What exactly is activism in the modern era?
To some degree, these strategies are still utilized today.
How exactly are they winning the hearts and minds by disrupting peoples lives?
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Yet activists who practice violence and disruption display no such sense of responsibility.
Their behavior works against their objectives and pushes people away.
Ultimately, they inconvenience and intimidate the people they want to influence.
This aggressive form of activism usually achieves the objective of grabbing attention.
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All too often, protests are hateful attacks on people because of their race, religion or nationality.
This is a form of terrorizing society and it means that activism has gone astray.
These violent and exclusionary forms of activism raise key questions that we must confront as a society.
Violent protesters are getting attention but are they winning people over?
Are they turning off more people than they are attracting?
Have we lost a sense of the difference between healthy debate and anarchy?
What does blocking access to the highway teach us about climate change?
What does burning a flag teach us about Palestinian human rights?
What does tear gas teach us about racial injustice?
In many such cases, protesters anger is understandable enough.
But what is the objective of their violent demonstrations?
If the goal is changing hearts and minds, it is doubtful that their actions are advancing the objective.
And yet, a modern roadmap still exists for peaceful and impactful activism.
For activism to be effective, it needs to influence people in decision-making roles and positions of authority.
This process sought to grab attention in the right way.
Activism has gone astray.
But it is not too late to steer it back in the direction of its true purpose.
