Why Protesting is Important by Ayla Di Biasio

After the murder of George Floyd (an unarmed black man accused of a forged 20-dollar bill) by Derek Chauvin, a Minnesota police officer, protests against police brutality have started globally. However, some rioters (not protestors) have used these mostly peaceful protests as an opportunity to riot and loot businesses. These video clips of rioters vandalising and looting have been used to invalidate the movement. So here are some reasons protesting is productive.

First of all, protesting is crucial to a democracy. It is part of free speech to exercise our right of protesting. Also, in some countries, not everyone has a right to free speech, so we must exercise ours whenever we can. It allows the government to hear and see us loud and clear. It also allows people to see they’re not alone. Protesting happens in big groups so people feel less alone and more comfortable voicing their opinions.

Secondly, it opens a conversation in the government. As I said above, when we protest, politicians see us loud and clear, literally. We are in the streets on the public property voicing our opinions for everyone to hear which opens conversations and debates in government which is an effective way to make change.

Thirdly, we have seen some progress being made already. After 2 weeks of protesting in the UK the mayor of Manchester said he was reopening the case of Shukri Abdi. Abdi was a Somali Muslim refugee who was drowned by her classmates; her death was barely investigated at the time and was declared a tragic accident even though there were signs of foul play.

And lastly, if we look back at history protesting was successful. How did women get a right to vote? Protesting. Demonstrations. Remember the suffragettes? And the Stonewall riots, when Stormi De Laverie was arrested at a gay bar she resisted and threw the first punch causing 5 days of rioting at Stonewall for the LQBTQIA+ community to be treated equally. A year later at Stonewall was the first pride parade.

So overall, protesting is productive as it is crucial to democracy, exercises our right of free speech, makes people feel less alone (therefore more confident to speak up). It opens conversations and there are examples of protesting working in the past and present.

However if you do choose to go to any protests to help show your support, please be safe. Do not be violent even if provoked as it gives the movement bad media attention, stay in big groups, wear face mask and gloves, look up routes if any are planned, check the location and time beforehand and stay hydrated! I went to a protest in my town a few weeks ago and it was successfully socially distanced and peaceful. I really recommend going to protests and they are so effective as numbers show strength in movements but I can't stress enough- safety is first.