Which protest do you feel is the most superlative?

[ColbertWatcher]

Please excuse my phrasing for the question, but I really want to use this poll question as a way to start a conversation about protests in general, not just the famous ones. I changed it from "memorable" to "superlative" to mean I would rather you use whichever superlative (memorable, important, greatest, influential, etc) you choose.

Yesterday, I posted a poll asking people to choose which group's protests was the most admirable (here).

I thought I had a pretty good mix of groups, but naturally I missed a bunch. Lucky for me, I had the old stand-by "Other" to make up for my forgetfulness/negligence, etc. (Sorry, MoveOn voters.)

Today's quasi-follow-up question asks to choose from my limited list, which individual protest was the most memorable?

Due to the sheer number that I discovered in my google/Wikip*dia "research", I am going to restrict them to ones that happened after 1900.

Thanks in advance, please kick and rec.

-----------------------------------------
NOTES

National Woman's Party's hunger strike, 1917 (http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/features_suffrage.html)

Gandhi's salt march, 1930 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Satyagraha)

San Francisco General Strike of 1934 (http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/thursday.html)

Little Rock Nine, 1957 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine)

Stonewall riots, 1969 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots)

Wounded Knee incident, 1973 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_incident)

Solidarność, 1980 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/14/newsid_2802000/2802553.stm)

Tiananmen Square, 1989 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/4/newsid_2496000/2496277.stm)

Nigerian oil strikes, 2002 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2118097.stm)

[eleny]

1. I voted T-Square

Reason being that it was televised. We had just gotten cable tv and CNN was the 24/7 news channel. I was riveted to the broadcasting. Having been raised during the whole Red Scare period, China loomed as a dangerous and secret place. This tore a whole in the curtain.

[gateley]

2. K&R - nt

[Liberal Veteran]

3. February 15, 2003 World Wide Anti-War Protest.

8 to 10 million people protesting was pretty memorable.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Thank you for adding that.

Sadly, due to space restrictions, that was one I couldn't include.

[ColbertWatcher]

5. I picked Little Rock Nine...

...because they were kids.

The federal government said schools had to be integrated and the state was fighting it.

Everybody knew each other and the kids defied it anyway.

Just to go to school.

And, I bet there were people in the older generation who said that the kids wouldn't amount to anything.

[LWolf]

6. Other:

I don't rank things like that. There is no "most" superlative anything. There are some "superlative" protests. I would include all of those on your list as part of that "some."

[ColbertWatcher]

7. Well...

...like I said in the OP, I was hoping to have a conversation about protesting.

Give a little historical prospective, talk a little about the merits of famous protests and point out the little-known ones that weren't mentioned.

The phrasing of the question is mangled because it originally read something else and I cobbled a new version with the old one.

What I meant to say was which protest was the most influential or most memorable or most important in the hopes people would explain why they felt as they did and then we all could talk.

[LWolf]

8. Memorable:

probably Wounded Knee and Tieneman, because of the violent aspects. Influential? Probably the salt march, because Gandhi, with the long struggle for independence that included the salt march, demonstrated that non-violent action can achieve change.

[ColbertWatcher]

9. Even though the NWP hunger strike preceded the salt march...

...Gandhi had already been engaged in other non-violent actions.

I'm glad the salt march is getting some love in this poll.

I was hoping the Nigerian oil strikes would get some votes, however.

Maybe if I used a better link? Meh, who knows, maybe people aren't clicking or maybe they're just picking the one they know about?

After all this isn't a scientific poll...

[LWolf]

21. Familiarity weights the response.

People can click all the links and read about all the protests, but those that they are the most familiar with are likely to carry the most weight.

I appreciated reading about one I wasn't familiar with: the Nigerian oil strikes! A first reading doesn't bring it as close as long familiarity, though. If that's true for me, it's probably true for others.

That's one of the reasons why I shy away from "best," "most," "favorite," etc..

The other is that I get students every year who ask me who my "favorites" are. I always tell them I have 90 "favorites" every year. ;)

[ColbertWatcher]

22. I didn't pick the best link for the Nigerian Oil Strikes...

...and it's still ongoing, so perhaps the best link is yet to come...

The reason I decided to include them (instead of the 2003 global protest against the war) is because one of the tactics they used was to threaten to disrobe unless their demands were met.

In their culture, to see a woman without her clothing is not to shame the woman, but the person who sees her. I don't understand it, but it made the news (somewhere) and I was impressed by their strike. They want jobs for their husbands and sons. They want the money from oil sales/trading to go to their country. They want some say in how their nation's resources are allocated.

And they were willing to do whatever it took to end the practice that prevented those few things they felt were only fair.

I thought they deserved what little attention this poll could give them.

Historically, I'd have to say my favorite protest (of all time!) has to be the Storming of the Bastille. Hell, it became a holiday!

You gotta love the French!

[defendandprotect]

10. Other . . .

because EACH is so extraordinary in the courage of the people, I don't see that
I can select one ---

And it's a wonderful reminder of our past history ---
some I wasn't familiar with - SF strike, for instance.

Very important to me is the Women's Hunger Strike --- they were quite brutal to them.
But so many of us today are benefitting from the non-violent protests and great
sacrifices these women made. It's part of history I had to learn.

Gandi's salt march -- historical - the man himself becoming a world leader -
again NON-VIOLENT threat to power. Hugely inspirational, but not a protest
I feel any personal connection with; except in great admiration -
again, it's something I learned about.

