This past week, Q-line asked: “Can the local protests of world events really make a difference in our society?”
Here are your responses: ■ “Protests can definitely make a difference in world events. There are many examples that can be cited — The Civil Rights back in the ’60s, the Vietnam War, the Iraqi War — the examples are plentiful. It’s a question of the people giving vent to their feelings. If they do protest, the politicians pay attention to them, but the politicians will not listen to them unless they are heavily lobbied by professional lobbyists in our nation’s capital, or in Sacramento, or if the people in the protests band together in large numbers to let the politicians know their feelings. The politicians won’t listen otherwise, and won’t heed the important issues of the day unless their attention is drawn into it.” ■ “Protests at local events don’t make a difference, unless, of course, you’re Mexican, (black) or homosexual.” ■ “Local protests do not make a difference to our local City Council.” ■ “Local protests do make a difference in our global society. While the small size of a local protest may not have the pull to directly make a change that would be felt globally, its subtle influence effectively raises the awareness needed to bring issues to the global level or spread the flame of existing protests.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 14, 2003. Read the original PDF.