Yes, I've started yet another blog.
Here's the manifesto:
Protest is broken. I gave up on protesting after the Iraq war protests. They were the biggest protests ever, held all over earth, and they accomplished nothing. I remember hearing some radio DJs on a Seattle “alternative rock” station complaining about how protesters were blocking Interstate traffic and how protesters “just want attention” and “need to grow up.” I think that’s a pretty common interpretation of protest, no matter how big or for what reason.
Edward Bernays said “The job of a public relations counsel is to instruct a client how to take actions that interrupt… the continuity of life in some way to bring about the [media] response.”
The same can be said of protesters. The problem now is that protests, no matter how big don’t interrupt the continuity of life in any meaningful way anymore. They’re too common place. Even huge protests like the Iraq war protests and the RNC protests seem indistinguishable from other day to day protests to the average media consumer.
I do believe that protest should be an important part of civil life. Protesting is not dead: it just needs fixing. This blog will highlight the efforts of creative activists, working not only in protest but in any sort of activism. It will hopefully also motivate me to come up with some new ideas myself. I also hope this site will grow into a useful resource for activists, lobbyists, and political campaigners who want to try new ideas, regardless of their political alignment.
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