM one of these so-called immigrants and I'm TIRED of it. I would like to organize something that really punches the message that the economy relies on us home. I was thinking that a national day-of-protest similar to the one organized in California some years ago would be ideal. I think a day with smelly toilets, no service, no cleaning, no taxis, etc would probably make a lot of people take stock of the situation. However, I don't know how to begin organizing such a thing to make it successful or where to look.

Also, how much trouble this can get me into?

I'm open to ideas.

Can't find the song in my head

LittlePumpkin — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:25:16 -0800

Heard a good song on the radio, but can't find it anywhere... i'm guessing it's from the 60s, because it sounds kind of dylan-y/protest-y and there's a lyric that goes something like "i need someone to help explain the war"... i thought the song title would be I'M A CHILD or I AM A CHILD because the song is made up of lyrics like "I need someone to help me tie my shoes/I am a child, "I need someone to help me lose the blues/I am a child"... I made those up, but you get the idea... ring any bells?

AIG: HOW TO VENT?

u2604ab — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:44:37 -0800

I want to take to the streets to protest the $1.2 Billion dollars that AIG has announced it will pay in executive bonuses. How do I do this? The AIG CEO claims he is contractually obligated to pay these bonuses. I want show them that this bonus-paying shatters the social contract implicit in accepting a taxpayer funded bailout.

There are AIG offices in Boulder, CO, as there are in most other reasonably sized cities. Does it make sense to picket and shout outside one of these offices. Will anybody join me? How are street protests usually organized? Is anybody currently organizing local or national street protests of the AIG bonuses?

Protest Runway (sorry, bad pun)

Franklin76 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:23:23 -0800

[GayDC_Filter] Should I go to the protests this Saturday? (See explanation) Personal facts:
-I'm gay
-I'm 100% for same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination laws, hate crimes legislation, etc. [the grab bag of "equal rights"]
-I'm in DC

External facts:
-California passed proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage (in a state that actually had it)
-There is a nation-wide protest on Saturday (although directly-related to the passage of prop 8, this is being touted as the start of the "national gay rights movement," etc.)

Concerns:
-Umm, this was passed in California. Not DC. Not VA (although VA did ban gay marriage 3 years ago).
-A lot of the anti-Mormon sentiment at these protests make me feel a little uneasy (funding from the LDS being blamed for Prop 8's passage by many gays, liberals, etc.). It's just another brand of bigotry.
-Speaking of bigotry, there is the factor of potential racial tension, as many outspoken commentators in the gay community have (erroneously) pinned Prop 8's passage on California Latinos & Blacks. I doubt this would really flare up in any significant way, but, ya know, it's on my mind.

So what should I do? I support the general cause all the way....but I'm not in California. What's the point? I don't want to show up for a cause and then find myself surrounded by feel-good morons who cause harm and make no progress.

(sorry for the babble--I'm truly conflicted)

Where do I protest this new iGoogle?

DetonatedManiac — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:48:50 -0800

Ok, WTF. I go to my home page (iGoogle) and suddenly everything has changed. I hate it, it literally hurts my eyes, I can't find anything. I am not kidding. How do I fix it or where can I protest? As an added horrible bonus they have also screwed up my gmail too. Where can I get a fix for THAT? This sux, I have had this gmail account for like 5 years now I have to find a new email service. Any thoughts?

I hope Siegfried decided to do the right thing

Countess Elena — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:19:32 -0800

There was a protest in central Boston today. What was it about? I could hear the chanting, but see nothing, and didn't have the time to go looking. It sounded like "Left, right, Siegfried, do the right thing!"-- over and over for twenty minutes. What was that about?

Massive conspiracy or Olympic peace?

pithy comment — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:10:50 -0800

What news am I missing at the Olympics - what has been covered up or ignored by the Chinese regulators providing the video feed to NBC etc? I have to imagine there have been some outbursts or protests and the Chinese are not letting the media cover it (at least on live TV). Is there a good site noting these occurrences, or have the games just gone off nearly flawlessly? (excepting the drum tower murder last week.)

How to protest the Westboro protestors?

kristin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:08:21 -0800

The Westboro Baptist "Church" is coming to Chicago this weekend, to protest at a memorial service and funeral. You know them for, among other reasons, their "God hates fags" websites, and their virulent and hideous protests at the funerals of soldiers. What is the most effective way to both find likeminded people and a great way to block their offensive messages from reaching the grieving? The problem with these people is that there isn't an organized group to join up with to effectively shut them up. How can I find people willing to counterprotest, and what is the most effective way of counterprotesting?

