This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century

by Mark Engler

A third trait of active public supporters is that they persuade others. Whether they express their opinions on social media or argue with their relatives over Thanksgiving dinner, they attempt to influence the views of those around them. Finally, active supporters are the type of people who are moved to act independently to advance an issue within their social and professional spheres of influence. This might mean lawyers taking on pro bono work for a cause they believe in, musicians writing songs that celebrate protesters in the streets, teachers bringing lessons on the cause into the classroom, ministers making it the topic of their Sunday sermons, professional athletes or celebrities being spotted in T-shirts that express their beliefs, or store owners putting signs of support in their windows. Through this last type of advocacy, active supporters help move the pillars to which they are most closely tied. At the start, when an issue is still unpopular, their vocal stances will often earn them scorn from those who judge their passion to be impractical and their techniques to be misguided. The naysayers, however, overlook an important point: without impracticality, underdogs would never win.