THE RIGHT ANGLE: How to have a "successful" evening - Opinions
Last Tuesday, President Bush delivered his sixth State of the Union Address to the entire nation, during which he addressed many pertinent issues facing America over the next year or so. It's one of the few speeches the President gives that won't put you to sleep in less than five minutes, mostly thanks to the fact that the networks like to show the reactions of the audience members during the address. I swear I saw Ted Kennedy trying to hide his flask as the cameras panned around.
The State of the Union Address is not typically a feel-good bi-partisan love fest. The division between liberals and conservatives in the government was made quite visible every time President Bush paused for a breath (or dramatic effect) and the Republicans leapt to their feet with applause. At this time, the camera would usually pan to well-known Senator Hillary Clinton who, regardless of her recent self-claimed conversion to "Moderate-ism", seemed to have a constant sneer on her face throughout the entire hour. It seems my mother was right; your face really CAN freeze like that.
After the Address, the Democratic Party sent out Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to respond to the President's speech. Those Democrats never cease to amaze me. Time and time again, they continue to find and endorse those few politicians that make George W. Bush look good. Al Gore, Howard Dean, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and now Tim Kaine? Somehow, I don't think the Republican Party has a lot to worry about in 2008. Maybe it was that "The Rock" eyebrow thing, but I honestly thought I was watching a Saturday Night Live skit throughout Kaine's entire response.
Meanwhile, around the nation, thousands of protestors were banging drums, tambourines, and various kitchen utensils in an effort to "drown out Bush's lies." The infamous anti-Bush group "World Can't Wait" (tagline: Drive Out the Bush Regime) staged several marches and demonstrations all around the country during the State of the Union Address. Greensboro was lucky enough to have one of these marches in our very own downtown area. The group, about 300 strong (mostly teenyboppers who were VERY angry that American Idol wasn't going to be on) caused what the News and Record referred to as a "deafening sound." While I do hope they were being a bit hyperbolic about the noise level, if anyone really did lose their hearing as a result of this march, please let me know. I want a piece of that lawsuit.
What was supposed to be a peaceful protest ended up resulting in the arrests of at least seven local young adults. The problem? Apparently, a plainclothes officer was taking pictures of the license plates of protestors. Several of the protestors demanded to know what the man was doing, and whether or not he was a cop. Of course, it escalated from there, with a debate still raging over who hit whom first. The police officer was assaulted, kids were maced, and everyone is pointing fingers. The fact that interested me the most was that at least two of the suspects were found to be carrying concealed weapons. Concealed weapons at a peaceful protest? What's the reasoning there? And aren't these supposed to be the people who are against violence?
I have so much fun scanning blogs in the days after events like this occur. You can find accounts from protest attendees talking about how "those pigs broke up our peaceful protest!" Nevermind that the police officer was the one who was assaulted, and that the police had actually been very reasonable about the whole event. Interestingly enough, when the protestors began their march down Elm Street, they were already in violation of state law, which requires a parade permit for such events. Rather than try to stop the march, police blocked and redirected traffic for them. If the police had wanted to simply end the march, they could have; they wouldn't have needed to start a fistfight, as the protestors are claiming.
The WCW website claims, "The evening concluded by 11:00 pm, and was hugely successful and peaceful as well as noisy. We succeeded in drowning out Bush's lies." I would think that in order for any event to be considered "successful", some good would have had to come from it. Did the WCW march succeed in making Bush resign? Not that I'm aware of. As far as I can tell, 300 people wasted their Tuesday night banging on their pots and pans. Could they really find nothing functional to do, or have the standards of "successful" just changed that drastically?
Showing posts with label protesting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protesting. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Socialists: Stuck Between Idiocy and Irrelevance -- Don't Let Them Fool You, Free Speech is Not on the ISO's Agenda
The Right Angle: Socialists: Stuck between Idiocy and Irrelevance - Opinions
It was a beautiful day in UNCG history. In perfect weather, two groups with completely opposite views were living in perfect harmony right next to each other. The College Republicans set up a pro-life table with facts about abortion and pregnancy, and the Voices for Planned Parenthood (VOX, Latin for "voice") set up a pro-choice table about ten feet away and handed out condoms.
Anyone can see the valid points that either of these groups were trying to make. The CRs were trying to convince students that fetuses are more than just a cluster of cells and should therefore have a right to live, and VOX wanted people to realize that women should have the right to choose whether or not they carry their pregnancy to full-term. Passer-bys had the choice of stopping by either of the tables or even flipping off one of the groups if they felt so inclined to do so (and apparently, some people did).
