The art of the protest -- Point of View

Protest is indeed an art form, and like most art, some people don't appreciate it.

We have seen such protests in several forms, recently, and each time, people disapproved.

On June 3, Senate page Brigette DePape interrupted Gov. Gen. David Johnston as he read the speech from the throne by holding up a "Stop Harper" sign to protest the new Conservative government's policies. As a Canadian Press story observed, "a stunned room full of dignitaries and invited guests stared in mute astonishment."

On April 21, Emily Lavender, of People of the Ethical Treatment of Animals, stood downtown Sudbury on a chilly day wearing only a thong, strategically placed Band-Aids on her breasts, and body paint in the image of the Canadian flag to protest the annual seal hunt in Newfoundland and Labrador.

And earlier this month, pro-life protesters, some with the Show The Truth movement, stood outside Sudbury Regional Hospital holding up huge grotesque photographs of aborted fetuses.

All these protest drew scorn. DePape's move was derided as inappropriate, with some commentators even describing her a "silly little girl."

Lavender's presence distracted passersby in a very different manner, but some took the time to chastise her for her position on the seal hunt and question the manner in which she chose to express herself. (In fairness to Lavender, the law did not require the Band-Aids.)

And the graphic nature of the abortion photos horrified some, especially since youngsters in passing vehicles were bound to see them.

But protests are meant to disrupt. Those seeking to make their case are not buskers, hoping people will make eye contact as they pass by, and perhaps even toss then a coin. They are meant to shake us out of our daily norms.

By their very inappropriateness, the actions of DePape, Lavender and the pro-lifers were appropriate.

DePape's protest was hardly the epitome of disrespectfulness in a chamber that once saw senators blow kazoos and read lengthy passages from the Bible to delay passage of the GST bill. Lavender was gracious in her presentation, in contrast with the perceived violence of the seal hunt. And the abortion protests chose to present offensive photographs to demonstrate what they feel is an offensive practice. Passersby were not forced to engage them.

A reporter at The Sudbury Star has a sign on her desk that says, "well-behaved women rarely make history.

Read-a-Long with Unputdownables – A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher

Ulrich’s history is an intimate and densely imagined portrait of the industrious and reticent Martha Ballard, and provides a vivid examination of ordinary life in the early American republic, including the role of women in the household and local market economy, and the nature of marriage and sexual relations. Each chapter in A Midwife’s Tale represents one aspect of the life of a woman in the late 18th Century. The overriding theme is the nature of women’s work at that time, in the context and community. Supporting documents construct Ulrich’s interpretation of terse and circumspect diary entries, dealing with medical practice and the prevalence of violence and crime.