protest versus resistance

I can't breathe
~ George Floyd

Resistance means "to take a stand against, oppose".  In physics, it is a drag force (air resistance) or opposition to the current flow (electrical resitance).

Effective resistance requires power. It doesn't just protest what is happening. The person pictured to the right, for example, is protesting but, standing in front of tanks, he is at the mercy of the guys driving them. Brave perhaps, but futile if they decide to run him over. Protest and resistance are both forms of opposition. But only resistance wins wars.

Now it could be argued that protest is powerful in that it exerts moral pressure.  This may be so, but it has to come from within the ranks.

There is no way, if men don't take a stand against the denigration of women, that women will get very far by protesting it themselves.
There is no way, if bystanders don't confront bullies, that victims will be able to stop harassment.
There is no way, if white folks don't shout louder than people of colour, that racism will ever end.
And there is no way that police brutality, without cops calling their brothers out, will be nipped in the bud.

And it has to start with me, though I get no points for this. In fact I stand to lose points by risking my privileges and advantage.* And that's part of the problem. It takes courage to oppose members of your own club, but even more when the answer to the question,"What's in it for me?" is: Nothing.

* It's like what abusive men say when they are asked to change (as one woman's rapist, while she begged him to stop, said to her): why would I ?