Marching cyar fix crime

Paolo Kernahan

MARCHING DOESN'T achieve anything; a common refrain from folks who, for varied reasons, pour cold water on protest marches.

My last column was a bit of a whine and a moan about the less-than-stellar turnout for the Project600 anti-crime rally. Even though the organising committee fell a bit short in the promotion department, the smattering of attendees was a mite pitiful for what the event was.

When I shared the column online some of the responses it attracted were surprising. There were people on the Facebook thread saying marching is a waste of time – specifically, it does nothing to reduce crime.

One person in particular was curiously passionate about making that point, advancing several arguments, albeit unhinged and foolish ones. I started wondering, had I encountered...the anti-protest? This character seemed to believe passionately that all forms of resistance are futile.

I had to ask, "If you believe so strongly that protesting against crime is a waste of time, then why waste your time letting others know they're wasting theirs?"

What many people don't understand is that no serious activism is performed with the expectation that a solitary expression of opposition to the status quo can trigger change. If that weren't the case the suffragette movement would have been a bake sale and Martin Luther King's dream would have been a reality within his lifetime.

Here's a point that bears repeating: what we're cursed with isn't a mere spike in violent crime. The widespread victimisation of citizens is a direct result of the confluence of two main factors – toxic sociopolitical manipulation expressed as government policy and socio-economic factors which widen the gap between the haves and have-nots, creating destabilising inequalities. These destructive forces didn't collide yesterday.

Consequently, the single-use "action plan" such as soldiers on the streets for Christmas (where are they anyway?) has no true overall impact on criminality. What it does is allow politicians to fool people into believing something is being done to bridle a menace that's far beyond the control and intellect of the government and the authorities.

Similarly, no single citizen-led action to force decisive action from this somnambulist administration can be expected to reverse the tide of the criminal onslaught.

It's ridiculous to think one overture from a nascent anti-crime group can land a blow against a scourge that has evolved over decades through the influence of the drug trade, the availability of illegal guns, and the funding of criminals through government contracts. These are the genetic markers of the "bred" supervillains now beyond the reach of the incompetent authorities and decrepit judicial system. A crime problem this complex demands a national movement, not a moment – a solitary rally. But Project600's salvo, even if muted, was only just a beginning.

Marching represents the physical manifestation of an important natural law – the vote, which is the source of all power for the politician, isn't an immutable element in the strata of society. When people put their feet to their feelings this tells the political class the vote isn't something they simply activate through election campaigning. It's an individual asset that can be used as a tool or weapon of support or censure.

Marching reminds duplicitous politicians that their fortunes rise and fall on the strength of the vote. If this weren't true political parties wouldn't spend vast amounts of donor money on public rallies – shows of public force.

People who insist marching accomplishes nothing seem not to pay attention to much of anything. Following the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, there was a slow but steady build of support for the plight of the Palestinian people. Protests against the ongoing military operation in the Gaza Strip have ranged from mass public rallies to sit-ins.

Western powers, complicit in the continuing slaughter of civilians in Gaza, maintained their support for Israel's actions. However, Canada, the UK, France, and even the US – some of whom attempted to criminalise expressions of support for the Palestinian people – are back-peddling on their unconditional support of Israel. Why? Partly because of sustained, citizen-led protests both online and in streets around the world against the unrelenting bombing of cornered civilians. This sustained outcry has reminded Western leaders of their political mortality.

Every day we see confirmation of our encroaching reality; the bizarre Courts car park "business transaction" gone wrong isn't the canary in the coalmine – the coalmine collapsed on our heads long ago. What can't be disputed is that doing nothing accomplishes nothing. "Protesting" against protesting accomplishes even less.