Protest

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Pro-Test is also the name of an Oxford based pro-animal testing group

Protest expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations: sometimes in favor, though more often opposed. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly and forcefully making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or may undertake direct action to attempt to directly enact desired changes themselves.

Self-expression can, in theory, in practice or in appearance, be restricted by governmental policy, economic circumstances, religious orthodoxy, social structures, or media monopoly. When such restrictions happen, grumbles or interior opposition may spill over into other areas such as culture, the streets or emigration.

A protest can itself sometimes be the subject of a counter-protest. In such a case, counter-protesters demonstrate their support for the person, policy, action, etc. that is the subject of the original protest.

Contents 1 Historical examples 2 Forms of protest 2.1 Public demonstration or political rally 2.2 Written demonstration 2.3 Civil disobedience demonstrations 2.4 As a residence 2.5 Destructive 2.6 General direct action 2.7 Protesting a government 2.8 By government employees 2.9 Job action 2.10 By management 2.11 By tenants 2.12 By consumers 2.13 Information 2.14 Civil disobedience to censorship 2.15 Literature, art, culture 2.16 Religious 3 Usage in American English 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Historical examples

Unaddressed protest may grow and foster dissent, activism, riots, insurgency, revolts, and political and/or social revolution, as in:

• Northern Europe in the early 16th century (Protestant Reformation)
• North America in the 1770s (American Revolution)
• France in 1789 (French Revolution)
• The Haymarket riot, 1886, a labor protest that galvanized the Anarchist Movement
• Martin Luther King's 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a key moment in the Civil Rights Movement
• The Stonewall riots in 1969 protesting the oppression of homosexuals in New York City
• The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
• The many ACT-UP AIDS protests of the late 80's and early 90's
• The Seattle WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity against the World Trade Organization
• Anti-globalization Protests in Prague in 2000
• Serbia in 2000
• Argentina in 2001 (December 2001 Riots, Cacerolazos)
• The many protests against the Iraq War
• 2005 Toledo Riot, a protest against racist police actions in Toledo, Ohio that grew into a violent uprising.

[edit] Forms of protest

Recognized forms of protest include:

[edit] Public demonstration or political rally

Some forms of direct action listed in this article are also public demonstrations or rallies.

• Protest march
• Picketing
• Die-in
• Protest song
• Silent protest
• Radical cheerleading

[edit] Written demonstration

Written evidence of political or economic power, or democratic justification may also be a way of protesting.

• Petitions
• Letters (to show political power by the volume of letters): For example, some letter writing campaigns especially with signed form letter

[edit] Civil disobedience demonstrations

Any protest could be civil disobedience if a “ruling authority” says so, but the following are usually civil disobedience demonstrations:

• Public nudity or topfree (to protest indecency laws or as a publicity stunt for another protest such as a war protest)
• Sit-in
• Raasta roko (people blocking auto traffic with their bodies)
• Some other publicity stunts

[edit] As a residence

• Peace camp
• Formation of a tent city

[edit] Destructive

• Riot (sometimes protests or attempts to end protests lead to police or protesters rioting)
• Self-immolation

[edit] General direct action

• Nonviolent resistance for example Satyagraha
• Occupation

[edit] Protesting a government

• Tax resistance
• Conscientious objector
• Flag desecration

[edit] By government employees

• Bully pulpit
• Judicial activism

[edit] Job action

• Strike action
• Sitdown strike
• Walkout
• work-in

[edit] By management

• Lockout

[edit] By tenants

• Rent strike

[edit] By consumers

• Boycott

[edit] Information

• Informative letters: thought provoking letter writing campaigns, letters to the editor especially those that the editor appreciates
• Teach-in
• Zine
• Soapboxing

[edit] Civil disobedience to censorship

• Samizdat (distributing censored materials)
• Protest Graffiti

[edit] Literature, art, culture

• The 13th century Spanish tale "The Emperor Has No Clothes"
• Culture jamming

[edit] Religious

• Recusancy

[edit] Usage in American English

In American English, the verb protest often acts transitively: The students protested the policy. Elsewhere one can still find intransitive usage: The students protested against the policy; or: The students protested in favor of the policy.

[edit] See also

• Action on climate change
• Anti-globalization movement
• First Amendment to the United States Constitution
• May 1968
• Protests against the 2003 Iraq war
• Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
• UK fuel protests
• France Protest

[edit] External links

• Slideshow of pictures from the Amnesty International denounce torture rally at Portland, Oregon.
• Essay examining ICTs and protest
• High-tech protest at the 2004 Republican National Convention
• Parenting Versus Protesting: Are They Mutually Exclusive?
• Is There A Legal Age for Political Dissent? Teens at Protests!
• France Protest against Anti-Job Law
• East Fife Football Club Supporters' Protest against chairman Brown
• Important Protests Mapped on Platial.