Protesting, probably the most common way to learn about a cause. For most people, protests are usually what turn causes with a big support into causes with huge support. They help visualize the support that is behind a cause as well and strengthen the community as a whole with a common goal. Protests are a great way for a group of people to have their voice heard.
But what about the voices of people who don’t feel comfortable going out and shouting and storming the front gates of the White House? The voices of people who are just as enthusiastic as those protesting but just do not feel comfortable being the front lines. As good as protests are and as much help that they provide for society, they aren’t for everybody.
Luckily for the people who are a little protest shy, there are plenty of alternatives to having their voices heard.
For starters, you could write letters to your local paper and have what you’ve been experiencing brought to the eyes of the public. Similarly you could email your elected representatives giving them a piece of your mind, respectfully. It’s always important to remain respectful to elected officials since they’ll be more likely to take your problems seriously by being professional. Also going to public events like school or county board meetings are both very good ways to share your thinking with people closer in your community. This would be a good alternative to protesting if you’re dealing with a smaller scale problem. A problem where you’d like your voice to be heard but can’t simply start a protest because of something as small as a parking lot being painted the wrong way.
“As a writer and teacher, I personally think that while protesting can be effective, that conversation or conversation through art is better and can have a greater impact,” Christina Rosso, engagement for the common good lecturer at Cabrini, said. “There is a chaos to a lot of protests that turns me off from it, I also don’t like being in large crowds. Sitting down face-to-face with someone or in a small group and simply listening to people’s ideas is where, in my opinion, true change can occur. It’s more intimate, and allows for an actual conversation, where each side or each person has a chance to respond. Building houses for the community, or even simply learning more about organizations like Habitat for Humanity, brings awareness to this issue. It creates a conversation that has been, in my opinion, severely lacking.”
Another great way to have your voice recognized by your community is by none other than community service itself. Say you feel like homelessness in your area is going unnoticed and not enough people care. A good solution for this could be to start recruiting people for something to help fight this social justice issue. In that situation in particular a canned food drive, blanket drive or opening a soup kitchen at a nearby church or shelter would probably be the best course of action. This would get noticed by the community and is probably the best approach to passively starting a movement with a large group of people as opposed to protesting.
“Last semester for my ECG class we volunteered for Habitat for Humanity,” Alexis Goldstein, a sophomore criminology and sociology major, said. “We went to one of their ReStores and helped unload the appliances donated, old or used, like couches sinks are discounted for like 20 dollars or less. With movements like this we can call a lot of attention to problems like this in our society.”
Writing letters is a great way to have your voice heard as well. It makes you seem professional and it demands a certain attention on a personal level that can cause a lot of change. One person writing a letter is enough to cause a change in a system if you have a problem with a social justice issue. Although if you had a massive group of people writing letters to your elected officials that could certainly catch a lot of attention. Not only submitting letters to your elected officials but submitting your letters to your local press. If you want an injustice to be noticed by the public shining a light on it in the newspapers is one of the best way to do it.
“I played volleyball for a club team for several years. I played for for about 5 years, and they kicked me off when they found out I was gay. The team was not religiously affiliated, although the coaches were religious. They claimed other reasons until they pretty much admitted it.” Sarah Matoney, a sophomore psychology and criminology major, said. “I wrote a letter to them and the team explaining how I felt and the situation and how it happens everywhere. I never expected it to happen to me. I never got to put it on social media because I wanted to maintain my privacy although everyone in my life and soon enough many parents and other players in the league became aware. I began playing for another team, and crossed paths with my old team and coaches several times. The last time I pulled one of the coaches aside and gave them what I had to say two years after the incident. I told them how I felt, how I used the situation to push me forward, and how they will most likely have another girl who belongs to the LGBTQ community on their team. I told him that I prayed and hoped they would never do that again to someone else.”
There are many ways you can have your voice heard without having to lobby in D.C, you just haven’t found what works for you yet. Everyone has their own style and everyone has their own voice. Don’t let yours go unheard.
