The Demandless Chant

Sweetheart. If your protest has no demand, you are not protesting—you’re singing in public. You can chant “NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE” for six straight hours, but unless someone, somewhere, has been given a specific task with a specific timeline, there is nothing to lose by ignoring you.^{no-leveragePower does not respond to volume. It responds to risk.}

A Protest Is a Threat With Paperwork

Real protests come with terms and conditions. They say, “Pass this policy or we shut this down.” They say, “Fire this official or your offices close today.” They say, “Meet these labor demands or production stops.” Anything else is an awareness event—and baby, everyone is already aware. They just aren’t afraid.

You Need a Target and a Price

Ask three questions: Who can give you what you want? What exactly do you want? What happens if they don’t?
If you can’t answer all three, you don’t have a protest. You have a public feeling.

And feelings are valid—but feelings don’t move budgets, bosses, cops, or mayors. Power doesn’t react to sincerity; it reacts to leverage.

No One in Power Is Confused

Politicians aren’t sitting at home wringing their hands, whispering, “Oh no, they’re chanting again…” They’re thinking, “They’ll tire themselves out by five.” And they’re right. Because the protest ends when the permit expires.

If the police are managing your time, route, and noise level, you’re not a threat—you’re a parade they’re supervising.

The Moment You Make a Demand—Now It’s Real

The second you say, “We are shutting this down until ___ happens,” everything changes. Because now there’s a clock. Time becomes a weapon. Pressure stops being moral and becomes material.

If they can ignore you, they will.^{ignorePower will always choose silence over concession until silence becomes expensive.} Your job is to make ignoring you cost more than listening.

And that begins with one sentence:

“We demand ___ by ___ or we ___.”

That’s the protest. Everything else is ambiance.