Well I think, you know, people talk about
a demonstration. Did it do what it intended to accomplish? Or protest, did it work? There's more to a protest than just the immediate
goal. There's also the affirmation that you're helping
to provide to all of the participants of that demonstration. That no, they're not weirdos. No, they're not out on a limb. Yes, there are valid reasons to think like
you think. Not just the people that are participating
in the demonstration, but people who are watching
it on the news. I think that it really does help to shift
public opinion. We did our armband wearing at the very end
of 1965. By 1969 this public sentiment had shifted
against the war. I do think that the anti-war demonstrations,
particularly the nonviolent ones. People don't want to see violent demonstrations. They're afraid of them and for good reason. But the nonviolent demonstrations really illustrate courage. They illustrate commitment, and that gets
passed along to the whole viewing audien
ce, as it were. They get a sense that there's a real thing
going on here. I know for the Civil Rights Movement it made
a big difference to see the fire hoses and the dogs sicced on these demonstrators. It gave the whole nation a sense of what's
really going on here.
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