(no subject)

[petermarcus]

From this story about the Seattle Coffee Tax:

Calling the protest their version of the Boston Tea Party, demonstrators marched to Green Lake, where they dumped burlap bags into the water.

They looked like coffee bags, but were filled with balloons to keep them from sinking so they could be retrieved after the protest, said Susan Majerus, who helped organize the demonstration.

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The founding fathers (not to mention a few dead civil rights leaders) are rolling in their graves. Could you imagine if Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty had thrown boxes of inflated sheep bladders with "TEA" written on the sides into Boston Harbor, then retrieved them after the protest? "Take that, King George! You have become a victim of a protest act symbolizing the depth of how out of touch you are with the true feelings of your subjects."

If you're going to protest, then protest.

Comments

[macaholic.livejournal.com]

surely you jest...they only deal in symbols...reality is beyond their understanding ... given that they don't accept reality.

[nilodlien.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I live in the area but did not participate in this.

The last protest I can recall was last St. Patrick's Day when women marched bare-breasted down 5th Avenue to protest American involvement in Iraq. Not sure what the connection was between naked breasts and Iraq, but the women certainly felt a point needed to be made.

Whether or not I participated is a tale better told over alcohol... Like green beer.

[petermarcus.livejournal.com]

So, if Seattle was protesting indecent exposure laws, they'd probably invade Canada?

[nilodlien.livejournal.com]

Invading Canada has always been part of our agenda out here.

[elsnaibs.livejournal.com]

On the bus ride down to work this morning, there was an attractive girl holding a "No Tax On Coffee" sign. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but she was wearing pants and just a bra on top.

What is it with people protesting feeling the need to be nude or partially nude? Aside from more people looking at the sign they are holding [or not, if they are staring at boobies], I really don't see the point.

[petermarcus.livejournal.com]

Just an attempt at getting attention, I guess.

Of course, I'm a nice guy, so I wouldn't mind helping out. Anything for a good cause.

[warwick.livejournal.com]

No, in my opinion, it's unlikely that they will protest. They'll just continue to "protest".

It's also my opinion that the majority of protestors today have little, if any, understanding of what they protest against.

No matter what it is.

Every time I turn on the news it seems like someone is protesting something. Instead of protesting the important stuff, people are protesting everything. I think society has become jaded about protestors.

We had at least two mass nude female protests here about the War in Iraq. I'm still not sure what the connection was supposed to be, but they certainly made a point.

Unfortunately, I don't think it was the point they were trying to make...

[petermarcus.livejournal.com]

In a sense, I think the lack of meaningful protests is a good thing. Civil rights issues, unjust wars, freedom and liberty, they all have inspired protests that have turned out violent or deadly.

No one is going to sacrifice their life for coffee taxes. If this is the state of things that must be protested these days, then things might be getting pretty good.

[petermarcus.livejournal.com]

Peaceful protest is infinitely preferable to violent protest. But, protesting any serious issue always carries the risk of violence, from Samuel Adams to Abbie Hoffman to Rosa Parks. The violence may come from the protesters (which, IMHO, makes the protesters look like thugs, e.g. the WTO riots) or the ones protested against (vice-versa, e.g. Kent State).

In my more optimistic moments, I think the shortage of protests in which the threat of violence is a real possibility shows growth as a society.

[nilodlien.livejournal.com]

More years ago than I care to count, I taught 4th grade in a portable trailer out in the Mojave Desert. Year-round school, of course. It got a bit ... balmy there in August. My air conditioning went out. Kids were getting sick and fainting. I submitted work orders for days. Finally, on day 5, I took my students, with their Social Studies books, into the office. We sat on the floor of the (air conditioned) front office, talking about Martin Luther King for about 75 minutes - by the end of which time, my air conditioning was back online.

I'm not a big one for violent protest (did not think Seattle showed herself well during the WTO riots a few winters back), but peaceful ones will always have a place in our country - in my opinion.