ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that sustained participation in protest can never be absolute, being inherently limited by the everyday commitments individuals must navigate in their personal lives. It invites us to rethink our understanding of protest disengagement as a reflection of protestors’ experiences of competing demands such as work, family, education, survival and emotional fatigue. Apartheid, it is argued, fragments time in such a way that the experiences of victims are fractured and divided among several commitments. Drawing on observations from #RhodesMustFall, it shows how activists oscillate between moments of high-intensity mobilisation and inevitable withdrawal, leading to visible ebbs in participation. This temporal imbalance where more time is spent away from protest than within it, is referred to as “the days of #RhodesMustNotFall.” Protest exists in tension with the rhythms of ordinary life and commitment must be understood as cyclical engagement shaped by life's demands. Recognising this challenges idealised notions of protest commitment and accusations of betrayal or indifference.
