January 27, 2006: Towards a Phenomenology of Demonstrations
"Phenomenology" is just a fancy philosophical term I am using here to consider the concrete experience of "what it's like" to be in a mass demonstration, and temporarily to suspend judgment regarding whether demonstrations are "good" or "bad," "effective" or "ineffective." The Jewish (and utopian socialist) philosopher Martin Buber once dismissed crowd behavior as dangerously conformist occasions and not conducive to critical political reflection. But then, if you read Buber closely, you realize he was observing working-class and socialist demonstrations in early twentieth-century Germany from the outside and not as a participant.
It's no doubt true that a large number of people gathered together at one time and place for a given cause can appear to bystanders to be a more-or-less homogeneous mass, worthy of being admired, feared, or simply gawked at. Yet I've always been struck by the extent to which demonstrations experienced from within, as a participant, are quite different affairs. Contrary to Buber's silly view that everyone thinks and acts in lockstep, there's always a wide variety of conversations, discussions, debates going on at any given time. Moreover, for those who are new to demonstrations, being in a crowd can be very exciting and energizing; to oldtimers, it can be rather boring, something to be endured, almost a duty to show up again.
Conformism? Hardly.
Comments
As a matter of fact, one of my best experiences was in a 2003 anti-war demonstration in San Francisco when for a good stretch there were in fact no tired slogans being chanted, just silence, periodically punctuated by an aural wave, a kind of primal roar rolling from ahead of us, through us, and behind us along Market Street.
Posted by: Ted | January 27, 2006 12:38 PM
I'm not sure if this is the kind of comment you're looking for. Thought I'd share something about my personal experience of large demonstrations in middle age. As I've gotten older I've become increasingly agoraphobic, to the point where I really very much dislike being in large crowds where you can't move around easily. So I do the march, in which you're moving; then I make one or two very fast laps around the rally site, adding my body as best as possible to the count; then I go home. I really find it uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing to be in the big crowd at the rally site.
I'm not suggesting there's anything which rally organizers can or should do about people like me. But, I would suggest to everyone participating that you should be clear with yourself about your own level of comfort. If the big crowd makes you bonkers, don't hang around being a martyr. Figure out how to contribute as best you can, then take off!
Definitely not conformism. :-)
Posted by: Mark Phillips | February 7, 2006 03:10 PM