Cheap and portable signs for a protest?

de void — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:46:00 -0800

I'll be participating in my first ever protest later this month. What is an economical way to make hand-held signs and sandwich boards which are sturdy enough to survive a day of protesting on possibly windy streets, but also light and compact enough to transport easily? I'll be participating in a protest on the street in New York City later this month.

I'd like to cobble together some hand-held signs and sandwich boards for myself and others to use.

Since many of the participants will be traveling in from out of state to attend, I'd also like to be able to easily transport a bunch of signs/boards with me on trains and subways so that I can give them to others to use.

My initial thoughts are for foam core sheets with laser printed paper glued to them, using small pvc pipe for hand-held signs and linking two sheets together with plastic cable ties for sandwich boards.

Any better ideas out there?

Alberto Gonzalez protest music

ignorantguru — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:31:53 -0800

My university is hosting a speech by former secretary of state Alberto Gonzalez. I'm ethically opposed to a lot of things he's done but I'm going to be protesting against his visit primarily because my university is paying him over 30,000 dollars to speak here; money that will no doubt be immediately spent on defense for his pending court date. Anyway, a band and I will be playing at the protest, so I was wondering if anyone had recommendations as to songs that would be especially appropriate to play at his visit. While general protest music would be OK, something like Rage's Testify is even better. (We have a full group with 5 horns, bass, drums, guitar, piano, 3 percussionists and a singer, so we can play from any genre or band.)

Advice on how to protest well

davidstandaford — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 23:02:49 -0800

Advice on protesting Alberto Gonzalez speaking at my campus. It looks like Alberto Gonzalez will be speaking at my college this semester. I've talked with some friends about doing a protest and was looking for some advice.

At the moment, we are considering getting some orange jump suits and reenacting some of the the torture techniques (waterboarding, stress positions, cold temperatures, etc.) approved by the administration and him. We would also have quarter sheet fliers explaining what we're doing, a little bit about why Gonzalez is so evil, and directing people to a website for more information.

Any ideas on how to do this well? Anything we might not realize that we should know? Advice from people with more experience doing these types of protests?

Any and all information is appreciated.

Does a catholic left still exist in the US?

R. Mutt — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 06:04:17 -0800

To what extent does the idea of a "Catholic Left" still exist in the United States? Last night I watched Camden 28, a documentary about a group of (mostly) catholic antiwar activists who attempted to destroy draft records during the Vietnam War. One of the interesting things to me about the film was the participants' sense of their activist/pacifist beliefs being solidly based in their (specifically) catholic beliefs. Does a catholic left still exist in the US?

I need stories for my speech!

skjønn — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:57:39 -0800

I need anecdotes/ideas/something for a speech I will be giving at an antiwar protest this Saturday. Please help! This Saturday I'll be speaking at an antiwar protest. I'll likely be in front of a crowd of at least nine hundred and maybe a lot more.

I'm definitely not the main speaker, and I don't want to spend the ten minutes I've been allotted "preaching to the choir", as they say. I'm going to go ahead with the assumption that the people who turn out in sincerity already know why the Iraq war is bad.

So I guess I'd to include maybe a story/news item/anecdote/fable/proverb that will hopefully be new to most of the crowd that will be appropriate for an antiwar rally. It can be thought provoking, touching, or hopefully both.

Any other ideas or suggestions for my speech would be welcome too!

Keep in mind, I'm a 24 year old girl without a college degree yet and I'll be speaking alongside people a lot more important and experienced (including veterans from Iraq and Vietnam) so I don't want to come off as self-important.

Shaving My Head in Solidarity with the Monks in Burma

davidstandaford — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 12:56:26 -0800

I need some advice on creating a movement of people who shave their head in support of the monks of Burma. Like many people, I'm riveted by what's going on in Burma, and also feeling unsure of what I could possibly do to help. My idea was to shave my head, like the monks do, to show my support, raise awareness, and hopefully rally more people to do the same. My understanding is that they have already begun doing this in Burma.

I would then carry around quarter sheet flyers, and when people comment about my haircut (which they are likely to do because my hair is rather long at the moment), I can give them some information and talk to them about the situation. This is a similar idea to recent efforts by high school students in reaction to people under pressure (see here for info about students wearing pink to stand up against homophobic bullying and here for info about high school boys carrying around tampons in support of female students).

