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Protesting 101
Author: BobR    Date: 2013-10-14 10:50:58

Protesting one's own government has a long and noble history, especially in this country, leading back to our very inception. It isn't that hard to do. You just need some posterboard, a magic marker, and enough gumption to stand on a street corner. Protesting effectively, however, takes a little thought and creativity. You have to decide what is the end goal of your protest and how to achieve that via your actions. Some basic points:

  1. Be clear about what is wrong and how to make it right
  2. Direct your protest so that those who need to see it do
  3. Don't piss off potential allies

This past weekend we had a couple clear examples from the right-wing about how NOT to protest. The first one started on Friday, and continued through on Saturday. I am of course talking about the DC Beltway Trucker Protest:
Police authorities in Maryland and Virginia reported no major incidents Friday as a result of the much-talked about truckers protest around the Beltway. Drivers of tractor trailers had said they were going to drive slowly to block off parts of the Beltway to protest excessive government intrusion.

There were police reports of about 30 tractor trailers with American flags and signs for their protest — “Truckers Ride for the Constitution” — driving at the same speed as the rest of traffic on the Beltway in Friday morning’s rush hour. But by mid-day the truckers appeared to have broken into smaller groups amid already-heavy volumes of traffic and rain showers on a holiday weekend.
[...]
Given there are roughly 200,000 to 250,000 vehicles daily on the Beltway — with roughly 10 percent of them being tractor trailers, the protestor group was going to have to do a lot to stand out, according to David Buck, a spokesman for the Maryland State Highway Administration.

This brainless ill-conceived protest violated all 3 of those rules. It was never really clear what they wanted. There was some vague complaint about government intrusion, although how that related to truck drivers was not at all clear. I had read somewhere that they wanted more pay. Forming a union would likely give them the leverage to make that more attainable, but we all know what Republicans think of unions. They also seemed unaware that the beltway is miles from the Capitol Building and White House, and none of the occupants would likely be anywhere near it on a typical day. They would have been better off doing laps around the Capitol Building.

They were also likely irritating normal people who were just trying to get to work and already have enough of a headache every day on the crowded beltway. Even those who may totally agree with whatever it is your trying to accomplish are going to be lost to you if you make them even later to work. Car drivers are already wary of over-worked and under-rested drivers in huge 18-wheelers speeding along at 60MPH just a couple feet away. This is bad publicity for truckers in general.

The other bad protest this weekend was a bit of performance art by hypocritical camera slut Sarah Palin. She and Ted Cruz used WWII vets as props for their protest of the effects of the government shutdown that they've supported (and in Cruz's case instigated). Again - more stupidity:

  • They shut down the government, then protest that the government is shut down
  • They demand respect for the vets, AND claim to be "the party of Lincoln" while carrying the flag of traitors to the country (the confederate flag)
  • They demand President Obama be impeached (even though that requires that he actually commit a crime) while committing the crime of trespassing barriers and even stealing them
  • They claim to respect the democratic process, yet are unhappy that the majority of Americans voted against their politics
  • They demand law and order, yet assault the police:


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



FYI - those police are currently not collecting a paycheck because of the shutdown, that these people created. It's mind-boggling,

This "protest" is not going to effect the change they want. This is not going to persuade anyone to be sympathetic to their cause. MLK Jr. understood that non-violence was the only way to gain sympathy. By making the other side look brutal and inhumane, it made them look all the more human. The people that were inconvenienced by their sit-ins were the ones propagating the policies they wanted changed.

Instead, these idiots end up looking like sore losers, irritating everyone regardless of political position, and making lots of angry noise without clearly articulating anything that sounds positive. It all comes off as unfocused hate, and when it's a group of people it looks like an angry mob.

Nobody likes an angry mob. People avoid them. Thus - it's a poor way to protest. That's just Protesting 101.
 

97 comments (Latest Comment: 10/15/2013 02:36:41 by Will in Chicago)
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Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 11:38:39
Guess who else showed up to protest the Government shutdown?

Good morning.

Comment by trojanrabbit on 10/14/2013 12:06:28
Quote by Raine:
Guess who else showed up to protest the Government shutdown?

Good morning.


Of course she was there to ask Rafael Cruz for proof he's a US Citizen. Right?

Morning.
Yeah I know that much coffee is bad for you. Until the next study that says it isn't.

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 12:34:10
This is bad.


U.S. fiscal failure warrants a de-Americanized world
By Xinhua writer Liu Chang


Comment by trojanrabbit on 10/14/2013 12:45:06
Quote by Raine:
This is bad.


