Protesters

shifty_uk

shifty_uk

shifty_uk

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Anyone ever joined a protest for whichever beliefs or reasons?

I must say from the off that I generally take zero interest in anything related but over the years I've formed an outside opinion of protesters which I'm interested to hear if anyone else shares.

My stereotype of a protester is someone I would refer to as being a posh studenty type, sheltered, appearing to be very articulate, well educated perhaps but with no form of common sense or general knowledge whatsoever rambling on with zero substance to their arguments and protesting because they have nothing better to do with their time. A way to rebel against a rather privileged upbringing, perhaps?

It's all amusing. Are my observations fair/unfair? :)

edit: Take them lightly, I'm aware you get protesters from all walks of life, these are merely stereotypes I've formed.
 
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Unfair.

Students tend to have a lot of time (they choose to use it), exposure to new political opinions outside their parents views and lets remember this; are young and ideologically motivated.

There is nothing wrong with that.
 
I think of them as no-good, unemployed hippies :) Not that they should be, y'know, working, instead of wrecking stuff to 'make a point'.
 
I suppose my view is in that in general half of them are a passionate bunch that feel their voice will be heard and listened to, my cynical side says maybe they won't be.

The other side of them are the activists that are just out to attempt to place the country into anarchy, cause embarrassment to whichever rabble are in power at the time and cause as much disruption to everyday life as possible.
 
Middle class students with a scewed perspective (a result of their blanketed middle-class upbringing having sheltered them from reality). Mostly complaining because they think they should have even more handed to them on a silver platter than they already have.
 
The only protest I've ever participated in was the anti Iraq war march in London.
There was a massive cross section of society there, not just the examples already given.
 
My stereotype of a protester is someone I would refer to as being a posh studenty type, sheltered, appearing to be very articulate, well educated perhaps but with no form of common sense or general knowledge whatsoever rambling on with zero substance to their arguments and protesting because they have nothing better to do with their time. A way to rebel against a rather privileged upbringing, perhaps?
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Obviously,its hard to place all protesters in a similar bracket but you are not that far off on the matter. There is often also the feeling that the issue of protesting itself(for whatever cause) is something that a student should do, in a way similar to that of doing any kind of extra-curricular activity in order to boost their CV.
 
Two things in play here:
-The recent protests are about future education costs, the most affected people (6th formers) have been the most prevalent in these protests. There has also been a good spattering of Academics, I know all 3 trade unions representing my university were going.
-If a protest is in London (as the majority are) then you need to drop everything and go, obviously that's much easier for students.

Aside from a few people who might go along with their mates, the effort involved in protesting is usually enough that you'd only do it if you believe in the cause. Students may not have much to do with their time, but their far too lazy to waste it doing something that involves travelling the length of the country if they can't be bothered about it.
 
Protests have brought about some of the biggest changes/revolutions in history... far more than your apathetic self will ever do. Just sayin...
 
Your stereotype of protesters seems blinkered by your view of what students are. Not all students are like that and not all protesters are like that.

But this stereotype does accurately describe many of the posts/posters in some of the discussions around here:

but with no form of common sense or general knowledge whatsoever rambling on with zero substance to their arguments and protesting because they have nothing better to do with their time.
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:D
 
Students (excluding mature students) have zero life experience. This fact alone makes their opinions of little real world value. In fact they are so clueless, that most will try and argue this fact when confronted with it. Even better, protesting over losing out on a worthless degree which will cost them a fortune (which they'd only need to repay when earning enough) and waste loads of time and effort when they should just get a job is proof of the pudding! Hint: The government are doing you a favour.
 
When I was at university I took part in the NUS organised rent strike over unfair increases in halls of residence rent. We basically paid our rent money to the NUS rather than the university and as a result we got a fairer deal for ourselves. Was pretty intense for a while, got a letter from the uni telling me to pay up or get thrown off my course, fortunately the NUS forced another letter from the uni a few hours later rescinding that threat. Pretty tame by today's standards, but back then we were a much more passive bunch. Even now after significant "life experience" I'd do the same again. I applaud the current student protests (but not the violence), I think it's marvellous that these young people are prepared to stand up for themselves. Fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy etc...
 
When I was a student I went to one protest, which was against the Lib Dems joining the Tories. It was a peaceful protest and the atmosphere was very relaxed. There was even some banter between the protesters and some of the Lib Dems. I only went because my housemates and I were bored and had nothing to do.

It was an interesting experience.
 
shifty_uk said:
My stereotype of a protester is someone I would refer to as being a posh studenty type, sheltered, appearing to be very articulate, well educated perhaps but with no form of common sense or general knowledge whatsoever rambling on with zero substance to their arguments and protesting because they have nothing better to do with their time. A way to rebel against a rather privileged upbringing, perhaps?
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That's a bit of a sweeper, sorry to hear you think that way.
 
shifty_uk said:
My stereotype of a protester is someone I would refer to as being a posh studenty type, sheltered, appearing to be very articulate, well educated perhaps but with no form of common sense or general knowledge whatsoever rambling on with zero substance to their arguments and protesting because they have nothing better to do with their time.
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You've basically described politicians.
 
Anyone ever joined a protest for whichever beliefs or reasons?
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Yes, a great many. The last was Wednesday just gone. 7 more planned before the year is out. Although some are technically rallies, rather than protests.

Mainly trade unionism related.
 
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