Passive protesting is using signs and clothing to express dissent in mundane settings . It allows you to express your message during the course of your normal routine of going to the grocery store, library, yoga class, etc.
Passive protesting allows you to attend to your daily responsibilities while expressing your dissent. The only cost is the upfront investment of time to make your clothing and signs. Do your grocery shopping. Take an exercise class. The more mundane the setting, the more conspicuous your message will be.
Lockdown-proofLockdowns can prohibit protests and gatherings but individuals are still free to go into essential businesses wearing whatever they want.
Preach to the congregation, not the choirMarches and social media groups draw like-minded people together and galvanize the movement but do not necessarily disseminate the message to the broader community.
However, bringing your message into mundane settings like the grocery store lets you reach a broad swath of the community in a peaceful and non-confrontational way.
Creativity and self-expressionIn its purest form, passive protesting is very similar to advertising. First and foremost, it is about getting peoples’ attention.
Creative placement, typography, and countless other aspects can be used not only to get peoples’ attention but also to do so in unexpected (and even humorous) ways that may cause the person to see the issue in a new light.
Finally, where creativity ends, repetitive exposure takes over. People think more favorably about ideas they are repetitively exposed to.
WHY IS PASSIVE PROTESTING NEEDED?Traditional forms of “active” protesting, like marches and gatherings, can be incredible powerful but are limited by the ability to bring large groups together at the same time. Even when achieved, it can rarely be sustained for more than a few hours.
Protesting via social media is an intriguing concept but in practice it can easily descend into toxic discourse and even be censored.
“Active” protesting is usually goal-driven. Obviously, goals are good to have, but when the momentum is principally derived from some current event (like the election cycle), then the issue is no longer (perceived) as having the same importance when the event passes and it fades from the public consciousness.
Finally, “active” protesting is almost always emotionally charged and oftentimes even confrontational. Whether it's chanting outside town hall or ranting on social media, is that an emotional state that can be truly sustained over months or years? And at what cost of your time and mental health?
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