resistance fatigue
n. Mental exhaustion brought on by the constant protesting of unpopular government policies.
Examples
2017
I see a few key patterns here. First, the decision to first block, and then allow, green card holders was meant to create chaos and pull out opposition; they never intended to hold it for too long. It wouldn't surprise me if the goal is to create "resistance fatigue," to get Americans to the point where they’re more likely to say "Oh, another protest? Don't you guys ever stop?" relatively quickly.
—Yonatan Zunger, “Trial Balloon for a Coup?,” Medium, January 30, 2017
2016
The bottom line is, our national and worldwide safety lies in the Electors actually doing the job they were chosen to perform. We cannot let resistance fatigue set in, not now, when we still have a few precious days left to make our voices heard. We must speak loudly and clearly, with passion and purpose.
—Roger Wolfson, “The Electors’ Responses, And Why We Must Expect Better,” The Huffington Post, December 06, 2016
2008
It’s a difficult moment: OFRANEH is under intense pressure; people are being bought off, one by one. Some activists are migrating, Alfredo explains, and others are simply tired of the struggle. Resistance fatigue has set in.
1997 (earliest)
People may show a proclivity to accept resettlement because of continued feeling of uncertainty about displacement itself and/or after developing resistance fatigue (because of state violence). Resistance fatigue and/or policy changes may split united villages into
those who want resettlement and others who would prefer to fight.
—Ranjit Dwivedi, “Why some people resist and others do not” (PDF), International Institute of Social Studies, December 01, 1997
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