My questions are:
1) Is there any reason why shaving my head would be presumptuous or sacrilegious. As a rather outspoken Jew, I don't think people would ever think I'm actually Buddhist, but if during the oppression of the Soviet Jews, a bunch of people had started wearing yarmulkes/kippas, I might have thought that was kinda weird.
2) Aside from basic information on the flyers I hand out, I would like to include some sort of call to action. Any ideas about a simple, email address, website, or phone number I could direct someone to? If someone is compelled to action after talking to me, what should I tell them do to (besides shaving their head)?
3) I had planned on doing publicity among the college population for this through facebook, but if I get the impression this would be a good idea and follow through with it, any advice on doing publicity among the adult population that isn't on facebook?

Any other thoughts or advice about this would be greatly appreciated.

Help me make a playlist with the theme of "Impeach the President"

MeatLightning — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 07:19:09 -0800

ATTN: Music Nerds! I'm putting together a party playlist with the theme of "Impeach the President" - any suggestions?? Help me rock the party into the streets! Dancey stuff is preferred. Extra points for Soul / Funk stuff... some examples:

The Monkey That Became President (Pt. 1) by Brotherhood
Impeach The President by The Honeydrippers (duh!)
Mr. President by The Heptones
Don't Mess With People by Mandrill

It doesn't have to be President-centric... it can also be protesty in general... no hippie crap though! ('cept Credence... those guys are alright).

Please kindly take your contradictory book away.

ikahime — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 12:24:02 -0800

What is the best (if any) way to deal with anti-gay Christian protesters on my campus? So it's Pride Week here at my University, and one can always expect the Christians to roll out with their bible-thumpers shouting in your face, and kumbai-ya-ers singing terrible 2-chord hymns. Is there a good (if any) way to respond or retaliate, or to encourage them to leave? Or should I just lump it like I always do and ignore the hateful diatribe I must listen to on my way from the library to the coffeeshop?

How can I cause the largest anti-war rally in the Southeast? In 10 days...

gbinal — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 23:49:00 -0800

Literally. We have started a rally/day-long protest/24 hours of fun to take place at my college in Clinton, SC (population 10k). The idea is to make it viral. Not just invite everyone we know, but really work everyone to invite everyone they know. Right now, there are 100+ confirmed coming via an effort on Facebook. And I'm about to Digg the blog for the event. I have a number of friends with blogs and will be asking them to consider giving a shout out. On the 12th, we'll have some wifi-enabled laptops out for people to IM/email/call/text their friends back at home or at college telling them to get in the car and come.

But what all can I do to make this go viral and turn into something truly huge and amazing. (p.s. if you are within a state or two and want to be a part of something gigantic... :)

Thanks for all that you are as a part of MetaFilter. It really is amazing being a part of you all. Peace,

Who are some nonviolent political pranksters?

Phred182 — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 01:38:20 -0800

Please tell me about some nonviolent political pranksters I might have missed. This Salon article (ad view required) got me thinking about monkey wrenchers and pranksters. My own username comes from an impressively dopey movie in the same vein. The
Ebert review led me to The Fox, an environmentalist prankster active in Chicago in the 1960s and 70s. He doesn’t have a wikipedia page, but he did have Mike Royko. Maybe there are others who are only known regionally, or have otherwise been slighted by history. Any suggestions?

I’d like to learn more about nonviolent, ideological, political pranksters. I’ve seen this thread. N.B.: I’m not interested so much in college pranks, as there’s already a definitive—and unnecessarily beautifully written—book on the subject.

They don't have to be environmentalists, and I've seen the Yes Men.

Flying with Meaningful Water

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 05:37:27 -0800

I am flying soon. I would like to bring a bottle of water to security, a nice plain Muji style bottle, with a custom label on it. What should be pasted on it for this lame, meaningless, nearly silent protest? What will not get me violated or detained, but will clearly state the idiocies of fear we are now enduring? Or is this horrible, this idea?

What are they protesting?

I Love Tacos — Sat, 20 May 2006 15:57:45 -0800

What are these people protesting?

I know they want to abolish slavery, but I don't know what slavery, or where. I was under the impression that France had abolished slavery quite some time ago.

If it helps, the photo was taken on 10 May 2006, in Toulouse.

Blacked out web sites for Day Without Immigrants?

Mo Nickels — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 05:23:19 -0800

Are there any web sites participating in the Day Without Immigrants? It occurs to me that concern over this issue is widespread enough that it might warrant blacked-out web sites—even very popular ones. But I don't find any sign of it, nor do I find any badges or the like. This question IS NOT A SURVEY ABOUT THE BOYCOTT. Please keep your opinions on it to yourself.