# You going to join in on protesting outside?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 11, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442 "2025-06-11T01:48:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/1 "2025-06-11T01:48:10Z")
So this thing is spreading. I mean, I have no doubt there have always been forms of protesting of some sort going on at any given time thousands of places across the US…
…but the thing that started in LA two or three days ago, it’s getting bigger. It’s inspiring others, in other cities, to stage really huge and more domineering protests.
In NYC, in Chicago, in San Francisco.
When or if it reaches you, do you think—at any time–you’ll go out and join the protest or walk with it?
Let’s say it started in your town/city on a wide scale and having to do with the current going ons in the US.
You joining in at all or no?
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### Author:  [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/2 "2025-06-11T02:13:28Z")
No, but not because I disagree with the fundamental reasons the protesters are protesting. It’s because I think the tactic of protesting in this particular case is at best useless. The way I see it, there’s only three possible outcomes for which these protesters can be said to have achieved their goal.
1. Convince members of the general public to support their cause when they previously weren’t. My guess is the number of voters for which this would be the case is extremely small. My hypothesis is that the number of voters across the entire nation who will change their vote from R to D based on these protests is almost certainly less than 1,000.
2. Convince those in power to change their position to support their positio. My guess is that not a single (R) elected or appointed official is going to change their mind and become pro-immigration based on these protests.
3. Overthrow the US government by force of arms. That is also obviously not going to happen, and even if it did, it would obviously be a bad thing.
So these protests, IMHO, have no chance of accomplishing useful. If anything they are making things worse.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/3 "2025-06-11T02:13:52Z")
I’ll be at the No Kings gathering in Solomons, MD, on Saturday morning. I even bought a special t-shirt for the event.
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/4 "2025-06-11T02:26:11Z")
Protests convince those who are afraid to speak or act, or feel it makes no difference, that the will of the populace is with them, that their voice can join in, that we are strong because we are united. They inspire bravery. And bravery inspires more bravery.
Protests don’t change the hardened minds who gave cause to the protests. No one expects that. But they can and do topple governments. Not by military force but by bringing the force of numbers to bear. When they become large enough, the government cannot function. Many officials slink away, or join the crowds. We’ve never had to do this, but many other countries have. Some with success.
Yes, I will be marching. Not in the next few days, because I’m physically in need of some repair, but yes. I’ve been invited to at least five locally. I marched last Saturday (pouring rain).
Remember that only 30% of voters are Republican. The rest are Democrats and Independents (more than a third of voters are neither party).
Remember that saying that the only requirement for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. I will not be doing nothing.
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### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/5 "2025-06-11T02:27:39Z")
Good post.
I’ve been showing up locally as often as I can. I will be there again on the 14th.
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### Author:  [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/6 "2025-06-11T02:31:01Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#):
>
> Protests don’t change the hardened minds who gave cause to the protests. No one expects that. But they can and do topple governments.
Isn’t this how most successful protests have worked? That is other than those that succeeded by force of arms. Take the gains made during the Civil Rights era in the 50s and 60s as an example. The ultimate mechanism by which success was achieved was by convincing Earl Warren, Dwight Eisenhower, and LBJ to support the Civil Rights cause. Had Earl Warren, Dwight Eisenhower, and LBJ been the Donald Trumps of their day, I’d bet the Civil Rights successes would have been much smaller and would have required a lot more bloodshed.
ETA. Or more recently, consider the progress of gay rights, especially the rights of gay people to marry. The success of that movement ultimately came down to convincing John Roberts to join their side. In the current situation, I don’t see any chance that any of the relevant elected or appointed officials can be convinced in that way.
ETA 2
> [@Ulfreida](#):
>
> Remember that saying that the only requirement for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. I will not be doing nothing.
I don’t plan to do nothing. I plan to show up to vote in November of next year and again in 2028 and vote D. As far as us ordinary Americans go, I’m of the opinion that’s the only effective action we have available to us.
