Tomato:

Why is activism important?

In the past, people have studied theories, written formal letters reminding and pressurising the government of things we want them to do. Sometimes it just does not work, and we are ignored by the government. Political action or protest shakes things up. This might make the government negotiate with less ‘radical’ groups on the same issue, bypassing the protestors. That is why ‘protest’ or action is important.

 

Tips for Protest

• Prepare, Plan and research.
• Find out where you are going,
• Who the key figures are – if you have a picture of them, that’s great.
• Talk about why you are doing the action. What are your aims?
• Will you go to them?
• How will you communicate with them? By pen and paper? Or will you decide not to communicate by speech or pen and paper, and to SIGN only?
• Decide if you want to be arrested or not. Work out your personal boundaries.
• If you have not experienced a protest action before, it is a good idea to ask someone who has experienced being in an action several times before, and get them to help you. Perhaps they can join you.
• Learn about the law. Know your rights. If approached by the police, you have to be confident and know how to talk with them.
• Non-violent or peaceful action is important. Fighting and swearing will cause trouble and you may be arrested by the police. It is still possible to get arrested, but perhaps a few hours later the police will drop the charges and let you go.
• After the action, follow up letters are a good idea, explaining why you did it. Also talk about how the action may affect things in the future.
• REMEMBER that one action may not change things. The government or authority may ignore it and go on with things. If you do the action again, and again, this might unsettle the government. They hate this kind of thing!
• GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FUTURE ACTION!