What exactly is a protest?

To me, a protest is action taken against an establishment that people find unfavorable. While my definition may sound a little ambiguous, it is because there are numerous types of protests that can differ enormously from each other. All protests, however, have a few things in common. The first component of a protest is the people that are involved in it. Even if it is only one person, as long as they are displeased with something, a protest becomes valid. Second, there is always something, whether it is a law, policy, or belief, which people believe is wrong or flawed. Finally, there is always some sort of action that is being done as a protest. These actions can range from standing in front of a building with signs to even things such as inaction, like not buying a certain book. Pretty much anything can be protested provided that these elements are present.

But what defines the success of a protest? While some believe that a protest is only successful if the main goal is reached, I believe that its overall success includes how much attention it garners and its size as well as the completion of its goals. This is because a protest is not always something that ends quickly. In fact, most of the major movements in history spanned years or even decades, such as civil rights and women suffrage. Therefore, the more attention a protest can garner, the more its message is spread, leading to a possibly larger following. With a larger following, the chances for a protest’s success increases exponentially. After all, most things in society are decided by majority rule, including decisions made in congress. With this in mind, I must caution that I do not believe successful protests mean the prevailing belief is right. It simply means that for whatever reasons, enough opinion was swayed in the protest’s direction.