protest

A protest is an action intended to publicly demonstrate dissent and/or to call attention to opposition of something, usually a powerful entity such as a government, corporation, or some action or policy of one of those entities.

The public action may be violent or non-violent, organized or spontaneous, theatrical and symbolic in nature or a simple, silent assembly in some location. Protestors usually carry signs to explain their complaint, but protests can be subtler, such as the wearing of a certain color to indicate support for a cause. While this type of protest may be "silent," proper use of the term requires some unambiguously public aspect to the action.

Someone signing a petition or, in the age of the internet, "Liking" a Facebook page, may not be putting their body in jeopardy, but they are signing their name and standing up to be counted in that sense.

One of the most historically significant forms of protest is the process of passive resistance associated with Mahatma Gandhi. By refusing to obey laws, demands and commands thought unjust, and then accepting the consequences. Such protests are often answered with violence, bringing sympathy and support to the opposition on a massive scale.

Relevant Blog Posts:

Anne Hathaway joins Occupy Wall Street Protest

Protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act

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Original Technorati articles tagged “protest”

• in Music
  A Driven Voice - Interview With Singer/Songwriter Brandon Anderson
  Jason Shaw interviews extraordinary singer/songwriter Brandon Anderson
  by jasonshaw99 / on Oct 7, 2012
• in Politics
  Reddit Declares War on SOPA
  Reddit has planned a one day blackout, January 18, to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act.
  by cblaha / on Jan 12, 2012
• in Politics
  "Occupy Rose Parade" A Failure On Any Measure
  Occupy Rose Parade was unable to have TEAPAC swell their protest crowd for the wire services to write about.
  by theedje / on Jan 3, 2012

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “protest”

 

• Three new arrests in Woolwich murder probe

  
  heave-ho.org — Authority: 159
  Two men aged 28 an 24 were arrested at a home in southeast London, with police firing a Taser electric stun gun on the older suspect, and on a 21-year-old man they arrested in a street around 1.5 kilometres from the murder scene. Go here to read the rest: Three new arrests in Woolwich murder probe The post Three ...
  1 hour ago

• Activists Protest Monsanto Offices in Tokyo

  
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  Activists in Tokyo demonstrated against agricultural giant Monsanto in front of their local offices, joining 279,723 protesters in 57 other countries  around the world for  March Against Monsanto day on May 25, 2013 .  Project 99%  [ja], an anti-nuclear power and anti- Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership ...
  7 hours ago

• Millions march against GM crops

  
  The Guardian - guardian.co.uk — Authority: 986
  Organisers celebrate huge global turnout and say they will continue until Monsanto and other GM manufacturers listen Organisers say that two million people marched in protest against seed giant Monsanto in hundreds of rallies across the US and in more than 50 other countries on Saturday. "March Against Monsanto" ...
  8 hours ago

• Millions march against GM crops

  
  The Guardian - guardian.co.uk — Authority: 986
  Organisers celebrate huge global turnout and say they will continue until Monsanto and other GM manufacturers listen Organisers say that two million people marched in protest against seed giant Monsanto in hundreds of rallies across the US and in more than 50 other countries on Saturday. "March Against Monsanto" ...
  8 hours ago

• Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Blue Collar Man

  
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  Performed by Styx Give me a job, give me security Give me a chance to survive Im just a poor soul in the unemployment line My god, Im hardly alive My mother and father, my wife and my friends You see them laugh in my face But Ive got the power, and Ive got the will Im not a charity case ...
  9 hours ago

• "We are not toys. We are not going down without a fight."

  
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  Third-grader Asean Johnson schools Rahm Emmanuel on the mayors plan for Chicagos public schools. (YT) "I am nine years old and I am class president for my class at room 205 at Marcus Garvey School." On the last day of the 3-day planned demonstration protesting Mayor Rahm Emmanuels plan to close 54 Chicago ...
  10 hours ago

• March Against Monsanto Worldwide Protest Two Days After Food Label Bill Fails Senate

  
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  The worldwide March Against Monsanto took place on Saturday in 250 cities around the world. The protest was planned to draw attention to the controversy surrounding the use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) — including wildly popular Round-up Ready soybeans, corn, and cotton which are developed to be ...
  11 hours ago

• Russia: 30 arrests made at Moscow Pride

  
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  Around 30 activists from both pro and anti-LGBT factions were arrested at Moscow Pride today, reflecting growing antipathy to perceived “homosexual propaganda” across Russia. The Guardian  reports that police moved in as soon as the Pride-goers began unfurling rainbow flags and banners. They told the marchers, ...
  12 hours ago

