Why I Just Don't Bother With "Protests" Anymore

I'm pretty sure the last one I attended -- and that as a writer/observer, not really a participant -- was when Richard Spencer spoke at the University of Florida in October of 2017.

I used to be a regular at anti-war protests, Libertarian Party inclusion protests outside the rigged presidential/vice-presidential "debates," etc.

But eventually I decided two things:

1. Nobody cares about protests these days. No matter how many warm bodies you put on the ground waving signs, yelling slogans, etc., you're not changing any minds. To the extent that people notice at all, mostly via mass media, the collective response varies from yawns to outrage at any rioting/property damage that might coincide with your event (whether you intended that to happen or not); and
2. Any "message" that does successfully get "sent" will inevitably be a very mixed and muddled one. I can't count the number of times during the run-up to the Iraq invasion when some speaker would try to hijack the thing. "This isn't just about the war, it's about single-payer healthcare." "This isn't just about the war, it's about police violence." "This isn't just about the war, it's about unionizing workplaces." Every time I marched against the war, my presence there was used to support other causes that I might actually oppose or at least just not care about, and even if I did care about them the hijacking reduced whatever power the main message might convey.

And keep in mind that unless the protest is on a college campus and you happen to be a student with free time (or who doesn't care about missing classes), attending a protest can be a considerable investment in terms of time (with possible financial implications) and risk (of, for example, arrest) that has to be planned for.

Back when I believed protests could make a difference, in a direction I supported, sure, OK, I'd make it a point to be present.

Once I stopped believing that, the only incentives became:

1. Hanging out with friends who reliably show up for that kind of thing, and
2. Getting material to write something about.

Those aren't terrible incentives, but there are usually other methods of enjoying them.

My impression of the "Hands Off" protests this weekend is that things I agree with ("hands off immigrants," for example) would be largely overshadowed by things I don't agree with ("hands off the government spending that subsidizes my personal preferences," for example -- one I ran into circa the 2010 "Tea Party" rallies where the "don't touch my Medicare/Social Security benefits!" crowd was at least as loud as any "limited government" message).

So ... nah, didn't bother.

I won't say "never again," but it will take more than that to get me to give up a good part of my day, arrange travel/parking, risk getting or contrive to get arrested, etc.