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### Author:  [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/7 "2025-06-11T02:39:10Z")
Just want to mention, we did a very similar thread just over a month ago, though in P&E:
> [@What do the protesters hope to accomplish](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-protesters-hope-to-accomplish/1017770):
>
> Don’t get me wrong, it warms me to so many [throngs of people show up and carry signs.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/05/01/may-day-protests-trump-musk-billionaires/83362729007/) And I certainly appreciate the sentiment. But what is the goal? We know Trump hates liberals and what they stand for. Trump will not change a thing due to protests. By now things have gone too far (IMHO), and something needs to done to stop this dismantling of our government. I’m happy the protesters are making their displeasure known, but who are they appealing to?
I’ll just cut and paste my response from there:
> As I said on the various threads touching on the 4/9 protests, a big part of it is showing that they are not alone. There is a visceral impact of being part of a physical crowd (not always in a good sense, granted) that evokes a feeling of shared power.
>
> In Trump 2.0 it’s _very_ easy to feel isolated, alone, and powerless, and just give up. Being part of something bigger can counteract it to a degree. And even in purple, or red areas (like my own Colorado Springs) seeing that the smirking majority can be challenged is worthwhile.
>
> It also can make local powers hesitate to a degree. Sure, local upset is unlikely to unseat Trump anytime in the near future, but others still have to run for election. They may well be _more_ circumspect if they are worried about losing their own upcoming elections.
>
> So, small, but possibly cumulative benefits, even if not on a grand stage. But may, by the accumulation of many such, make a difference after all.
Sadly, now and then, I also admitted that I don’t think it’ll be truly effective. We don’t (or don’t yet) have a leader that has the charisma and reach that captures the popular imagination, and far too many people will go along to get along. But if we do end up in a fascist government or Civil War, I want to be able to say I didn’t just sit on my couch and grouch.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/8 "2025-06-11T02:40:13Z")
The purpose of peaceful protest is to is to petition the government for redress of grievances. The power of protest is in numbers. The purpose of protest is to be seen, and give hope to like minded souls who will be inspired to turn out also. The people, united, can never be defeated.
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### Author:  [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/9 "2025-06-11T02:49:49Z")
I am going to go out if I can physically manage it – here in San Francisco, the rally will be in Dolores Park, which is accessible by street car (unless the line gets closed for the occasion). My current issue is that I am undergoing physical therapy for arthritis in my hip, and I’m worried that I may not be able to walk the distance from the closest I can get by public transit to at least the outskirts of the crowd; and then that I may not be able to get back from there to the streetcar stop. I may have to wait until the crowd clears (the rally is followed by a march, which I will not be attempting) and get a Lyft back home.
I didn’t do either of the first two bigger marches in the spring, because I had mixed feelings about how effective they might be, and how necessary. I have no such mixed feelings this time. People will be expecting a huge turnout in places like San Francisco, and if my poor hobbling presence can do any good at all, I’ll be there if I can.
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### Author:  [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/10 "2025-06-11T02:50:45Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> The purpose of peaceful protest is to is to petition the government for redress of grievances. The power of protest is in numbers. The purpose of protest is to be seen, and give hope to like minded souls who will be inspired to turn out also. The people, united, can never be defeated.
That sometimes works, when those in government who have the power to address those grievances aren’t people like Donald Trump. But I’d put better odds on Betelgeuse going supernova within our lifetime, or physicists unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics within our lifetime, than the odds of Donald Trump being swayed in his beliefs by the protestations of a bunch of liberals.
You mention the unity of the people. It seems to me the reason we’re in our current situation is that the people are not united. Furthermore, that disunity is of a type that is only likely to be worsened, not improved, by protests.
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### Author:  [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/11 "2025-06-11T02:53:34Z")
I’m not a protester type, but I will be joining our local No Kings event on Saturday.
I have to do SOMEHING other than wallow in my helplessness. I live in a barely purple area of a very very red state. I frankly don’t dare canvass or even voice my opinion much, but there’s some safety in numbers, I hope.
