Comfortability in Protest

Seattle Pigeon

The following is an excerpt of a rough draft of an article that I am working on about creative nonviolence and hostile protest behavior:

Belligerent sloganeering and hostile speech make me feel uncomfortable. If the goal is a mass movement – a peoples’ movement – a grass roots movement, then there will need to be masses of people. But it will be hard to amass the necessary number of individuals if people feel uncomfortable in the protest environment. Instead of shouting abrasive slogans it would be more effective to demonstrate an attitude of understanding. We have the ability to create a more comfortable environment for protest. We can create a welcoming atmosphere. How can we be most effective? By having a critical mass of people in the streets. By having people who are committed and willing to participate in life-serving acts of creative nonviolence. How can we find this critical mass? We can promote the formation of a critical mass by developing a comfortable, welcoming, and fun environment. Creating a comfortable and respectful protest environment truly embraces a diversity of tactics. More people will be likely to bring their children, for example, or participate in actions of sacrifice or nonviolent physical obstruction, like roadblocks, if there is a peaceful environment. Shouting profanities, vulgarities and slurs works counter to the creation of a peaceful environment.