Comments on: Protesting #101

By: ginellewolfe1

ginellewolfe1 — Tue, 03 May 2016 02:15:31 +0000

After reading this, I was thinking of my own experiences at the rally. I had one specific moment of discomfort when I asked a professor to sign the petitions. He asked me a question about the minimum wage increase (you state it as #3 above) and told me that it sounds like the money would be coming out of his salary. In that moment, I questioned my role as an ally as well. I wanted to be part of the rally, but it became apparent to me (pretty quickly) that there was so much I didn’t know. I found myself unable to respond to the comment because of my lack of knowledge. It made me realize how complicated allyship is as well as the importance of having knowledge before acting

By: Jen Beck

Jen Beck — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 14:44:21 +0000

I totally agree, it was a bizarre experience. I was also really confused by the fact that there wasn’t more discussion of race in the protest, because of the fact that private prisons were a large point of contention, and the prison system is so racialized.
I don’t think discomfort is a bad thing, either. I know I was uncomfortable at first, being that it was my first protest as well. But I think getting past that discomfort will let you become a better activist in the future, if you so choose.

By: Anna Robinson

Anna Robinson — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 12:02:47 +0000

I felt similarly to you at the rally, I believe that any activism I do or rallys I go to should be a thoughtful choice and given that it was during class I did not feel that way. However, I do not think you are wrong in holding up a sign, while the million student march has intersectional elements the majority of it to me were demands from college students no matter what race. I also think that part of the march was protesting Sodexo investing in prisons and I think that is a perfect area to protest as a white ally. Sodexo is a service that we all use and therefore protesting what it invests in is not overstepping your boundaries but still targeting a very problematic aspect of mass incarceration.