What is striking about the bus boycott is not so much its passion, which is easy to relate to, as its restraint, which—at this moment, especially—is not. No outraged Facebook posts spread the news when Colvin was arrested. Local organizers bided their time, slowly planning, structuring, and casting what amounted to a work of public theatre, and then built new structures as their plans changed. The protest was expressive in the most confected sense, a masterpiece of control and logistics. It was strategic, with the tactics following. And that made all the difference in the world.
There is much to contemplate in this article that reviews a number of studies on activism. You won’t agree with all of it, but it will give you food for thought. “Is there any point to protesting?” in The New Yorker by Nathan Heller.
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