The Uselessness, Risk, and Extreme Danger of Physical Mass Protest As a Solution to Tyranny
“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; — but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.”
~ William Lloyd Garrison
What does it actually mean to participate in mass physical protest? What is the real use of such a collective display that is nearly always short-lived, and treated as a staged antic, instead of an everyday part of life where constantly striving to remain free is natural and right? Some or many ‘demonstrators’ tend to show up with signs, some in costume, some waving an atrocious flag as a symbol of fake ‘patriotism.’ Some are wearing masks, many laughing and enjoying the spectacle of the performance. As soon as the lights and cameras are turned off, the crowd disperses, and once again hides in the shadows of indifference and anonymity. The signs, the disguises, the hats and flags, and the crowds are at once gone, awaiting another opportunity to gain attention for a brief period, clamoring for herd recognition and crowd acceptance. This is a society steeped in make believe, in spectacle, in theatre; where people are not legitimately enraged due to totalitarian brutality, but are just seeking attention and notoriety in an effort to pretend to care about the most important aspect of life, which is their own liberty. This is of course most always just a show; a mock play begging of a master’s blessing, so as to cajole the ruling class to voluntarily lessen the severity of their tyranny; a very pathetic act of confused, cowardly, and desperate men.
It is easier to pretend to seek freedom than to actually do something of real consequence to take and sustain it. The easy way out is most always sought by the common man, especially as a collective mob, where the presumed safety of numbers is more important than any effort to gain and sustain freedom where risk is inherent. Obviously, at least concerning the masses, it is much more important to appear to b
Article from LewRockwell
