Is sleeping in the Wisconsin Capitol - Peaceful protesting?

My friend posted this on facebook and she is a big fan of these people protesting. Not sure if I totally agree with what they are protesting for and I'm not sure if everyone in Wisconsin agrees with them. (I don't live there)

Here is the article.
host.madison.com...

But one day it woudl seems like the capitol would have to get to work eventually and these people will need to leave.

When they do decide to clear these people out of course the state will look like the bad guy. It also could turn violent.

My question is.

Even though sleeping in the State capitol seems like a way of "peaceful protesting", is it really?

Protesting is meant to allow a collective voice to be heard. It seems you're implying that there should be "designated protesting areas" which eliminates any benefit one can obtain from protesting in manners that obstruct the day-to-day function of a city. It eliminates the purpose.

The best thing about this though, is what you said; They can obstruct the day-to-day workings of a city in a protest for whatever cause, but when the government comes to remove them, they (the government) are painted as the bad guys, thus encouraging more like-minded people to protest in retaliation. It is a good strategy.

By the way, I believe it is peaceful protesting unless the protesters initiate violent confrontations first (Eg, they fire the first shot, they throw the first molotov)

reply to post by Somehumanbeing


I see what you're saying. But it seems like at one point they will have to clear them out with force. I'm just saying that this seems to be begging for force to be used.

reply to post by mayabong


Ah I see. Will, perhaps the initial intent all along was to be provocative in that sense and in some manners yes, it could be a form of second-hand violence (I will provoke you to hit me, and then say that you assaulted me) kind of thing. But in the grand scheme of things, I do see it as quite a good strategy, perhaps not as "noble" though.

I don''t see it as peaceful protesting at all........
I find it odd that they are allowed to sleep there, seems that they are just gona keep poking until they get the reaction they are looking for. Unfortunately someone is probably gonna get hurt who didn't really think it would happen. The union is just using them as cannon fodder.

reply to post by adifferentbreed


You know nothing of the union...
truly.

What I find funny about the protesters sleeping at the capital is the disruption to their lives. I don't know about everyone else here, but I have responsibilities that would preclude me staying at the capital for a week!