If you really can't figure out what side I was on by now, I'll give you a hint: it wasn't VOX. That doesn't mean I don't respect and understand their views. To be completely honest, in order to be as effective as possible in a situation like this, the two groups need each other in order to give students a choice.
It was a day that gave me hope for America. Here were two groups peacefully protesting each other without an argument in sight... until the socialists showed up.
Don't get me wrong here. You should all know by now that as a huge fan of the first amendment, I support anyone's right to speak their mind. But the second you try to suppress MY freedom of speech, we have a problem.
The International Socialist Organization, disturbed by the peaceful, harmonious freedom going on in front of the library, set up a table BETWEEN VOX and the CRs. Not content with simply handing out copies of "The Socialist Worker" (oh excuse me, SELLING "The Socialist Worker"... one day these kids will learn what socialism is and probably feel pretty stupid), they had to go one step further and start actually harassing the pro-life booth.
A couple latched on to me as I walked past them to bring lunch to the CRs. They screamed out angry, irrelevant questions such as, "WHY are you president of the College Republicans?" I am still perplexed by this one. I thought I was elected, but perhaps they think no Republican can hold office unless they "fix" the election.
Within moments, anti-first-amendment Socialists surrounded the pro-life table. The CRs calmly sat back and watched in amusement as the socialist argument went around in circles trying to explain itself.
I cannot stress this enough: regardless of your political affiliation, if you have any grasp of the English language whatsoever, you will win any argument with ISO. Give it a try the next time you see them around campus. I can guarantee you that the best thing they will come back at you with is, "Well, Europe does it, so we should too." They missed the history class where America declared independence from that wonderful continent.
Because they are aware that they'll never win an argument, the socialists have perfected the art of changing the subject in hopes that their opponents will become very confused and just give up. They began arguing with the CRs about women's rights, then moved to the war in Iraq, the death penalty, education, healthcare, and liberalism in public universities - all within three minutes. One socialist even tried to convince a proudly abstinent pro-lifer that she didn't know what she was missing by not having sex. Well, APPARENTLY, she's missing out on having an abortion, a vital part of any healthy sexual relationship!
For what seemed like an eternity, the CRs tried to convince the socialists that they were simply trying to educate students on abortion, not ban the use of it altogether. Many Republicans invoked the first amendment, but to no avail. The response was overwhelmingly, "All Republicans are liars, Bush stole the election from Gore and Kerry, and all conservatives are members of the KKK." You know, all the intelligent things we've come to expect from the ISO posters littering our campus.
Eventually, campus police showed up to insure that the groups respected each other's freedom of speech, although the CRs and VOX were already mature enough to handle that responsibility without police involvement. After about an hour of peace, the socialists had to leave; they were bored.
Anyone with any sense would realize that if the College Republicans' main goal for that day were to make abortion illegal, they would not have been demonstrating on the UNCG campus. The CRs tried to make it known that they were simply informing the students about abortion myths and such. Many people do not know about the consequences that may result from an abortion years later, because many pro-choicers want everyone to think that it is a perfectly normal and healthy procedure, and that is not always true.
So thumbs up to the socialists in respecting differing views from their own. Also, does anyone else find it ironic that these are some of the most prominent anti-war students on campus, and yet everything was completely peaceful until they showed up and attacked the Republicans? I can't wait until these kids grow up and realize how ridiculous they looked making these kinds of scenes. Who knows, maybe that will be the same day that they realize socialists should be the last people on earth selling their own propaganda for a buck a piece.
It was a beautiful day in UNCG history. In perfect weather, two groups with completely opposite views were living in perfect harmony right next to each other. The College Republicans set up a pro-life table with facts about abortion and pregnancy, and the Voices for Planned Parenthood (VOX, Latin for "voice") set up a pro-choice table about ten feet away and handed out condoms.
Anyone can see the valid points that either of these groups were trying to make. The CRs were trying to convince students that fetuses are more than just a cluster of cells and should therefore have a right to live, and VOX wanted people to realize that women should have the right to choose whether or not they carry their pregnancy to full-term. Passer-bys had the choice of stopping by either of the tables or even flipping off one of the groups if they felt so inclined to do so (and apparently, some people did).
If you really can't figure out what side I was on by now, I'll give you a hint: it wasn't VOX. That doesn't mean I don't respect and understand their views. To be completely honest, in order to be as effective as possible in a situation like this, the two groups need each other in order to give students a choice.
