@pants @jalefkowit disorder and protest aren’t the same thing! these protests may be mild, but they are purposefully adopting tactics that will lead to forcible removal. on the one hand that gets media attention, but on the other hand, it’s costly to protesters and doesn’t win the sympathy of less engaged bystanders. 1/

@pants @jalefkowit in today’s argumentation ACT UP came up a bunch. their protests (mostly) were targeted to institutions that could do something about their problem, and they were performative — die ins, ashes of the cremated. they attracted attention by clever dramatization rather than generalized disruption of bystanders’ lives. their free speech rights did not eclipse the issues they were trying to call attention to. 2/

@pants @jalefkowit over the last few months, activists in places like Michigan pursued a brilliant “uncommitted” campaign in Democratic primaries. no on-the-street protest, no new culture war fronts, no inward-directed free speech debate. just plain demonstration of political risk if Biden’s course does not change. for a minute, until Iran and now this, they seemed inclined to listen. 3/

@pants @jalefkowit just because people are doing something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. it certainly does not mean it’s the only or the best thing that can be done. /fin