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### Author:  [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/12 "2025-06-11T03:00:10Z")
I won’t be joining any protests but will be cheering everyone on from the sidelines.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/13 "2025-06-11T03:03:38Z")
We don’t need to sway Donald Trump.
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### Author:  [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/14 "2025-06-11T03:10:57Z")
I’ll be at the No Kings rally in San Francisco.
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### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/15 "2025-06-11T03:15:44Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#):
>
> You mention the unity of the people. It seems to me the reason we’re in our current situation is that the people are not united. Furthermore, that disunity is of a type that is only likely to be worsened, not improved, by protests.
Fake unity, where a minority of the population behave like tyrannical assholes and/or enthusiastically support the tyrannical assholery of their leaders while the rest of the population cowers silently to avoid “worsening disunity”, is not something to be embraced.
I don’t shame or scold anyone for not personally liking or wanting to participate in protests: there are plenty of other ways to support democracy. But protests exist to let people make their voices heard when they are outraged by injustices and misrule for which the ordinary political repair kit of voting, writing your representatives, town hall meetings, etc., isn’t working.
Protests also show spectators in other countries that the American people as a whole aren’t okay with what’s being done in our name. Protests strengthen the social bonds between the people who are out in the streets running a (hopefully very small, but) non-zero risk that some really bad retaliation might come their way for exercising their right to peaceful demonstration. Protests remind participants viscerally that we’re all in this together, and make people more willing to take on other citizenship acts such as running for local office and speaking up in other venues. Last but not least, protesting is the only way to ensure that the ability to protest doesn’t get eroded to the point of extinction.
We should throw this opportunity/responsibility away for the illusory dream of somehow preserving “unity” with MAGA delusionists? Haven’t you noticed yet that there is literally nothing non-MAGAs can do that will dislodge the MAGA delusionists from their “alternative facts”? Those are not the people we’re trying to reach.
Still less do we have any illusions about somehow being able to reach Donald Trump—I mean, are you fucking kidding me?!?
[Here’s a recent essay from an LSE philosophy professor about some of the values of protesting](https://www.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/blog/2023/02/15/whats-the-point-of-protest) that you might find interesting.
> [@](#):
>
> I think that the ‘Not in My Name’ slogan captures this distinctive way in which we can be implicated in others’ actions. Rather than being objectionably individualistic, the slogan tracks the idea that when political leaders justify their actions by appealing to our rights and interests, this puts us into a distinctive moral relationship with those who are affected by that policy. Even if we cannot change the outcome, protest can still affect the nature of that relationship, by making it clear to ourselves and to the world that our political leaders cannot use us as a justificatory resource.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/16 "2025-06-11T03:22:48Z")
Protests also show local politicians that their constituents care. That matters a lot to politicians.
Will it sway the true-believing magat? Of course not. The goal is to sway the moderates and give support to the left.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/17 "2025-06-11T03:44:02Z")
Yes. I’m in.
I’ve never had very high expectations for congregating to shout “Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad”.
But I’d like to go down standing in opposition, not fading away in despair behind my own wall.
I have assassination thoughts but I have neither means nor opportunity.
Even that wouldn’t fix things, it would just be retribution, and I don’t believe in retribution. But damn I’m angry.
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### Author:  [@TGC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGC)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/18 "2025-06-11T04:24:42Z")
No fn way. I live in LA where we now have the National Guard and Marines deployed, neither of whom have the deescalating training/skills that PDs have (and despite their training, they often go off the rails). Not worth the chance of getting shot.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/19 "2025-06-11T04:43:45Z")
As the others said, I won’t be protesting. I don’t see how the current method of protesting makes the slightest effective difference. It’s not exerting any leverage against Trump/MAGA.
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2025, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-going-to-join-in-on-protesting-outside/1019442/20 "2025-06-11T11:05:42Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#):
>
> I don’t plan to do nothing. I plan to show up to vote in November of next year and again in 2028 and vote D. As far as us ordinary Americans go, I’m of the opinion that’s the only effective action we have available to us.
Until voting is taken away. Then what?
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