It was a day that gave me hope for America. Here were two groups peacefully protesting each other without an argument in sight... until the socialists showed up.
Don't get me wrong here. You should all know by now that as a huge fan of the first amendment, I support anyone's right to speak their mind. But the second you try to suppress MY freedom of speech, we have a problem.
The International Socialist Organization, disturbed by the peaceful, harmonious freedom going on in front of the library, set up a table BETWEEN VOX and the CRs. Not content with simply handing out copies of "The Socialist Worker" (oh excuse me, SELLING "The Socialist Worker"... one day these kids will learn what socialism is and probably feel pretty stupid), they had to go one step further and start actually harassing the pro-life booth.
A couple latched on to me as I walked past them to bring lunch to the CRs. They screamed out angry, irrelevant questions such as, "WHY are you president of the College Republicans?" I am still perplexed by this one. I thought I was elected, but perhaps they think no Republican can hold office unless they "fix" the election.
Within moments, anti-first-amendment Socialists surrounded the pro-life table. The CRs calmly sat back and watched in amusement as the socialist argument went around in circles trying to explain itself.
I cannot stress this enough: regardless of your political affiliation, if you have any grasp of the English language whatsoever, you will win any argument with ISO. Give it a try the next time you see them around campus. I can guarantee you that the best thing they will come back at you with is, "Well, Europe does it, so we should too." They missed the history class where America declared independence from that wonderful continent.
Because they are aware that they'll never win an argument, the socialists have perfected the art of changing the subject in hopes that their opponents will become very confused and just give up. They began arguing with the CRs about women's rights, then moved to the war in Iraq, the death penalty, education, healthcare, and liberalism in public universities - all within three minutes. One socialist even tried to convince a proudly abstinent pro-lifer that she didn't know what she was missing by not having sex. Well, APPARENTLY, she's missing out on having an abortion, a vital part of any healthy sexual relationship!
For what seemed like an eternity, the CRs tried to convince the socialists that they were simply trying to educate students on abortion, not ban the use of it altogether. Many Republicans invoked the first amendment, but to no avail. The response was overwhelmingly, "All Republicans are liars, Bush stole the election from Gore and Kerry, and all conservatives are members of the KKK." You know, all the intelligent things we've come to expect from the ISO posters littering our campus.
Eventually, campus police showed up to insure that the groups respected each other's freedom of speech, although the CRs and VOX were already mature enough to handle that responsibility without police involvement. After about an hour of peace, the socialists had to leave; they were bored.
Anyone with any sense would realize that if the College Republicans' main goal for that day were to make abortion illegal, they would not have been demonstrating on the UNCG campus. The CRs tried to make it known that they were simply informing the students about abortion myths and such. Many people do not know about the consequences that may result from an abortion years later, because many pro-choicers want everyone to think that it is a perfectly normal and healthy procedure, and that is not always true.
So thumbs up to the socialists in respecting differing views from their own. Also, does anyone else find it ironic that these are some of the most prominent anti-war students on campus, and yet everything was completely peaceful until they showed up and attacked the Republicans? I can't wait until these kids grow up and realize how ridiculous they looked making these kinds of scenes. Who knows, maybe that will be the same day that they realize socialists should be the last people on earth selling their own propaganda for a buck a piece.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Protesting for Dummies
THE RIGHT ANGLE: Protesting for Dummies - Opinions
Some people skip class to sleep in. Some people skip class to have fun with their friends. I, on the other hand, skip class to stand in the pouring rain for three hours and be harassed by strangers.
A sick fascination with political protesters prompted me to do a very stupid thing the other day. In an attempt to understand what drives these brave activists, I donned my Bush/Cheney visor, my Republican Woman shirt, and a huge sign on which I scrawled, "GIVE TERRORISM A CHANCE! VOTE KERRY!" and headed down to the old train station where Kerry was speaking.
Looking back on the incident, this was not one of my better ideas. I might have been safer if I had disguised myself as a sandwich and locked myself in a room with Michael Moore... wait, on second thought, I was definitely safer at the protest.
But aside from masochism, the real reason I went was to gain perspective on what it is that drives protesters to do what they do. I did, in fact, survive, and now I'm going tell you how YOU TOO can be a successful protester in these four easy steps!