• SlutWalk Brazil takes Brazilian cities

  
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  SlutWalk Brazil ( @MarchaVadias ) protests on the streets of Brazilian federal state capitals such as São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Florianópolis, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Belém, Rio de Janeiro and Vitória, and the Federal District, this weekend. They demand an end to violence against women and will be echoing ...
  12 hours ago

• Tunisia: FEMEN Activist Faces Possession of Pepper Spray Charge

  
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  Tunisian FEMEN activist, known by the pseudonym Amina Tyler, 19, is set to appear before a court on May 30, to face a charge of possessing pepper spray. Amina made local and international news headlines last March, when she posted topless pictures of herself on Facebook. On May 19, Amina headed to Kairouan , 184km ...
  12 hours ago

• Ukraine: LGBT activists in Kiev hold first ever gay pride march

  
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  Despite a ban by a local court, more than a hundred LGBT rights activists held the first gay pride demonstration in the capital of Kiev. The event was relatively peaceful despite the attempts by a very small number of individuals to disrupt the occasion. “This can be considered a historic day,” Elena Semyonova ...
  22 hours ago

• Indian Ruling on Vedanta Mining Plans Favours Tribal Rights

  
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  On April 18, 2013 Indias Supreme Court ruled that village councils should make the final decision as to whether controversial British company Vedanta Resources can mine for bauxite in the eastern state of Odisha. Vedanta wants to mine on land that the local Dongria Kondh people hold sacred. The controversy ...
  23 hours ago

• A Few Friday Night Links

  
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  * Tarheel Summer? Roughly 600 people gathered outside the Legislative Building in Raleigh on Monday as part of a growing wave of protests called Moral Mondays, which have now led to 153 arrests over four weeks. * DIA’s art collection could face sell-off to satisfy Detroit’s creditors. * Harvard Professors ...
  1 day ago

• 9-Year-Old Asean Johnson Fights for His Elementary School to Remain Open! (Videos)

  
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  Asean Johnson is a third grader at Marcus Garvey Elementary in Chicago and he is fighting to keep his school open during protests Monday, May 20, 2013. The public school system of America has been in constant decline for a very long time.  Large cities have had to fight for their teacher’s jobs as well as keep ...
  1 day ago

• French anti-equal marriage leader pulls out of rally for fear of violence

  
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  Leader of anti-equal marriage protests, and comedian, Frigide Barjot, has said she has decided not to attend a rally against the recently passed legislation for equal marriage, on Sunday,for fear that protests will turn violent. Frigide Barjot – real name Virginie Tellene – a born-again Catholic and reactionary ...
  1 day ago

• Argentinian football fan throws his teeth at players in disgust

  
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  IN England, fans show their  dissatisfaction by booing or throwing their season tickets at dug-outs. It is all rather quaint really. In the rest of the world, they really know how to do a protest. You may recall someone throwing a whole pig’s head at Louis Figo in Spain, but an Argentinian fan beats that with ...
  1 day ago

• Protester during Obama’s “I can’t close Guantánamo” speech: “You are commander-in-chief”

  
  AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth — Authority: 721
  "Youre a constitutional lawyer," shouted the Guantanamo protester from Code Pink. We have the video. .
  1 day ago

• Look: Thousands March Through NYC’s West Village To Protest Anti-Gay Hate Crime Wave

  
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  Thousands of metro-area New Yorkers marched through the streets of the West Village to mourn Friday’s murder of Mark Carson and to protest the recent anti-gay hate crime wave. Protestors convened at NYC’s historic 13th Street LGBT Center well-before the 5:30 PM starting time, and then marched carrying signs ...
  5 days ago

• Real Madrid says coach Jose Mourinho will leave at end of season

  
  heave-ho.org — Authority: 159
  MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid says coach Jose Mourinho will leave at end of season. Visit link: Real Madrid says coach Jose Mourinho will leave at end of season
  5 days ago

• High Noon Tomorrow: Nationwide IRS Abuse Protests!

  
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  The organizers of the Tea Party Patriots have called for a nationwide protest Tuesday against the Internal Revenue Service to challenge the government agency’s abuse of power while targeting Tea Party groups. The planned protests will take place at  IRS offices  around the country at noon. The Tea Party Patriots ...
  5 days ago

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