protest – your thoughts

Posted on | October 31, 2004 | 2 Comments

for their upcoming feature issue on ‘protest’, the editors of m/c reviews have asked me to comment on the post-election venting on the csaa-forum email list that i run. some of the questions have me stumped, so i thought it would fit the spirit of an email interview about a listserver thread to post the questions on a research blog for some wider input. i’ve got til late tomoro to get some answers together, so if you’ve got a spare minute, have a think about these pearlers.

1. Do you think Protest remains a valid form of self-expression?

2. How do you think the protestor is viewed by present Australian society? As social activist or threat against national security, or somewhere in between?

3. Do governments encourage protest as a valid form of promotion for change? Does the media?

4. How is the promotion of a culture of fear affecting protests?

5. Do you consider that the results of the last election in Australia reflect a lack of protest among Australian citizens, or simply an unwillingness to listen to the protests that did take place?

6. Does the current state of consumerism, and the resultant dependency on a stable economy, contribute to a lack of protest among all Australians (others) against such issues as war…etc?

7. Why was it considered in the discussion list that the West was increasingly Right in its outlook? Is this tied to a lack of protest?

8. Is it correct to define a lack of protest as political “disengagement”?

9. Is protest primarily an activity of left-aligned in Australia? Is protest by the Left considered a problem, and from the Right legitimate?

10. Is voting a form of protest/non-protest? Is the situation in the US voting system -where people are paid to vote for certain parties – complacent/dangerous?

11. How can people voice their views in the current environment and have their voices heard/make a difference? How can the protestor legitimise their protest?

12. Is protest an innately selfish act? An individual (or a group of individuals) attempting to influence the thinking of the masses?

Category: Publications

Comments

2 Responses to “protest – your thoughts”

  1. Tama
    October 31st, 2004 @ 10:36 pm

    Sort of re:”5. Do you consider that the results of the last election in Australia reflect a lack of protest among Australian citizens, or simply an unwillingness to listen to the protests that did take place?”. Having lurked CSAA (but not posted), I did see a few messages that mirrored my own feelings. I actually felt there was more “protest” in my visual field via blogs and protest websites. However, since my perspective is very blogosphere-centred, I suspect I built a disproportionately strong expectation of a left (well, Labor, anyway) victory due to the saturation of anti-Howard sentiment in the blogs and websites I’m familiar with and read often. However, I suspect, now, that I was to some extent building digital blinkers and thus my purposeful disengagement with mainstream (and thus often conservative) news media in favour of a (more left) Australian blogosphere meant I was less prepared for “mainstream” Australia to return Howard with an even larger majority. Since I had, in effect, insulated myself from so much of the mainstream conversatism (in both media and, I guess, people [since as an almost-academic, I do "reside" in what is often called the ivory tower of academia]) I was far more shocked by the return of the American-puppet-king-of-Australia. So, I would argue, I saw more protest but was less aware of the “rest” of non-protesting Australia due to my digital leanings. (I shall, I fear, have to expand my reading to ensure the feelings of shock regarding this election result does not happen again!)

  2. mc gregg
    November 1st, 2004 @ 1:27 pm

    thanks for this, tama: your point is something i found a little lacking in the forum posts, ie. self-reflection on the part of academics and even students who sometimes seem unable to recognise their place in a very narrow cultural network. i also think blogging and email lists can exacerbate that distance from the average punter. which is simply to say, how many people have the money or time to spend on those activities?

    anyway i think i’m also finding these questions difficult because they’re framed in either/or terms. ie. was it ‘a lack of protest among Australian citizens, or simply an unwillingness to listen to the protests that did take place’… i think the majority of voters protested against what we intellectuals deem worthy of protest.

    then again, when i protested against the war it wasn’t because i wanted to convert others, rather it was to send a message to howard. what we all forgot is that his favourite line is “no one told me”.