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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPlease make the April 5 protests a success with your presence. 3.5% of the population is all we need!
The title of the OP is my linkage to the article below. If we are wondering how to make change, studies show that peaceful protest works! Lets put fear into the heart of Trump, Musk, and the GOP. If you can make it to DC then great! If you cant, then find a local protest and please attend if you can.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world
The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world
Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.
In 1986, millions of Filipinos took to the streets of Manila in peaceful protest and prayer in the People Power movement. The Marcos regime folded on the fourth day.
In 2003, the people of Georgia ousted Eduard Shevardnadze through the bloodless Rose Revolution, in which protestors stormed the parliament building holding the flowers in their hands. While in 2019, the presidents of Sudan and Algeria both announced they would step aside after decades in office, thanks to peaceful campaigns of resistance.
In each case, civil resistance by ordinary members of the public trumped the political elite to achieve radical change.
There are, of course, many ethical reasons to use nonviolent strategies. But compelling research by Erica Chenoweth, a political scientist at Harvard University, confirms that civil disobedience is not only the moral choice; it is also the most powerful way of shaping world politics by a long way.
Looking at hundreds of campaigns over the last century, Chenoweth found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals as violent campaigns. And although the exact dynamics will depend on many factors, she has shown it takes around 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure serious political change.
Chenoweths influence can be seen in the recent Extinction Rebellion protests, whose founders say they have been directly inspired by her findings. So just how did she come to these conclusions?
SheltieLover
(80,449 posts)Tyvm for sharing!
OrlandoDem2
(3,234 posts)Think. Again.
(22,456 posts)pandr32
(14,272 posts)EarthFirst
(4,153 posts)patphil
(9,067 posts)It's a doable number for a nationwide protest.
Bernardo de La Paz
(60,320 posts)bamagal62
(4,503 posts)But will participate in my local one!
calimary
(90,017 posts)Were out there on the sidewalk at a very busy intersection every Friday. Ive missed the last two weeks to stay inside out of the rain but by Jove Ill be there on April 5th! Fuck it! Rain OR shine!
jalan48
(14,914 posts)swong19104
(625 posts)But lets shoot for 50 million.
CareyOn
(91 posts)I just have to decide which one to attend. There are several around Portland and I want to go
where the protest will be seen by average working Americans; where many people drive by.
Bernardo de La Paz
(60,320 posts)Even if a person less capable than you just goes and sits there (or any protest) on the sidelines, they count! You count! Make yourself count by going. And by participating in other kinds of mass action.
Cheers to you Carey.
SunSeeker
(58,283 posts)Bernardo de La Paz
(60,320 posts)Keep building protests and they will move the needle. They will make change.
As conditions in the US deteriorate, as they will since tRump pressed Start on multiple simultaneous disruptions, it will become easier to get people out for protests and other mass actions.
April 5 is a necessary step. It is possible it will do the trick, though unlikely. One of these mass actions will be the tipping point and we can't know until after. So it is necessary to keep building.
Passages
(4,161 posts)calimary
(90,017 posts)Indivisible Clackamas will be on it!
Well have our usual Friday afternoon protest on our favorite corner.
OrlandoDem2
(3,234 posts)I cant say that enough. We must make history.
Ilsa
(64,366 posts)I'd rather not drive all the way into Atlanta. Is there a website listing events by location?
Hands Off! NATIONWIDE Mass mobilization rally/protest April 5. Organized by Indivisible and many other activist groups.
https://handsoff2025.com/about
Amaryllis
(11,291 posts)Hands Off! NATIONWIDE Mass mobilization rally/protest April 5. Organized by Indivisible and many other activist groups.
https://handsoff2025.com/about