From the outset, let me declare that I support all those who, in times past and present, have championed causes to alleviate the people’s plight. I also understand those who have given up the struggle for whatever reason or reasons, as I seek to awaken new energies in an effort to keep the spirits of those who have perished in the struggle alive. It seems as if a tranquilizing cloak has been placed on the ascendant spirits, but it is my hope that the following article will help to inspire the next generations of revolutionaries. I rest this claim in the will of the good spirits of the ancestors.
Let me offer some thoughts on the way forward for protests. First, it would help to study how the protesting order was assimilated into the status quo. Those who were at the front-lines were either placed in high office, some are too tired to fight, others are severely compromised and the others are six feet deep. The remaining agitators are plenty, but they are gravely disunited. They are disunited against a united system which is now more determined and equipped than ever before to break the back of any protest action even before it is announced. The system has people planted in every sector including the very protest planning groups, political organizations and parties, the civil service and private sector organizations, they are planted in action committees even outside of the homeland, and they take proactive measures to influence public opinion against any insurrection. How does one defend against this?
Secondly, for a public protest to be successful there must be the sort of organizational skills within, or at the disposal of the protesting units that can rival the system antics. Without that, the public protest is dead on arrival. What would be good, in the Dominican context, is for protest leaders to study the operations of other public protests and implement the ideas into their own efforts. This is possible even without excessive resources, but I must confess that many of the huge protests which have been waged in the contemporary era have been heavily financed by some sort of pressure lobby or interest group or groups.
Thirdly, momentum! If you want to have a successful public protest/event, you must frame it for success (and that holds for political parties who seek to win elections as well). Framing here means to place a name or tag or value on the event which will appeal to a wide cross section of the masses. For instance, if I were to arrange any form of protest against the government of Dominica today, I would not use the chant: “Skerrit Must Go!” Not because Skerrit cannot go or will not go – because he will, but because it dissects the mass appeal. Framing of the protest argument must reflect a universal humanitarian cause or causes, and time should be allotted for that call to resonate with the people. This is also a key attribute to massive turnout.
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