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Photos from June 10 rally in Washington
While attendence , estimated at 1,000 wa a disappointment to organizers, the participents enthusiastic, and energetic
Unused posters sit by a fence
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The right-wing has a made a big deal about only 1000 people showing up but there are reasons for the low turnout that probably need to be discussed by organizers since they have little to do with US opinion on the occupation.
US protests against the Iraq war were largest right before and right after the war started while support for the war was also highest at the time. People don't protest when everyone agrees with them since there isn't a huge point. In the case of Iraq there is a huge point in that public pressure could stop the war but I'm guessing that the feeling that protests had no effect when support for the war was high have made people less willing to organize now. There is also the factor that people who have no relative in Iraq are getting inured to the violence and military family communities frequently have conservative views that may make them weary of protests.
The factors that make people not protest are:
1. Things are so bad its too depressing and people don't want to think about it
2. It's an issue that divides people's social groups so they don't want to alienate friends by taking a public stand
3. Its not obvious how a protest will make things better
4. Things are changing really fast and its hard to keep up
5. Government or police oppression makes protesting dangerous (in the US this is especially true for immigrant communities)
6. It costs too much to get to a national protest for the communities that would protest
On Palestine all of these factors apply. On Iraq fewer do but its still hard to get protests moving.
US protests against the Iraq war were largest right before and right after the war started while support for the war was also highest at the time. People don't protest when everyone agrees with them since there isn't a huge point. In the case of Iraq there is a huge point in that public pressure could stop the war but I'm guessing that the feeling that protests had no effect when support for the war was high have made people less willing to organize now. There is also the factor that people who have no relative in Iraq are getting inured to the violence and military family communities frequently have conservative views that may make them weary of protests.
The factors that make people not protest are:
1. Things are so bad its too depressing and people don't want to think about it
2. It's an issue that divides people's social groups so they don't want to alienate friends by taking a public stand
3. Its not obvious how a protest will make things better
4. Things are changing really fast and its hard to keep up
5. Government or police oppression makes protesting dangerous (in the US this is especially true for immigrant communities)
6. It costs too much to get to a national protest for the communities that would protest
On Palestine all of these factors apply. On Iraq fewer do but its still hard to get protests moving.
For New Grads, Activism Doesn’t Pay the Bills
Liberal Youths Are Selling Out to Pay Their Debts
by Natalie Hudson
No one goes into a career in activism thinking they’ll make the big bucks. In fact, most people who enter socially conscious fields have reckoned with the reality of sacrificing meaty paychecks for fulfilling work. Recent college graduates, however, are finding the trade-off simply untenable as they slide deeper into a pit of college debt. And they’re getting little help from the progressive movement.
Read the rest:
Liberal Youths Are Selling Out to Pay Their Debts
by Natalie Hudson
No one goes into a career in activism thinking they’ll make the big bucks. In fact, most people who enter socially conscious fields have reckoned with the reality of sacrificing meaty paychecks for fulfilling work. Recent college graduates, however, are finding the trade-off simply untenable as they slide deeper into a pit of college debt. And they’re getting little help from the progressive movement.
Read the rest:
For more information:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/0...
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