Blocking traffic has the added benefit of annoying constituentstheyre inconvenienced, and thats partly the point. In this case, they would be inconvenienced specifically because their representative was too much of a weasel to face her or his constituents at a town hall.
Can you imagine shutting down main streettraffic in a relatively small town with a banner reading: Rep. X, why wont you speak to us? or Rep. X, why wont you protect our health insurance? or Rep. X, dont you dare take away ourSocial Security and Medicare. Its especially bad optics for a representative who hasnt been willing to face voters since Republicans took control of the government.
Another option is catching someone guerilla-style at a relatively informalevent like a bake saleor a barbeque or even at the grocery store. The key is to ask for something concrete and to have someone with a recording device as simple as a phone (and hopefully a steady hand!) to capture the exchange. Practice makes perfect. DREAM activists made national headlines in 2014 when they confronted Hillary Clinton at Tom Harkins annual steak fry.
You may not make national headlines with something that simple, but you can probably make local headlines. And thats just fine. Mr. Zeldin, why arent you holding town halls? Why wont you talk to your constituents? orMr. Coffman, can you promise me I wont lose my healthcare? If you can make it personal, all the better. Local reporters will likely want a follow up interview with you. But keep the questions relatively simple and pointed, and catch yourrepresentativeoff guard in an environment where they dont expect it, if possible. Frankly, you want them to start thinking they might be confronted by protesters anywhere andat any moment. If you get in an elected officialsheadalways wondering where protesters will pop up nextit absolutely changes the way they think and vote.
This leads me to something slightly more complicated that can make a real splash: interrupting your representative at a speech or some type of ticketed event. Something like a fundraiser isthe ultimate safe space for them and usually covered by local media, so youll have an instant audience.
In my book, Dont Tell Me To Wait: How the fight for gay rights changed American and transformed Obamas presidency, I detailed one of the most effective direct actions staged by LGBTQ activists trying to pressure President Obama to move on repealing the militarys dont ask, dont tell policy. They got six tickets to a fundraiser for then-Sen. Barbara Boxer in L.A. It couldnt have been more friendly territory for him. Obamawas also a master at handling hecklers.
But the folks with the protest group GetEQUAL planned a popcorn-style interruption, where they spread out amongst the crowd of roughly 1,000and once one heckler was silenced, another would start up. Most importantly, they felt the courage of their convictions, as many people around the country do right now. Courage and conviction count fora lot in a direct action. And smart planning.
Heres a partialexcerpt from the book:
A couple minutes into the speech, as Obama began touting Senator Boxers contributions to the state, the chanting began. President Obama, its time to repeal dont ask, dont tell, yelled Laura Kanter, who was the first to initiate the protest. The event was being streamed live by CNN, and though it was hard for viewers to hear exactly what Kanter was yelling, Obamas eyes began to wander a bit as her chant interrupted his cadence. A few moments later, he cupped his hand behind his ear for an instant to hear what all the shouting was about. Then he continued on with his speech.
After about a minute, Kanter was removed, and Dan Fotou started up. Fotou was positioned much closer to the president, so he was visible from the stage and his cries were far more audible and difficult to ignore.
Fotou ramped up as Obama told the crowd that Boxer was passionate about fighting for jobsjobs with good wages, jobs with good benefits. But Obama was starting to get distracted; he and Fotou locked eyes for a moment.
Its time to repeal dont ask, dont tell! Fotou yelled.
Obama stopped abruptly, looked straight at his detractor, then returned, We are going to do that! Fire flared in his eyes momentarily, then fell away as he pointed at Fotou, saying, Hey, hold on a second, hold on a second. We are going to do that. [...]
Just as Obama headed into the familiar territory of job loss and the economy, Zoe Nicholson picked up where Fotou left off. Obama upped his decibel, trying to push past the racket. But finally, he simply stopped, leaving Nicholson an opening to land an audible blow.
Its time for equality for all Americans! she shouted.
Obama glared at her. Im sorry, do you want to come up here? Obama said, raising his hand and waving her to the stage. []
The protesters managed to hijack Obamas speech for about eight minutes. Itwas activist gold for multiple reasons: it made national headlines, conveyed a specific message, and forced a conversation among White House aides on a topic that wasnt on their front burner at that moment. The activistslater found out that while repealing the militarys gay ban hadnt been discussed on Air Force One on the way out Los Angeles, it dominated conversation on the way back.
This of course is a more complexaction that requires a lot of planning and a support team (as stopping traffic would). Its also never popular to take on a politician in a room full of her or hissupporters, not to mention the fact that challenging Obama at an event for a Democratic senator was controversial even among activist circles. But it can also be incredibly effective. And while youre likely to be removed, you probably wont get arrested. Just dont expect to win any popularity contests with other attendees. Themain point one way or the other is that youre anguished about somethingso anguished, in fact, that if you have to do something unpopular, so be it.
Dont get me wrongtown halls are a great setting in which to reach your representative, and voters across the country have been making national headlines doing it.But if Republicans take those away, as they increasinglyseem to be doing,not to worry. You can stage a very effective protest that makes waves with less than a dozen people. It just needs to be well-planned, well-executed, and include a sharp message.
As Margaret Mead once said, Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
If people have other creative ideas for successful actions that they have seen used or even participated in, SHARE THEM BELOW! (Sorry for all capstheyre all the rage these days.)Links to news stories are encouraged.
Continue reading here:
View from the Left: Anatomy of a direct actiongetting creative when Republicans scrap town halls - Daily Kos