From emancipation to women’s suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass movement has shaped the arc of US history

Trump’s first and second terms have been marked by huge protests, from the 2017 Women’s March to the protests for racial justice after George Floyd’s murder, to this year’s No Kings demonstrations. But how effective is this type of collective action?

According to historians and political scientists who study protest: very.

From emancipation to women’s suffrage, from civil rights to Black Lives Matter, mass movement has shaped the arc of American history. Protest has led to the passage of legislation that gave women the right to vote, banned segregation and legalized same-sex marriage. It has also sparked cultural shifts in how Americans perceive things like bodily autonomy, economic inequality and racial bias.

  • GladiusB@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    2 days ago

    Short term gain. It’s more about long term awareness. It is unfortunate for those now. But it’s not something that changes overnight.

    • sudoer777@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      1 day ago

      What is awareness going to do? People are already plenty aware of what’s going on, this was one of the first genocides to be livestreamed.

        • sudoer777@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 day ago

          ok so it will get fixed after the damage has already been done, got it

            • sudoer777@lemmy.ml
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              19 hours ago

              I’m not saying I have better ideas, but if it doesn’t fix anything until it’s too late, “very” is not a good word to describe its effectiveness

              • GladiusB@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                edit-2
                13 hours ago

                But you crap on mine for understanding that I don’t have any better ideas too, but am aware of what protests do in terms of change? Got it.

                • sudoer777@lemmy.ml
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  6 hours ago

                  But you crap on mine for understanding that I don’t have any better ideas too, but am aware of what protests do in terms of change? Got it.

                  What’s wrong with that? The title of this post was that protests are “very” effective. I’m arguing that they’re not, and apparently so are you.

                  • GladiusB@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    ·
                    6 hours ago

                    Well I’m arguing that you are arguing the exact same thing. So, either you’re full of yourself and above self reflection or you’re throwing a temper tantrum to a total stranger thinking that it has some bearing on how you come off. The “title” is the beginning of the conversation. Tangents happen. It’s called conversation to most people.