I mean, no? It’s highly dependent on the police force, the number of protestors, and how the protestors deal with being told to break up the protest/encampments, etc.,
Many campus encampments were fairly successful, if not forcing actual divestment, then gaining many concessions from universities and getting a good foot forward to continue pressure toward the goal of full divestment. Other encampments and protests were violently and unconstitutionally repressed, and there’s not much the protestors could have done to stop that from happening. In my city, the campus protest encampments were broken up but the encampments had a lot of logistical issues and some leadership problems that may also have contributed, but maybe not, since our resident billionaire, deeply invested in the university, has literal mossad special forces guarding his compound. I’ve been to many protests where police kept a distance, some large protests where they never even showed up.
Its not accurate to say they always break up protests. I work with organizers who insist against anti-cop slogans because in their experience sometimes protesters can get further if the cops don’t feel threatened by the protests. I’m much more in the F12 ACAB camp and argue with those guys but they do make extremely good points that can be backed up with historical examples. With organization and numbers a police force can be opposed logistically and defeated, or neutralized politically. We don’t have to be doomers. Messages like this just make people who are on the fence avoid protests when they are the people we need to come and get activated.
Edit: okay, protest movements get broken up, individual protests may or may not, reading is hard
You’re right I missed that distinction between “protest” and “protest movement”. I played myself yet again, ADHD - 1 / me not writing a long screed based on a misreading - 0
I mean, no? It’s highly dependent on the police force, the number of protestors, and how the protestors deal with being told to break up the protest/encampments, etc.,
Many campus encampments were fairly successful, if not forcing actual divestment, then gaining many concessions from universities and getting a good foot forward to continue pressure toward the goal of full divestment. Other encampments and protests were violently and unconstitutionally repressed, and there’s not much the protestors could have done to stop that from happening. In my city, the campus protest encampments were broken up but the encampments had a lot of logistical issues and some leadership problems that may also have contributed, but maybe not, since our resident billionaire, deeply invested in the university, has literal mossad special forces guarding his compound. I’ve been to many protests where police kept a distance, some large protests where they never even showed up.
Its not accurate to say they always break up protests. I work with organizers who insist against anti-cop slogans because in their experience sometimes protesters can get further if the cops don’t feel threatened by the protests. I’m much more in the F12 ACAB camp and argue with those guys but they do make extremely good points that can be backed up with historical examples. With organization and numbers a police force can be opposed logistically and defeated, or neutralized politically. We don’t have to be doomers. Messages like this just make people who are on the fence avoid protests when they are the people we need to come and get activated.
Edit: okay, protest movements get broken up, individual protests may or may not, reading is hard
It’s not saying every individual protest. Sure not every protest got broken up but multiple protests in every peaceful movement does.
You’re right I missed that distinction between “protest” and “protest movement”. I played myself yet again, ADHD - 1 / me not writing a long screed based on a misreading - 0