San Francisco General Strike of 1934 (http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/thursday.html )
Again --
this I wasn't familiar with -- and I quickly looked at the link but will "fav" it for
future look --


Little Rock Nine, 1957 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine )
THIS is something I feel personally connected to; though I have no personal connection
to it - only emotional. I was a young "white" girl at the time very concerned about
Segregation which I had seen on a visit to the South and came to understand as a
taboo subject -- a subject many in the North seemed ignorant of and/or ignored.
It was wonderful that people were going to do something about it . . .
but, it turned out African-Americans were really in many ways left again to deliver
themselves from Segregation. It was a cruel and brutal time -- but we had a press
that behaved as a "free press" though I understand that there were many stories and
photos that were suppressed. For anyone who ever thinks about courage and understands
their own lack/fears about it, these young people will forever be admired by me.
A few years back, there was a book written -- if I recall correctly by one of the
students. There's been at least one TV documentary or docu-"drama" ---
but the experiences these students had were life-threatening. And just think how
courageous their parents!


Stonewall riots, 1969 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots )
This is another one I didn't understand at the time -- probably didn't know about it
as it was happening. But today I can see it was a great turning point for our nation.
Again --- the minority delivering themselves to freedom. And in so doing, they free
us all. Since then, the oppression of homosexuals and the insanity of it is better
understood and soon I hope will fade away. Homosexuals have shown great courage in
revealing themselves to us and fighting for their freedom. We are enriched by their
full inclusion in our societies; we are rebalanced by it.


Wounded Knee incident, 1973 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_incident )
While there is still much to be understood about the lies and accusations of this time,
again we have an oppressed people fighting for their lives --- and the brutal response
AGAIN of our government. Could anything be clearer than the crime of genocide by our
government against the Native American? Our greatest crime; least atoned; least
amended.
AND STILL, THE CRUELTY, BRUTALITY AND STEALING BY OUR GOVERNMENT GOES ON AND ON . . .


I look at the following as taking place distant from me --
and more disconnected from me --

Solidarność, 1980 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august... )
This is one I'm not really clear on -- connected in my mind to Reagan and what I think
of as the first CIA Pope. Lots of money funneled into this one and I'm not sure I know
enough about it.

Tiananmen Square, 1989 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/4... )
THIS is immense courage of one person - alone.

Nigerian oil strikes, 2002 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2118097.stm )
Courage of women --


In looking at them now . . .
I think Little Rock Nine would have been my vote ....
because of their ages and the overwhelming power and violence they faced ---
I don't know how we could communicate how important what they did was to all of us.

With Wounded Knee, the second choice -
Stonewall the third ---

Thanks for this thought provoking thread . . .

[ColbertWatcher]

12. Thank you for your thoughtful response(s)...

...to this one and the previous related poll.

The San Francisco General Strike is a strike that is admiral in the sense that every single person in the town went on strike in support.

Every.

Single.

Person.

FSM! Can you imagine if something like that happened today!?

Please post your thoughts on it after you've had a chance to read more on it.

[flvegan]

11. Iceland. The sinking of the whalers Hvalur 5 and the Hvalur 6

http://www.nocompromise.org/issues/28sinkingwhalers.html

Not to take anything away from the fantastic examples in the OP, but to promote a "memorable" and non-famous one, here it is. Scuttled in port, no injuries.

I'll probably get flamed for it, but that's that.

[ColbertWatcher]

13. Screw the flamers.

I was hoping you'd post something I had "forgotten".

Being land-based apes, we know little and probably care less about the ocean, so it's a wonderful thing that there are people to remind us that the damn planet we live on is covered more by water than by land.

[ColbertWatcher]

14. I am starting to think that Sea Shepherds is more like...

...W.E.B. DuBois to Greenpeace's Booker T. Washington.

DuBois and Washington had debates about how African-Americans should react toward discrimination. (PBS)

Washington believed blacks should

"...accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity."

Whereas DuBois

"...advocated political action and a civil rights agenda..."

It was Washington's philosophy that Condoleeza Rice's father followed (Counterpunch) as they opposed Martin Luther King, Jr., who was influenced by DuBois.

I guess in every civil rights struggle there are going to be two basic sides: one that says to work gradually toward equality and the other that says you can't wait for someone to give up their power over someone (or something) else; you have to take it.

[flvegan]

15. Probably a fair comparison. BUT

as shown, both types of campaigns are important. Change happens slowly, and we need both the gradual side and the direct action side. They may not agree if you sit them down at the table, but it's the end result that matters. Both sides work towards that.

That said, Operation Musashi is kicking off for Sea Shepherd. It will be one to watch, I assure you.

http://www.seashepherd.org/news/media_080626_1.html

[ColbertWatcher]

16. Agreed. Both the pen and the sword are needed.

If you don't already, you should post things on this forum whenever Sea Shepherd does something.

Post in GD and in the Activist HQ (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=106)

Thank you for opening my eyes to this group.

[Selatius]

17. I think people are choosing Tiananmen Square because it generated this iconic image.

It, in one blow, symbolized the soft yearning for freedom in the face of hard, cold tyranny. It is the convergence of man, machine, and moment in one unforgettable moment in time that came to symbolize the struggle against authoritarianism.

[ColbertWatcher]

18. You're probably right.

I included links so, if people were curious, they could read about ones they weren't sure about before voting.

It is a powerful image.

[Selatius]

19. I like the San Francisco General Strike though, that's the kind of Americans we need.

I find it ironic that Republicans love to use the "Greatest Generation" to compare how "cowardly" Americans are in terms of fighting foreign wars, yet they on the other hand also attack that same generation for their simple "lack of respect" for authority figures and their willingness to critically examine what is tantamount to unregulated capitalism. They had some fight in them.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. I wish someone would make a movie about it...

...even a TV movie would be good.

I wonder if the current generation has ever been exposed to the time from the progressive era through WW2?

Some of the most inspirational events came out of that time; it would be a shame if they were ever forgotten.