Lara Wildenberg
The most powerful peaceful protests throughout history prove that government bills can never take away our right to demonstrate.
Recent updates to the ‘Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill’ permit police to restrict “unjustifiably noisy protests”. Critics of the new bill were concerned that such limitations conflict with the public’s right to protest and freedom of expression. Who, after all, justifies what is or isn’t “unjustifiably noisy”?
How does the bill impact protests?
A policy paper updated on 7th July defended the bill by stating that protesters in the past have used “egregious” noise “to antagonise and disrupt others from the enjoyment of their own liberties and rights”, rather than “as a method of legitimately expressing themselves”. The bill intends to prevent “serious disruption”, or protect people in the vicinity from intimidation, harassment, serious unease, alarm, or distress.
The paper also insists that “freedom of expression is a cornerstone of British democracy”. The majority of protests, it claims, should remain unaffected by these changes to the bill. The existing legislation from 1986 was no longer deemed fit for modern demonstrations, so the measurements should enable the police to better manage “highly disruptive protests.”
Unfortunately, most protests aim to be exactly that – disruptive. Yet disruption and noise aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. There are several ways to make a difference with silent, non-violent resistance.
“one form of silent protest involves participants lying down on the ground”
1. Lying down
Also known as a ‘die-in’, one form of silent protest involves participants lying down on the ground, as if they were dead. The action is not loud, but it certainly gets attention. Lying down is the epitome of passive resistance, and the vulnerability of the action shows protesters as the human beings they are.
Following the death of George Floyd on 25th May 2020, die-ins appeared across America to protest against police brutality. Participants lay on the ground for 8 minutes 46 seconds to represent the length of time it was originally thought that Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck.
On 4th June 2020, protesters held a ‘die-in’ outside Dominic Cummings’ house in response to his breach of lockdown rules. 20 participants lay on the road, while their sign read ‘Over 50,000 dead while you’re playing king of the castle.”
2. Sitting
The act of sitting down has never been more defiant than on 1st December 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white person, in an act of resistance against racial segregation in America.
Her action of staying seated single-handedly sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which gained attention from across the country to eventually bring an end to racial segregation on buses. The consequences of Parks’ symbolic sitting brought momentum to the Civil Rights Movement in the South. Since then, protesters have used ‘sit-ins’ to support disability rights, gender equality, LGBTQ rights and even to demand votes on gun safety legislation in the US House of Representatives.
3. Hugging
Or tree hugging more specifically. The first person to hug a tree in protest was Amrita Devi Bishnoi in India in 1730. The Raja of Marwar had sent men to Amrita’s village near Jodhpur in order to collect wood for a new palace. The Khejri trees, however, were sacred to the Bishnois meaning it was prohibited to cut them down. After negotiation failed, after she refused a bribe on account of her faith, Amrita held fast onto a tree, claiming she would rather give her life than see the trees cut down. The men beheaded her.
The Bishnois followed Amrita’s example to save the trees of their own and the neighbouring villages. Although hundreds of lives were lost, the Raja eventually withdrew his men and apologised for their action. Since this demonstration, tree hugging has also been used in India to protest deforestation. This protest, the Chipko movement, inspired environmental activists across the globe to use the act of a hug in protest.
4. Kneeling
Kneeling, or ‘taking the knee’, has resurfaced as a form of protest in the past couple of years to demonstrate against racism. The action originated in American football in 2016, but has spread to several sports and countries, including football in the UK. Black Lives Matter protests have also adopted the action as a means of peaceful protest.
Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, refused to stand during the national anthem. In an interview, he explained his action as a protest against police brutality and racial inequality: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” Following a conversation with a former NFL player and U.S. military veteran Nate Boyer, Kaepernick decided to kneel during ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ to show more respect for the military as he protested.
5. Wearing white (or any other colour)
American suffragettes fought for women’s rights by organising parades, marching, and wearing white. Their symbolic colours also included purple and gold, but protesters were identifiable in white in a crowd. A century after the ratification of the 19th amendment, at the 2020 State of the Union Address, female members of congress demonstrated against the gender biases in politics and economic inequality that still exist by wearing the colour.
In addition, women’s-rights activist Masih Alinejad started the White Wednesday campaign in 2017. Alinejad protested against the compulsory hijab laws in Iran by creating a Facebook page called, My Stealthy Freedom. In this group, and especially on Wednesdays, she encouraged women to remove their headscarves or wear white shawls in protest.
6. Making a human chain
Linking arm in arm with another person to form a human chain needs no noise. The action shows solidarity, patience and connects protestors with one another emotionally, as well as physically. In August 1989, two million people joined together to form a human chain of 675.5 kilometres, known as the Baltic Way. The chain traversed three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – to demonstrate each nation’s desire for independence from Soviet rule.
“Protesting is more than freedom of expression”
7. Doing nothing (boycotts)
Boycotting is the lack of action, or more specifically, the act of purposefully avoiding a person, organisation or country. The tactic was first employed against Captain Charles Boycott by the Irish nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and his Irish Land League in 1880. Boycotting might aim to inflict economic loss or simply to draw attention to objectionable behaviour.
Protesting is more than freedom of expression, it is a demonstration of one’s solidarity with a cause. Voices might create the most noise, but bodies, fashion, and boycotts can demonstrate just as loudly.
Featured image courtesy of James Eades on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
