Summary: <br> What does mass-protesting accomplish? Does no arrests equate success? Why is protesting disruptive? And more! In this action packed episode of This Anthropological Life, Aneil, Adam, and Ryan talk to Jara Connell about mass protesting and the strategies behind social movements.<br> <br> <br> Who is Jara Connell?<br> Jara is a PhD candidate at Brandeis University. She focuses on race, space, and policing in Saint Louis. Jara’s Master’s thesis dealt with sex and gender politics in Ferguson. When Jara is not advocating for social change and challenging dominant political agendas she takes her cat, Booger, on walks. <br> <a href="http://thisanthrolife.com/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9KYXJhQ29ubmVsbA%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=2125">Twitter</a><br> <a href="http://thisanthrolife.com/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGlua2VkaW4uY29tL2luL2phcmEtY29ubmVsbC00OTQwNzUyYQ%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=2125">Linkedin</a><br> What Do Mass Protests Actually Do?<br> Mass Protests function as platforms to show support, motivate, create networks, and express the mass-discontent of the population. <a href="http://thisanthrolife.com/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud29tZW5zbWFyY2guY29t&feed-stats-url-post-id=2125">The Women’s March on Washington</a> and those that occurred in solidarity in other cities are examples of mass-protesting events with the purpose of showing solidarity in the face of potential threat from the state and signalling a need for change. These forms of protests tend to function as opportunities for local organizations to draw recruits to their cause, so when smaller scale events occur in the future, they can call upon those individuals without the needs of posting in public forums.<br> In the end, mass protests are events with initiative agendas. They are not meant to be the only statement of a cause, but rather a starting point for continued action. Strategies and next step actions must be considered to move beyond the initial show of solidarity and acknowledgment of a problem. <br> Tune into the Podcast for More Information on Mass Protesting!<br> Is There a Correct Way to Protest?<br> There is not one correct way to protest. Protest strategies need to be able to evolve and be flexible in order to better assess the most effective ways to produce change in different environments. However, we do need to be careful about what is being labeled <a href="http://thisanthrolife.com/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cDovL3Blb3BsZS5jb20vcG9saXRpY3Mvd29tZW5zLW1hcmNoLWluLXdhc2hpbmd0b24tbm8tYXJyZXN0Lw%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=2125">“the right way to protest”</a>.<br> Immediately following the Women’s March on Washington came information that<a href="http://thisanthrolife.com/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cDovL3RoZWhpbGwuY29tL2Jsb2dzL2Jsb2ctYnJpZWZpbmctcm9vbS9uZXdzLzMxNTUyOS13b21lbnMtbWFyY2gtb24td2FzaGluZ3Rvbi15aWVsZHMtemVyby1hcnJlc3RzLXJlcG9ydA%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=2125"> no one was arrested</a>, but no arrests does not necessarily point to an effective protest. In the case of the Women’s March on Washington, the march was planned and <a href="http://thisanthrolife.com/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbnBvc3QuY29tL25ld3MvbG9jYWwvd3AvMjAxNi8xMi8xNS90aGUtd29tZW5zLW1hcmNoLW9uLXdhc2hpbmd0b24tb2ZmaWNpYWxseS1oYXMtYS1wZXJtaXQtZm9yLWphbi0yMS8%2FdXRtX3Rlcm09LjgwNWI1MjFhZWMxMw%3D%3D&feed-stats-url-post-id=2125">permitted by the state</a>. Roads were cleared ahead of time and non-protesters were able to avoid the disruption of protest crowds and move about their day normally. So two big parts of protesting (disruption and unpredictability) were taken out of the equation and it was all cleared with the very state they were protesting against. <br> <br> To Learn More About Evaluations of the Women’s March Check Out the Links Below and Tune into the Podcast!<br> <a href="http://thisanthrolife.com/?feed-stats-url=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2NvbW1l..."></a>
