Like what? Yelling at their computer screens? Really, a virtual demonstration is a joke.
It appears the "activists" think so as well
source: http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2005/05/109063.shtml
(comments at bottom of page:
Thats about as dumb as the communal hunger strikes where people sit in shifts and promise not to eat for a whole 4 hours, then say how the strikes been going on for a month.
Loquacious
Questionable
I think that focusing too much on virtual activism (this seems like an oxymoron) might actually undermine serious efforts that happen in the physical world to improve our living conditions. It is questionable, to say the least, to think that taking down a web site for a couple of hours will bring about a positive social change (like stopping this bloody military machine, for example). We can use the Internet to spread information, but let's not fool ourselves to think that "virtual activism" can somehow replace real activism. I do think "virtual activism" has a few qualities though; it makes its participants feel like they are doing something without risking their own sense of comfort.
Mr. P
Hmmm...
I think you should think about what the goals of a "real protest" are. Is it to spread information? Can marches and rallys really stop a war? In the past Electronic Disturbance Theatre's actions have been on the front page of the New York Times and have created a response from the Pentagon. How often is a "real protest" that effective in getting the word out and forcing the machine to respond?
reader
This is seriously one of the lamest things I've ever seen. I think it's really telling that the right wing nut jobs can get people to go sit out on the border all night long, and the counter on the left to that is a frigin "virtual" sit in.