Attendee Should I Attend In Person

Answering the question: Should I Attend (insert protest here) In Person Protest?

The guidance provided in this page is not definitive but is compiled from activist organizers that have attended/organized hundreds of protests with 30+ organizations involved with a variety of rights issues.

We are going to see a ton of new groups starting to organize in 2025 we are in a historic time that is firing up lots of people. Every major times of social movement see not just one but many groups created to counter. Not all protests will be the same since like people organizational groups are different and will have different approaches, goals, and experience.

Every existing group at one time or another was new. Women's march, March for our Lives, Black Lives Matter, even the original civil rights marches and Women Suffrage. All of them started somewhere. New groups can start and hold first protests that are done well. So don't automatically let "new group" be a "don't attend". However, there are important things to look for with any group, new or old, organizing a protest.

Checking the Tone Before The Protest

You can look at the tone of the posts and messages that are out there before the event. If you are wanting to attend a peaceful protest does the current messaging say specifically they are focused on a peaceful protest. Or is the protest tone focused more on a "burn it all down" mentality. Not that peace focused ones won't go bad, or that protests not messaging that will go bad, but it at least lets you know the priorities the organizers have when it comes to public statements which will likely be reflected in their organizing style.

Organizations History

What's the history or track record of the organization. If they've held protests before now then how'd they go? If they're a new group looking at post history of organizers can help you know how the tone will be. If they've never even been to a protest before they likely won't know the logistics necessary to ensure a good and productive protest that stays within the message goal.

Many organizations are also decentralized or chaptered. Meaning that they may stand as part of a movement but they aren't organized directly by a main group. If a group is decentralized then the history of the movement as a whole may not be reflected in the protest that you are attending. Looking at the local chapter of the organization will give you a better idea of how the protest you attend will go and what the goals are.

Although looking at news articles can give you some idea how protests by the group have gone in the past they may not be a fully accurate reflection of the protest you will attend. "If It Bleeds It Leads" is an old ethos in media that is reflected often in social media and any bad news about a protest will get reported while good news is overlooked. Organizations can also grow and learn over time. With that growth you will often be able to see their statements countering any bad news you have seen published and see their actual perspective on their goals for protest.

If their was an story covering violence or destruction that may have been committed by an attendee at the protest was the organizations response

• "Yeah we f***** s*** up! If things don't change just wait till next time."
• "We are protesting because of deaths and cruelty occurring that are ignoring peoples basic humanity and rights. You can replace a broken window but you can't replace a life. We stand have always stood for peace and did not encourage those, but we stand for fighting for peoples lives first and that's our priority"
• "We do not condone violence at our protests. We welcome everyone to join in our protests as long as they support our causes while maintaining our stated goals and stance on non-violent protest"

Our stance is in favor of protests planned as peaceful as the often best option to generate change through getting the public on your side and increasing your numbers for effective change. However, which type of protest you attend is up to you. Organizations responses to past incidents can give you a heads up as to whether their planned goals match the type of protest that you want to attend

None of these considerations on history are an automatic reason not to attend a protest that aligns with your values. But if there's 10 protests and you can only go to 1 then they can help you pick which one you want to attend for the maximum effect of your expressing your voice.

If you know protest organization another thing you can do instead of shirking off a new groups is to offer to help them out and find their footing. In offering to help out it will also give you answers to the protest tone and ensure that the protest you attend is the protest that you would want to attend.

Asking the Organizers Questions

You can reach out to organizers with questions you may have about the protest and then share those answers so that others don't have to ask. Do they have a safety/de-escalation team or at least a plan? Do they have a plan at all aside from "Let's meetup here"? Plans don't have to be perfect but without plans it's a lot easier for things to go wrong.

You may also reach out to related organizations you know and see if they know anything about the tone and organization of the protest. They may have heard things through the grapevine that hadn't been stated somewhere before. They may support the protest but not have be able to co-organize it or post about it. A good organizer is going to have questions they know to ask when another activist mentions or requests their support of a protest. So they may have 3rd hand information about the groups planning, experience, safety, goals, and tone.

No Protest is Perfect

"Activist time" is a real thing. A lot of protests even from well established groups aren't going to start at the exact minute that they're scheduled. That doesn't mean we have to plan on showing up late, but it means we'll likely have some times where we can to get to know and talk to other people at the protest, bond and make potential new friends before it starts.

It also gives you a chance to scope out the crowd. If you walk into a punk rock show you can feel the vibe difference from a Coldplay concert. Protests are voluntary on your part so if you show up and the vibe feels real off to you it's always an option to decide that's not the right protest for you. Which means even if you're not 100% sure about a protest you see posted online you can still always go and then decide that maybe it's not the right fit.

Now Is The Time For Action

Right now we're in a time, in the US especially, where government is specially being weaponized to target any voices of dissent. So with any protest at all that isn't in favor of the goals of the state know there could be consequences down the line. But that isn't a reason not to attend. If anything it's a reason to be even more active. Unless you want to spend the rest of your life with no voice, and no rights NOW is the time to stand up for those rights.

Even if you don't feel comfortable attending a protest in person there are other ways you can support changing the world and environment to one that supports equal rights, protection and voice. If you decide not to act in one way we highly encourage you to act in whatever way you can. This is Thanos. We are about to get snapped. Every one of us avengers needs to be doing all of the most effective things we can to prevent half of the world from being snapped out of existence.