Daniel Freedman: Protesting: Not just Tailgating for Hippies?

For all the technological progress made during the last century, protesting today still involves doing exactly what people did a hundred years ago: marching, chanting, and waving (mainly) handmade signs. Some take the solidarity with their forefathers even further by also sleeping in tents and showering infrequently.

For many people, their first encounter with protests is in university. There demonstrations are predominately the domain of hippies and radicals, for whom protesting is what tailgating and parties are for more sports-minded and social students.

Most students are already too busy with the work-social balance to spend time demonstrating. If something does upset them, they first turn to the multiple channels available to seek redress, such as through student officials. Protests are for the rare occasion when those other avenues fail. Radicals, on the other hand, look for any excuse to hoist the banners first.

The same is true in…