If you’re not aware, there’s this internet meme with a dude who keeps holding up signs protesting the most ordinary yet still annoying things. He just stands there with a piece of cardboard and something short yet witty, clever and relatable written on it. Well, he’s Seth.
Bored Panda has extensively covered him in the past—specimen one, specimen two, specimen three… you get the point.
Well, there’s now a dudette with a sign—Nisarah—who has joined the ranks of dudes in protest. Like Seth, she too protests all things rather ordinary, yet a bit relatable with how annoying it can be. And these cover everything from social issues to employee irks to just flat out why the heck do people be like that? And we’re happy someone’s taking a stand.
Going off on a bit of a tangent, but protesting—despite its seemingly aggressive nature that tackles uncomfortable topics—is actually a good thing in terms of democracy.
First of all, it is protests that help folks realize that they are not alone. The majority rule might dictate a particular agenda and opinion, but it might not ideally reflect it. So, a protest is definitely a way of showing that there are many like-minded individuals out there who support something contrary to that which has been set in stone.
Protests are also good at shedding light on a problem and starting a debate. As representatives of the people, it’s ironic to think that public officials can choose to ignore issues. But bring enough protesters and then they will have to cough up a reason or two for the situation, thus furthering a conversation between the public and those in power.
Likewise, protests in electoral democracies are a way of empowering minority groups to be heard. Sure, it’s majority rule, but it’s not like the majority and minority can’t coexist, let alone have fundamental rights. Protests give a voice to minorities so that the majority rule wouldn’t overshadow them.
What keeps folks going is that protests sometimes actually lead to huge winnings. If a protest is powerful enough, the public might win.
There’s an example of this from 1990, when the UK introduced a tax that folks weren’t happy with. There were so many people out there that the government just couldn’t prosecute everyone. In the threat of chaos, the government didn’t go with the tax and so the protests subsided.
