Friday, May 15, 1998
Responsible, reasonable protests get best results
DEMONSTRATIONS: Hints tell how to ensure public will respond to
message
By Jeremy Halpern
I have been in the UC system for eight years as a student, at
both Berkeley and UCLA. As a Cal student, I saw demonstrations over
People’s Park, over nudity, over free speech and over diversity. At
UCLA, I have suffered through the two-hour traffic jams caused by
students demonstrating for causes from Mexican internal governance
to affirmative action. As someone who has listened to many such
demonstrations, I urge you to demonstrate responsibly for the
following reasons:
1. Demonstrations which are annoying or harassing to the general
public are unlikely to win fence sitters to your cause.
2. Demonstrations in which participants are rude, course,
abrasive or overly personal (e.g. they focus on the people instead
of the issues) demean you personally and reduce the collective
reputation for supporters of your cause.
3. Some demonstrations, like those bottling up traffic at
Wilshire and Veteran, endanger people. Last time, an ambulance had
to wait five minutes to get through the crowd. I hope that no one
was deprived of prompt medical care as a result of the delay.
4. Demonstrations should be for the purpose of raising awareness
and constructing a forum for your views.
Demonstrations which target the wrong people for your grievance
often hinders your chances to make allies in your cause, and are
often viewed as unrealistic. Therefore, if you believe that
diversity ought to be a factor in admissions and hiring in the UC
system, then your proper audience is the general electorate and the
regents – not the chancellor.
When you make arguments for your cause, do not rest your laurels
on platitudes such as social justice – in an issue where both sides
honestly believe that is what is at stake. When you find that your
opposition does not agree with you, do not resort to the use of
epithets such as "racist" and "Nazi" when those terms are likely
unapplicable and truly offensive to those people who suffered at
the hands of real racists and Nazis. Do not believe that raising
awareness is a mandate for irresponsible actions under the banner
of "any means necessary," which, I believe, is a slogan that does
not (or at least, ought not) represent your cause.
Instead, make your cause represent your own moral character and
civic intentions. As a responsible student and citizen I wish you
luck with your campaign.