tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519418903407202773.post4115499329644486365..comments2011-04-03T01:34:52.787-06:00Comments on Mormons for Peace: Is Protest Always Negative?Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02005947277425774328noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519418903407202773.post-18759974204291998472007-03-28T14:46:00.000-06:002007-03-28T14:46:00.000-06:00By the way, I really enjoy your blog and glad you'...By the way, I really enjoy your blog and glad you've picked up writing again because I appreciate your insights and empathize with your political sympathies.<BR/><BR/>When I was a brand new freshman at BYU, I remember being invited to a protest organized by some Humanities students. The protest was about the decision to remove The Kiss and other famous sculptures from the Museum of Art's Rodin exhibition. The students who protested were issued Honor Code violations. But perhaps even more significantly, I remember that President Hinckley commented subtly about the protest in his devotional address that year, stating that LDS students at the University of Utah were more well behaved than some of the BYU protesters that he had seen on the television. I read it as a sort of grandfatherly slap on the hands to those who protested.<BR/><BR/>This has lead me to feel vaguely unsettled about participating in protests myself. I think you nicely capture that same ambiguity in your blog entry. Is it appropriate for members in good standing to protest---especially, say, in light of the 12th Article of Faith? What is our civil responsibility when we feel that our leaders are acting inappropriately?<BR/><BR/>For my part, I think it's good to remember that a formal protest is not the only way to express dissatisfaction and to try to bring about change. I'm in favor of protest by through Visual Arts professor Joe Ostraff calls "occupying discursive space." He calls that the space between full compliance and complete rebellion, the space where you are still abiding by the formal rules, but are expressing your dissension. He used the example of Christ's statement in Matthew 5:39-41. If a Roman compels you to give him your coat, give him your cloak too. You have kept the "rule," but humbly expressed your dissension too. It's an interesting concept, in my opinion. But could it be seen as passive or cowardly?Alyssa Rockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17705164408001258447noreply@blogger.com