1984, 20 years late...

[eredien]

Oddly, this fits with the song I'm listening to.

Bush protesters were apparently escorted out of a stadium during a speech at Ohio State University. I first heard about it here, but then found other stuff, here (read all the way to the bottom of the article).

It's scary. Go and read.
Europe's looking better and better...

Save us from arrogant men/and all the causes therefore/I won't be righteous again/I'm not that sure anymore.

Comments

1984ness

[zalysluggite.livejournal.com]

I didn't read the article, but I can only imagine what they did to it to change it. Sheesh.
Europe/Canada has always looked good to me, even without having a reason.

Protesting

[theheretic.livejournal.com]

Ya know, a guy asked a question of Clinton once, in a so-called "Town Meeting" where all the questions were pre approved and written on cards and the questioners were bussed in from Democrap districts. Clinton declined to answer and the guy in question was strongarmed out, held without charge overnight and got the whole spotlight interrogation treatment by the SS. Isn't that nice? He had half a dozen of his Civl Rights abused and was denied even the legal right to sue over it, thank you ver much. Before you go blaming Shrub, remember Billy Jeff Clinton. This kind of thing goes on from BOTH sides and its ugly. Politics is ugly.

Moral of the story: the nail that sticks up gets hammered back down.

Interesting, but...

[thespooniest.livejournal.com]

Certainly, the reaction of the police was draconian and unjustified, and merits a full apology to the people involved.

But in this particular case, to be completely honest, I have no tears for the "protesters" either.

Read the first-person account that Eredien points to. What was their point? What were they protesting? We'll never know. Even they won't say. And there's a reason: there was no point. All they did in protest was turn their backs, without even saying why. That's not a protest, that's just plain rudeness. A bunch of people deciding to be rude at a big public event, and then get mad when people take offense. And worse, it's becoming more and more fashionable to do; at my own school, we had George Tenet (the director of the CIA) speak, and a few people turned their backs, though no one was taken out of the tent because of it. And I had a lot more respect for the groups outside the tent, actually holding signs, giving speeches, and bringing their point to the people (though I had no respect for the professors who had been recruiting people for this in their own classes for several months beforehand). The entire point of civil debate and protest is that they're supposed to be civil.

You want to protest? Fine. I applaud you for it. But say something. Don't hide behind your own turned back. If you have something to say and don't, that's cowardice. And if you have nothing to say, then you're just plain being rude, and have no business doing it. And what was the result of their protest? Nothing. Just more hate on their parts (read the last couple paragraphs of that post again).

As I said, I still think the police overeacted. But I have no sympathy for the so-called protesters. Not this time. Because that was no protest.