Policing Protests

Often times when social movements become political, control and power from the state and/or government become involved. Della Porta and Diani discuss this topic in chapter 8 of their textbook. They say that states need to find some way to deal with social movements. The easiest way for states to do this is to give in to what the social movements are demanding. Yet as logic tells us, this is not always possible. One reason for that is because there is almost always a counter-movement to every movement. So if a particular social movement is fighting for a change in the state and/or government, there is usually another movement fighting hard for the opposite side. So the government may temporarily silence and please one social movement, but the counter-movement will remain demanding. Della Porta and Diani point out that this creates a constant battle for the state and for social movements.

They list three strategies that can be used to control social movements. The first one is coercive strategies. This is when the government threatens the social movements with some sort of appraisal for their actions. An example of this would be getting arrested and put in jail. As has been seen with the civil rights movement, this strategy does not always work. A determined movement will not be stopped in the face of threats. The second strategy is the persuasive strategy that attempts to persuade movements to take another channel for change, then the one they are using. The third strategy is the informative strategy which is when the government gives social movements information about a new way they could go about protesting. This could be seen as the government’s attempt to negotiate with the social movements, without the government really giving up anything. Della Porta and Diana say that sometimes the government has to be tolerant of social movements, although a lot of tolerance can equal a lot of initiative taking within social movements. They also mention how all it takes is a few uncooperative people within a movement, to mess everything up and give it a bad name. When this happens, the government can than resort to controlling it, if they so choose.

On a smaller scale, an example of this can be seen in the fight to protest the passing of Title IX at JMU. A body of students enraged at the decision to cut out numerous JMU sports, decided to come together in an effort to petition and protest the new declaration. JMU did not really have the option of giving in to the student’s request to bring them back, because counter to the movement was the rule about female/male sport ratios and many other reasons why officials in charge would not allow the school to refute their decision. So the strategy that JMU seemed to resort to was the informative strategy. They tried to inform, or educate, us students as to why exactly they did what they did. They attempted to explain and justify their actions, as a way to calm the student body down, and bring back support for JMU. In a sense, this strategy worked because the majority of the students eventually backed off, thinking there was nothing that they could really do to change Title IX. It is evident that the strategies Della Porta and Diana talked about are still used today.

Social Movements and Organizations

Social movements and organizations give life to and encourage one another in numerous ways. Della Porta and Diani talk about this phenomenon in chapter 6 of their textbook, Social Movements. They say that as for the role of organizations, they act as sources of identities for movements and often have people join because they want to be apart of that particular movement. Organizations also act as a recruiting ground for movements, because when people decide to join or support an organization, they are often later motivated to participate in the movement because they are already involved in the organization. Della Porta and Diani also say that organizations keep movements alive during down times when the movements are inactive. Looking at the organization Take Back the Night, you see examples of the interaction between organizations and social movements. TBTN attracts many women who have been attacked or assaulted sexually, and those who have been affected some how by violent sexual acts. It gives women the power to feel as though they can do something in retaliation for the injustice that was done, and to fight to prevent similar incidences from occurring again. Women and men who are involved in the TBTN organization are often motivated to join the TBTN movements such as empowerment marches, candlelight vigils, and survivor speak outs. As Della Porta and Diani say, being a member of the organization often recruits these members to join the movements, because if they see fellow members getting involved in the action, then they think they should be too.

Della Porta and Diani say that movements also influence organizations. One of the ways in which this happens, is that movements will draw attention to related organizations when they get a response from the media and public. For example, I never knew there was a group called Take Back the Night until I heard about the empowerment march on campus that took place. It got coverage in The Breeze and was seen on flyers all over the commons. This event brought much attention to the actual group that fights to end sexual abuse, violence and rape. When a movement takes place where the organization isn’t present, the important issues discussed at the movement will still be significant to the organization. At survivor speak outs for TBTN, even if not all the members from the organization are present, the issues addressed at the movement still largely affect and promote what the TBTN organization stands for as a whole. Lastly, Della Porta and Diani say that the symbols of social movements can become symbols of a particular organization. When a burning candle is advertised with an announcement of a TBTN movement, it is a symbol that can often be associated with the organization as whole.

Della Porta and Diani also talk about two general types of organizations. The first one is called mass protest organization, where the actual events are the goal of the group, a long with the desire to draw attention to particular issues. The second one is called grass roots organizations. This type is longer lasting because it believes it’s’ cause is always on going and it is more concerned with social change and recruiting people into movements. Take Back the Night would fall into the grass root category because it continually strives to bring awareness to the public and to gain more members to increase their effectiveness. TBTN is just one example of the many ways that social movements and organizations largely give life to one another.

Social Movement Networks

In Della Porta and Diani's book, Social Movements, they discuss in chapter five, social movement networks and why it is that people get involved, or pulled in to participate. They say that a big reason why people get involved in social movements is because of self-realization, or the matching of who you are with who you want to be. When people can visualize who it is that they want to become, it often makes them feel better about themselves if they get involved with an organization or movement that helps them work towards becoming who it is they are trying to be. As human beings, we are largely driven by our emotions and how we view ourselves. If there is something that makes us happy, we naturally go after that to increase our sense of self-worth and satisfaction. So if there is a movement that fights for a cause we believe in, or feel we should believe in, we are more likely to join out of a personal sense of obligation. This personal sense of obligation is usually a powerful driving force because if we do not join the network, we can easily feel guilty and feel bad about ourselves because it might appear as if we do not care about anything. So in a world where people are constantly trying to make themselves appealing to other people, being a part of a larger social movement enhances their self-worth and self-confidence because they feel as though they are doing something meaningful with their lives. This makes complete sense to me, because looking at my own life, I see how the things I am apart of, I join because it gives me a better sense of self-worth and I feel as though I am doing something important with my life. Della Porta and Diani say that social movements take advantage of this drive within people to feel worthy, and they work to make their network seem appealing and attractive to people looking to invest in a cause they believe in. Networks give people a sense of identity, and who doesn’t want to seek and understand their identity?

Diani and Della Porta say there are two types of networks that pull you into them. The first is exclusive networks. These are networks that take on a cult-like nature and are often religious. They are they only networks you are involved in because it becomes all you do. These are often extreme groups that involve brain washing and convincing people that their way is the only right way. When I think of exclusive networks, I often think of the KKK. People involved in the KKK were so set in their beliefs that black people were less human than them and undeserving of life, that they would do almost anything to keep blacks away. They convinced themselves that the violence they resorted to, and the things they would say were completed justified and right. They felt as though their beliefs against blacks were so important and worthy of defending, that they needed to join the network and devote much of their lives to fighting for this cause. It made them feel better knowing they were fighting for white supremacy, rather than sitting back and doing nothing. So the KKK got their members from like-minded people who felt a sense of personal obligation to join.

The second type of network is multi-organizational networks. These are networks that are linked to many other similar networks where the members are often involved in several. People who are involved in multi-organizational networks often switch from one to the other during latent periods within a particular movement. These types of movements also largely contribute to self-realization because people feel as though they have much importance when they are involved in several movements, fighting for several causes. In my life, I see this play out in the many religious networks I am involved in. The different networks are not partnered with one another, but they promote the same beliefs and work to glorify the same God. I am able to be apart of several different groups, and feel as though I am having more importance in my life as I come in contact with different people. Della Porta and Diani would say that this is how multi-organizational networks live and continue to grow, as people like me find their self-realization through them.