9. Organizing and Attending a Protest

BOO RINGLINGS!

As a class, we decided that instead of doing smaller project, we would work as a whole to protest the circus. I have never attended a protest before so I was very excited but did not have a clue where to begin. We were very lucky to have guest speakers throughout the semester that let us in on what to expect and how to prepare for the circus.

We formed small groups in the class to help coordinate our cause.

The following were the some of the groups

• Pace Painters
• Protesters
• Media
• Reaching out to PETA for supplies
• Creating Banners

The class before the first week of protesting I learned how to face paint and made signs to bring to the protest. We wanted to face paint as a way to draw families in. This way we could talk to parents about the important issues while there kids got some cool FREE face paint!

Signs in Spanish

Unfortunately due to weather and to the police we were not able to face paint. The first Friday I went, the police were very serious about us staying on grasses areas. This is because they claimed we were fire hazards. Yes, a fire hazard outside but we had to respect their rules if we wanted to continue protesting.

We had a lot of reactions from people both Fridays I attended. The first Friday was very busy with families and a great day to spread the message. Most people who walked by us looked at our banners and you can see were in some way affected by what they saw. Like we discussed in class, once the image is engraved in your head, it is there forever.

We did have once family tell us to find a cure for cancer instead of protesting. I argue that they are both causes worth fighting for. There was one event that really marked me the first Friday. While I am not a mother, I do not like to see children upset. One family walked by our protest and could immediately tell that the children got very upset by our pictures. Next thing I hear is a little girl crying and telling her mom "NO I DONT WANT TO GO, THEY HURT THE ANIMALS! I DONT WANT TO GO". 

To see this little girl so upset broke my heart but what the mother did broke my heart even more. The mother proceeded to give us the death stare (we all know what is is) and yell at her daughter to calm down because "WE ALREADY PAID FOR THE TICKETS AND YOU ARE GOING". Her daughter continued to say she did not want to go in but the mom did not care. I don't know about you but if my child is that visibly upset I would not subject her to the show. Forget about my ticket money, my daughters happiness and wellbeing is more important that money.

NCLC 475 class plus guests!

The following Friday was very slow...the crowd was very small. This was amazing because maybe just maybe people are realizing how awful the zoo really is. I can say that hopefully next year I am able to attend more protests since it is a very peaceful way of getting our intended message across.