I am not an activist.  The closest I've ever come to being in a protest has been walking around one on my way to class or work.  I support many of the positions of the protestors that I have politely avoided.   I'm not particularly fond of the war in Iraq, I think workers should get paid a fair wage and even get insurance, and I'd like to be able to marry a man someday.  A small portion of my student loans goes to the Human Rights Campaign every month.  But, I just never felt the need or desire to express my views on these topics in the form of a poster board taped to a stick and I've never been particularly good at chanting.

I recently decided that I would give activism a try.  I will take part in the National Equality March this Sunday.  (I'm writing this before the march and you're reading it afterwards, the charms of print media.)  I would like to claim that I'm finally having my Norma Rae moment, that I've had enough and that I'm finally ready to stand on top of my figurative work table and demand my equal rights.  In reality I'm going because it's on a Sunday, I don't have a memo due, and I can walk to the march from the Law School.  It doesn't hurt at all that I'm told Lady Gaga will be there.

I already knew I probably wasn't going to be the most emphatic marcher out there on Sunday but I had resolved to give it my best.  I was ready to chant earnestly and I had been trying to think up clever things to put on my sign.  But, then I listened to an interview given by one of my favorite politicians, gay or straight, Representative Barney Frank.  On "The Michael Signorile Show," Representative Frank expressed some of the frank opinions for which he is so well known.  He believes that the National Equality March is "useless" and perhaps more damning that "Barack Obama does not need the pressure."

This was rather shocking to me as I was just contemplating sticking my big toe into the bracing waters of activism.  I'd suspected that many of these protests were ineffective and, at worst, sort of pointless.  I didn't really understand why some of my friends felt the need to rally in Daley Plaza in Chicago, Illinois when California passed Proposition Eight.  At the time, I thought it was more about venting their frustrations than it was about any substantive effort to excite change.

Frank pointed out that this protesting for the sake of protest might make people feel like they've "done their part."  Inadvertently, they may divert resources from forms of political activism and lobbying that could be more effective.  If this is the case, these protests are not merely pointless, they may actually be harmful to the goals of the movements that they represent.  By diverting individuals' time and resources toward protests, that Frank claims those in power largely ignore, well-meaning activists could be slowing down their own agendas.

Frank went on to give some advice to activists for equal rights and more generally to all those who want to effect political change.  He pointed out that one of the most successful lobbying groups in the country is the National Rifle Association.  They don't usually take to the streets when Congress does something they don't like.  They contact their representatives or senators.  They let their local representatives in Congress know that they have active constituents who care about a particular issue and that they will be held accountable for their position when it comes time to ask for votes or campaign donations.  According to Frank, this is the kind of activism that actually leads to change in Washington.  His fear is that at least some of those who march this Sunday will not follow up what he sees as a largely symbolic protest with activism that will lead to real change.

Frank's analysis makes sense if you assume, as he does, that individuals only have a fixed amount of time and resources to devote to political causes.  However, his reasoning breaks down if you hope, as I do, that an event like the National Equality March will lead a greater number of individuals to devote a larger amount of their time and resources to enacting the change that they want to see.  I will still be marching on Sunday even though I have some misgivings and next week I will be contacting my Congressional representatives to let them know that I care about equality.  I encourage any one else who has ever felt strongly enough about an issue to carry a sign and chant to also write a letter and pick up a phone.