Iranian protesters could learn from the pre-tech techniques of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Unfortunately, many modern day protests are simply exercises in misguided indignation—blow off some steam, waste a considerable amount of posterboard, and then go home and forget about the issue. For example, here’s a photo I took of a random protest that popped up across the street from my house in southeast Denver, in front of a mostly unoccupied bank office building, on an arbitrary Thursday afternoon:
"We will not leave until our undefined demands are met... eek, a raincloud! Run!"
According to their impressive waste of posterboard, the protest took place against genocide and generally supported indigenous rights and “solidarity” with Peruvians and other non-specific peoples of the Amazon River. Their only demand was a sign that said “Honk! for Indigonous [sic] Rights,” to which drivers happily obliged.
With their mission of creating confused and honking drivers accomplished, the group departed for several (if I had to guess) celebratory bong hits.
Iranian journalists have accomplished a much greater feat: they have captured the fleeting attention of the American public and spread their message through online social networks. Although the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett muffled the buzz today, countless Twitterati nonetheless have dyed their avatars green and waved the #IranElection hashtag flag in support for their fellow democratic idealists in Tehran over the last several days—myself included. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that something is amiss in Iran. But, I must admit, I’m still a little confused how doing the following has any appreciable effect on the situation:
- Bill Bixby transforms into Lou Ferrigno to his show support for Persian journalists
I’m also not exactly sure how actual tweets like this:
IranRiggedElect RT @iranbaan: Tomorrow, Friday, at 1pm people all over Iran [and outside] will be airing green baloons and make the sky GREEN! #iranelection
28 minutes ago from web
…will ever result in a tweet like in this:
Pistachio RT @delwilliams Mousavi sworn in today, Ahmadinejad rumored to replace @JimmyFallon on NBC’s Late Night #iranelection
7 minutes ago via Ron’s Imagination
Iran’s journalists and opposition leaders have proven their technological fluency and ability to spread the message of their struggle, but if Mir-Hossein Mousavi and company are ever going to shake up NBC’s talk show lineup, they must pull from the playbook of the Montgomery Improvement Association. The MIA was the organization which coordinated the triumphant Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott which led the to the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning racial segregation—the hub at the center of several supporting spokes like the NAACP, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the Woman’s Political Council, the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, numerous churches and thousands of individuals.
Here’s what Iranian protesters need to do:
1. Aim High, Shoot Low. The Montgomery bus boycott precipitated the end of segregation—their ultimate, lofty aim—but the initial demand was much more modest: a fixed dividing line on buses. By shooting for a feasible demand, Martin Luther King Jr. and the MIA gained the participation of moderate citizens who initially did not believe segregation should end.
Since the certification of election results by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamene’i, the rebellion has lost some of its luster. While uprooting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be the big goal, demanding something more realistic—like permitting journalists to oversee the upcoming ballot recount, for example—might put a new shine on the movement.
2. Keep a Code. Montgomery Improvement Association members coordinated car pools and other support measures through means of coded communication—figuratively and literally, a secret handshake so you’ll know who you can trust.
While Twitter and Facebook have allowed Iranian journalists to spread the word, these transparent communication methods run the risk of causing more harm than good—Iran’s current leadership is adept at creating propoganda and misinformation, and likely muddles the efforts of well-intentioned reporters on the web.
3. Keep it Peaceful. Montgomery boycott participants were practiced in non-violent resistance techniques. Fence-riding citizens sided their support with the MIA after months of witnessing unprovoked violence from pro-segregation protesters. In Alabama, it was the white men who burned and pillaged out of anger—and they lost the fight.
Islam is a nation founded upon morality and peaceful good will to others. While the sword may be one of their most powerful symbols, the symbol of open, embracing arms is stronger than any blade.
4. Take It to the Pulpit. Perhaps the greatest single common characteristic between the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and the 2009 Iranian election is the profound influence that religion has on both events. Montgomery was won through the pulpit ministers, through the preachers, the pastors, the parishoners, one pew at a time.
So it must be in the mosques of Tehran and beyond. The theocratic power of Iran is unstable, the Mullahs are fighting among themselves, and the time is ripe for revolution, but their victory must be won in the spiritual realm before the secular world will follow.
Talk about it: What other protest techniques should the Green Revolution adopt if they hope to succeed?
