Three Techniques for Action Research Project

The social issue that I will try to affect is the GB restaurant problem. GB restaurant does not want to hire union workers. From all the techniques I have learned in my social change class, I will use three of them and try to affect the issue. I will use boycotting, protesting, and creative disruption to help the union workers win the battle.

Boycotting

Boycotting works very well to affect this issue. Since the restaurant is a business, boycotting is a way to damage the restaurant financially. I can start boycotting the restaurant, and then persuade my parents and relatives to join me. Then I can also tell friends to do the same thing.

Boycotting is such an effortless task to do. You just stop using the restaurant’s service. When creating social change, it is important to start with something easy, then progress toward more complicated actions. If I am going to tell someone to create social change, I will get more people to start if the solution is easy to start.

The workers are already telling the public to boycott the restaurant. Boycotts are effective because they induce financial pressure on the product/service being boycotted. It is free to start and free to maintain. With other methods for social change, there are risks. But boycotting is risk-free. No one can force you to eat at the restaurant. The capitalists running the restaurant can’t do anything to me for not eating there.

Protesting

Protesting is one of the most popular methods of creating social change. In almost every social change movement, there are always protests. The workers are already doing protests, but they are doing a very traditional form of protest, where people chant and create large visuals with their message. I can contribute by helping them think of more creative slogans or actions.

Right now, the protesters setup a altar with the restaurant owner’s picture on it, complete with a cardboard coffin. It is very creative already. To build on the idea, I can setup a video camera focused on the front door. Then the images will be transmitted to a television screen on the altar. So everyone that walks past the front doors will have his/her image on the screen, which looks like they are dead. The only problems are the cost of the equipment (camera, television, and diesel generator) and the possibility of people attacking the equipment. But if the equipment is safely guarded, there should not be any problem.

The protests for this situation don’t have to be large scale and all over the place. Having more people will be helpful, but make sure all of then fit on the sidewalk. The protest should stay on the same block as the restaurant. It is pointless to protest anywhere else other than in front of the restaurant. Like the anti-war protests will not be as meaningful if it was in times square and not in front of the pentagon.

Creative Disruption

When people eat at a restaurant, they want to have peace so they can enjoy the food. If all of a sudden, some random strangers start disrupting the place, then this will drive people away. Creative disruption can be very effective for this particular issue. Similar to boycotting, this method can damage the restaurant financially.

For example, I can litter the sidewalk in front of the restaurant with dim sum. This can stop people from walking toward the restaurant. However, this might cause the involvement of police. But I can just clean the dim sum up when the police came. I cannot be arrested for “accidentally” spilling food on the sidewalk. I cannot be arrested for having large amounts of dim sum outside on the street.

I can also have people just get a table inside the restaurant and sit down. When I go into a restaurant, I don't have to order anything, especially in a dim sum restaurant when the food is circulating in carts. I can just sit there and pay for tea and tips. Tea is 50 cents per percent and tip is one dollar per person. So each person contributes $1.50 and just occupies the table so other customers cannot have the table.