Here’s just a few signs proudly being waved at Milwaukee’s “tea party” rally this past weekend:
There were references to slavery….
There were “birthers” and comparisons of President Obama to Adolf Hitler:
And of course there was a reference to “death panels” and “Obamacare”:
And no conservative rally would be complete without a reference to socialism:
On the other hand, it looks like their spelling was better than usual.
Good spelling does make up for falsehoods, I hear.(Smiling broadly)
Republicans are the best protestors. As a type, they dress well, can spell better than many Democrats, and generally have better manners. They have less anger,too.
Unfortunately,both Democrats and Republicans can be just as stubborn and wrong-headed. Having witnessed protests by both sides, my experience is that both sides have kooks and weirdos and both can have trouble staying on message in a protest.
At a local protest by accident 7 years ago, I overheard one of the protest arrangers comment that her group needs to stay away from another group because they did not want to be associated with them. It appears that not all protest groups are equal in their own eyes.
At the RNC Convention last year, I watched the various protest groups and thought it was more like a ‘carnival’ or circus parade than a protest. I thought they would have been helped by taking a marketing class and projecting a memorable image of their cause. Signs, motion, dress, theme. All of these could have been better.
One of the groups (there were a handful) that did have it all together were frightening. They dressed in red and black. They held long poles in a square that contained all of the protestors. They had chants, physical energy, and reminded me of (I don’t know why) a Roman army phalanx. They were scary. Their message to me was “We are a threat. We will disrupt. We are chaos. We may become uncontrolled.” While I was opposed to their message, I certainly understood what that message was.
Regardless of that one group, I don’t recall the Civil Rights protests being disorderly in the same way as today’s protests. Anybody have thoughts on that?
I laughed out loud when I read that last paragraph…
http://www.hamiltonselway.com/warhol/birmingham%20race%20riots3.jpg
http://www-tc.pbs.org/independentlens/july64/images/mag_car.jpg
http://www.blackpast.org/files/blackpast_images/detroit_race_riot_1967.jpg
Did you ctually say that today’s protests are less orderly than civil rights protests? I mean, no, its not funny what happened during the Civil Rights movement and race riots in the 50s and 60s. I’m not condoning the acts of America’s police forces during that time, however….
To say that civil rights protests weren’t as disorderly as today’s protests is absolutely ridiculous. Last weekend you have a protest between “500” (according to Renee Crawford) and 10,000 people. 1 man got arrested. 1, and from most accounts it sounds like it was because he struck someone in front of police officers. How is that more disorderly than civil rights protest that turned into all-out riots? How many 10’s of 1000’s of people were arrested during the civil rights movement?
Come on… I wasn’t even alive during the 60s, and I know the civil rights protests were mor disorderly. How can you make that statement? Seriously.
Perhaps PB meant lacking focus & disjointed; not necessarily “disorderly” nor violent.
IMHO the civil rights protests seemed very focused on rights, on Justice, and against injustice. In contrast today: many protests lack similar focus.
One reason may be the issues themselves lack focus. A right to vote, is pretty focused. The right to sit at the front of a bus is pretty focused. BUT the today’s redistributiuon of wealth, WHICH IMHO IS WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE, seems to me to lack similar focus….it’s taxes, it’s health care reform, it’s a public option, it’s wall street, it’s corporate profits, it’s I-am-my-brother’s-keeper: it’s all kinds of stuff on one side. And the other side also responds with a disjointed lack of focus: Hitler, socialism, czar’s, taxes, small government, etc…
But I have to admit that the Left seems better at focusing their people but only in campaign mode. Their message of reditribution of wealth seems pretty focused AND seems to work well but just for campaigning. However, it does not IMHO go the next step and translate to a focused policy, nor focused legislation, nor focused governing. And since their proposals seem to lack focus, it seems logical to me that the responses will also lack focus.
Sooo…what BOTH sides need is laser sharp focus on the real issues. Get out of campaign mode. And get into “governing” mode.
But I could be wrong. I often am.
Well, no, Rich, I think you are right on many of these points.
But I don’t think it is all about the issue alone but about the way that protests are organized. For example, you uncover a web site that talks about an upcoming protest against THE WAR (any war, doesn’t matter). What will happen is that PETA, Green Peace, Socialists, Democrats, TEOTWAKI nuts, Truthers,save-the-seals advocates, and climate mongers all come out with signs and they join the demonstration. If you are there you are thinking ‘WTF, why are these loony people here?” It becomes a circus rather than a protest.
That type of disorder confuses the message completely.
This did not happen at sit-ins, marches,and protests in the 1960s and that is what I mean by disorderly.
One can use the word ‘focus’ but it pre-supposes that all protestors are there for a single purpose. But I have not found that to be true.
Today’s protests are disconnected fragments of anti-government and conspiracy theory balderdash. And this applies to both conservative and liberal protests. Yes, there is a reason the protest took place but the message is incoherent at best. (Unless you think the true message is “I am tired of this ‘stuff’ and I am going to tell somebody how I feel.” And perhaps that is the truth of it.)
Perhaps today’s protests are like bumper stickers on cars.They reflect the occupant more than the topic.
Please don’t confuse the riots with the protests led by Dr. Martin Luther King.
And ‘disorderly’ is the right term to describe today’s combination protest parades. They lack order and organization.
Seriously dude, again with the cherry picking. Your post isn’t even thought provocative. It just regurgitates the same old bullshit seen on any other site. At least Jay says some interesting things about education and whatnot (unless Keith is screeching about something)
Matt, not every post here is meant to be provocative.
These sign carriers are something. You really have to love the Hitler signs. What is somewhat ironic these people (and others) who compare President Obama to Hitler are the ones who are acting Hitlerish. The only way Hitler could get the Germans to go along with him is by exploiting their fears and distrust in Jews. That is exactly what many on the right is doing in America…hoping if they scare enough people half to death those scared people will conform to their beliefs…and then do what they tell them to do. I just pray people don’t fall for all their BS and stay strong. And… staying strong doesn’t mean supporting President Obama’s policies…it’s just means that they shouldn’t let themselves get sucked into all the scare tactics and hate. We all need to be able to communicate effectively…and we all should be able to debate, discuss, and disagree without sinking to such a low level.
One positive sign was the low turn out at the rally. 🙂