I'm contemplating talking to my local organizers about this next time I see them, but I wanted to know if I'm missing something first. Most of the marches I've gone to have been well organized, but I've been having trouble making sure I know about them. Also when it's time to stop I always want to stay and chat, but they end environment is rarely conductive to that. I was wondering if I'm on the right track here.
The Purpose of Marching
The ruling class would have us believe that marches are there only to speak truth to power. While that is part of it, it is the least important part. Marching grows the movement, are physical exercise, help test organizational strategies, and more.
While it's important to walk through crowded areas, it's also good to go through business and residential areas. For some people it'd be easier to talk to someone in a large crowd who just happens to be walking near them than to some anonymous person on the internet. The average person is going to be curious, but afraid to ask and unmotivated to learn. This is why we need to give them every opportunity we can muster.
Marching tests our organizational and physical ability. People who really care about the movement want to help provide for it. Things like food, water, and first aid, need to come with the march to keep people safe. They help us to prove that we are not the problem. A well run march shows we care about our community. Long large that require most people to travel, require some logistics. Smaller local marches can help us prepare for that.
Civil disobedience often involves confrontations with the police. Police almost always follow marches because disorganized marches end in looting and or destruction of property. Frequent peaceful marches that end peacefully are hard to spin and allow people in power to get use to them. They still grow the movement though. When the time comes for civil disobedience, it might be harder for them to go after the people they've been following for an extended period of time. Those who march regularly will also be more physically fit.
The greatest power of marching is in growing and strengthening the movement. More frequent smaller local marches are going to be more effective at doing this than large marches in important places. While the big are important, they are strengthen by the smaller ones that provide an intro to the bigger ones.
High Frequency Marching
I'd like to suggest a strategy of marching for a cause, like Palestine, that will be on going for many weeks, to do the following:
- Set a weekly march schedule
- Vary the course of the march
- Limit pep rally
- End march at a comfortable place
Each of these points is explained below.
Weekly Schedule
If possible there should two of these times set per week. One on the weekend around midday, and one weekday evening. The same spot or spots should be used every week.
This makes it easy for people who may join the march midway to figure how to get more involved should they so desire. It's typically pretty easy to remember a single time rather than a whole schedule full of different times. Having a weeknight makes it easy for the person who has commits on the weekends, having a weekend allows the person who can't come on that weekday. Regularly walking a long distance will have health benefits for us as well. The consistency would also lead to the marches becoming part of the status quo, leading to the smaller that grow the movement being ignored by the ruling class and their supporters.
The course
The course that is march should be varied every week. The length of the course should vary as well. Planning routes through various as segments that can be pieced together in a few ways should make that easier. It's important to make sure as much of the area with potential allies is covered.
This will allow more people to see the marchers. It also would make it harder for unscrupulous actors to join the march. Additionally by marching through different areas, people who regularly join the marches will have a better understanding of the area they are marching through. Many people have become isolated and barely know their own neighborhood these days.
Pep Rally
This should be between fifteen minutes and half an hour. A short pep talk is fine, but the extended speeches should be done at the end of the march, not the beginning. The majority of this time should be spent telling people what is not acceptable, and who they should follow. It can also include practicing a few chants although it's fine to just say we're going to get ready to go in afew minutes.
Stopping for speeches along the march is fine, but at the start it's mostly just going to be preaching to the choir. It is important that the people who care enough to show up at the starting point know what to do if things go wrong though. Also this is most vulnerable part of a high frequency march because it is consistent. It seems to wise to limit the exposure to danger here.
End of March
The end point of the march shouldn't necessarily be the place it started. A few places that serve food should be selected as end points for the march. The closing of the march should be the time for any extended speeches and organizational housekeeping, outside of the chosen snack vendor (coffee shop, bar, restaurant, etc.). The snack vendors should be contacted before being chosen, to ensure they are allies and ready for a potential crowd.
Speeches outside the snack vendor would help anyone the march picked up understand exactly why we are out there marching. Those who manage to make it to the end of the march and through the speeches are likely the people who should be joining the movement. Stopping outside the snack vendor would allow the organizers to invite those interested inside. It can also help the snack vendor, as it will bring them more business. Supporting businesses that we agree with can help them stand up to monstrous ones.
Closing Thoughts
High frequency marching may help transform all of the spontaneous energy we have into a capable revolution. It could open the doors for many of those with no contact to us but who agree with us to join us and evolve. As it seems the main goal at this point is to grow the movement in a principled way, I would theorize that this could be a path forward. By avoiding the scrutiny of the ruling class and it's supporters, we are less likely to be destroyed by them.
Know when to fight and when to walk away. Battles that can't be won aren't worth fighting. Rest if you need it.