1. BE FLEXIBLE. Protesting takes time, and these people obviously had lots of it. My fellow Republicans and I nervously checked our watches and lamented over how much work/school we were missing; I don't think I heard anyone else worrying over such frivolous matters. Also, as a side note, when the protester in question is a Kerry supporter, the phrase "be flexible" takes on a whole new meaning, since they have to change their positions every week or so.
2. BE LOUD. You don't necessarily have to be intelligent to be a protester. Just very, VERY loud. Pick one point that you want to get across, and stick with it. One man at the protest decided the point he wanted to get across was "Bush sucks." Every time a reporter would try to interview me or one of my fellow Bush supporters this man would shout "Bush sucks!" about three feet away from us. He would then wait about ten seconds, and repeat this intelligent argument. "Bush sucks!" It doesn't matter how ridiculous you sound, as long as you're loud. I'm sure he converted several people who were going to vote Republican this year.
3. BE OBNOXIOUS. Once again, you don't have to be intelligent. Hell, you don't even have to have a real point. I had an old woman follow me around the entire three hours I was there ranting things like, "God forgive her, for she knows not what she does." She also tried to cover up my sign with her umbrella. I would just like to say, in my defense, that under normal circumstances I am AGAINST pummeling old people with their own canes.
4. BE A BITCH. Just remember, you're the protester and you're ALWAYS right, no matter what anyone else says! Apparently, I'm a racist, a slut, a bigot, a nazi, a sexist, AND my father is a drunk (I wasn't quite sure where that one came from, I think it's the middle-aged version of "Yo' Mamma!"). Just keep an endless supply of offensive names and hurtful phrases on hand at all times, and you're good to go!
That's all there is to it! Now, pick up your signs, throw on your Kerry gear, quit your job, and don't forget to stay up to date on Kerry's ever-changing views!
Some people skip class to sleep in. Some people skip class to have fun with their friends. I, on the other hand, skip class to stand in the pouring rain for three hours and be harassed by strangers.
A sick fascination with political protesters prompted me to do a very stupid thing the other day. In an attempt to understand what drives these brave activists, I donned my Bush/Cheney visor, my Republican Woman shirt, and a huge sign on which I scrawled, "GIVE TERRORISM A CHANCE! VOTE KERRY!" and headed down to the old train station where Kerry was speaking.
Looking back on the incident, this was not one of my better ideas. I might have been safer if I had disguised myself as a sandwich and locked myself in a room with Michael Moore... wait, on second thought, I was definitely safer at the protest.
But aside from masochism, the real reason I went was to gain perspective on what it is that drives protesters to do what they do. I did, in fact, survive, and now I'm going tell you how YOU TOO can be a successful protester in these four easy steps!
1. BE FLEXIBLE. Protesting takes time, and these people obviously had lots of it. My fellow Republicans and I nervously checked our watches and lamented over how much work/school we were missing; I don't think I heard anyone else worrying over such frivolous matters. Also, as a side note, when the protester in question is a Kerry supporter, the phrase "be flexible" takes on a whole new meaning, since they have to change their positions every week or so.
2. BE LOUD. You don't necessarily have to be intelligent to be a protester. Just very, VERY loud. Pick one point that you want to get across, and stick with it. One man at the protest decided the point he wanted to get across was "Bush sucks." Every time a reporter would try to interview me or one of my fellow Bush supporters this man would shout "Bush sucks!" about three feet away from us. He would then wait about ten seconds, and repeat this intelligent argument. "Bush sucks!" It doesn't matter how ridiculous you sound, as long as you're loud. I'm sure he converted several people who were going to vote Republican this year.
3. BE OBNOXIOUS. Once again, you don't have to be intelligent. Hell, you don't even have to have a real point. I had an old woman follow me around the entire three hours I was there ranting things like, "God forgive her, for she knows not what she does." She also tried to cover up my sign with her umbrella. I would just like to say, in my defense, that under normal circumstances I am AGAINST pummeling old people with their own canes.
4. BE A BITCH. Just remember, you're the protester and you're ALWAYS right, no matter what anyone else says! Apparently, I'm a racist, a slut, a bigot, a nazi, a sexist, AND my father is a drunk (I wasn't quite sure where that one came from, I think it's the middle-aged version of "Yo' Mamma!"). Just keep an endless supply of offensive names and hurtful phrases on hand at all times, and you're good to go!
That's all there is to it! Now, pick up your signs, throw on your Kerry gear, quit your job, and don't forget to stay up to date on Kerry's ever-changing views!
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