U.S. fiscal failure warrants a de-Americanized world
By Xinhua writer Liu Chang

But not unexpected.
We can't control a bunch of crazed fanatics who are cheering to burn everything down. The civilized world needs to save itself however it can. Which it can't really, but at least Michelle Bachmann will get her under $2/gal gas.

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 12:50:40
BTW -- that was a GREAT win yesterday for the Pats.

However, this was even better!

Unicorns! Show Ponies! Where's the Beef!


Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 13:12:37
Morning

You have no idea how pissed I am about that little publicity stunt of Palin and Cruz. My Grandpa (a WWII vet) helped work on that memorial and they treated it in that manner! They completely disrespected him and the others who dedicated time to create that memorial.

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 13:16:49
Quote by wickedpam:
Morning

You have no idea how pissed I am about that little publicity stunt of Palin and Cruz. My Grandpa (a WWII vet) helped work on that memorial and they treated it in that manner! They completely disrespected him and the others who dedicated time to create that memorial.


I was just agog at what happened yesterday. Imagine for a moment -- just one moment if that was US under the previous administration. Imagine for one minute of that Happened in August on the 50th anniversary of the MLK march.

I was disgusted.


Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 13:26:08
Three Americans win the Nobel prize for Economics. Surprisingly, Paul Ryan is not one of them....

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 13:29:00
Rocky Mountain Mike and crew are simply brilliant.

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 13:37:22
Oh this is rich...
EBT benefit card glitch sparks Walmart shopping sprees in Louisiana Now one can say that they should have been more responsible... the people with the EBT cards... And I suspect that whatever they overspent will be credited against them next month, Here's the part that pissed me off:

Walmart workers phoned their corporate headquarters to ask how they should handle all the shoppers with unlimited, government-funded spending limits, and were told to keep the registers ringing.


Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 13:40:19
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Morning

You have no idea how pissed I am about that little publicity stunt of Palin and Cruz. My Grandpa (a WWII vet) helped work on that memorial and they treated it in that manner! They completely disrespected him and the others who dedicated time to create that memorial.


I was just agog at what happened yesterday. Imagine for a moment -- just one moment if that was US under the previous administration. Imagine for one minute of that Happened in August on the 50th anniversary of the MLK march.

I was disgusted.



He'd be totally pissed too, and he leaned more conservative. Doing anything like they did was just completely disrespectful.

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 13:44:21
The SUN IS OUT!

Praise be the sun gods!

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 13:53:36
Jim:

Meet the press during WW2: Germany invaded Poland, we invaded Normandy. Both sides do it!

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 14:00:17
I hope Herr Mondo returns today.


Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 14:09:00
well that'll wake you up on a Monday

Comment by TriSec on 10/14/2013 14:12:48
Hi all.

I did trade some messages with Mondo over the weekend.

He is not dead; he's merely resting.

His plumage is also quite remarkable.



Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 14:13:51
Quote by TriSec:
Hi all.

I did trade some messages with Mondo over the weekend.

He is not dead; he's merely resting.

His plumage is also quite remarkable.

Well deserved rest, indeed.


Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 14:15:35
Quote by Raine:
Quote by TriSec:
Hi all.

I did trade some messages with Mondo over the weekend.

He is not dead; he's merely resting.

His plumage is also quite remarkable.

Well deserved rest, indeed.



some times you just need to take a break

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 14:24:52
These knuckleheads are stuck in Georgia red clay mud.
According to two Republicans familiar with the exchange, Ryan argued that the House would need those deadlines as “leverage” for delaying the health-care law’s individual mandate and adding a “conscience clause” — allowing employers and insurers to opt out of birth-control coverage if they find it objectionable on moral or religious grounds — and mentioned tax and entitlement goals Ryan had focused on in a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.



They used this tactic the day before the phucking shutdown!
September 30, 2013 -

House Republicans have found a new hostage to take in the fight to prevent a government shutdown: contraception.



Comment by BobR on 10/14/2013 14:28:06
Quote by TriSec:
Hi all.

I did trade some messages with Mondo over the weekend.

He is not dead; he's merely resting.

His plumage is also quite remarkable.


I do hope his feet aren't nailed to his perch.

Comment by BobR on 10/14/2013 14:31:12
The USA is #1!!! At what, I often wonder.

Certainly not basic life skills

Comment by Mondobubba on 10/14/2013 14:33:58
:Grunt:

I came in contact with water that Florida Dept of Health says has flesh eat bacteria in it over the weekend. I still have all four limbs. Dear Florida that acronym for the Health Department needs to be changed. DOH does not inspire confidence.

I just went through something called "consent to call" training. New FCC regs about calling cell phones with auto dialers. Thanks Obama!

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 14:35:29
Quote by Mondobubba:
:Grunt:

I came in contact with water that Florida Dept of Health says has flesh eat bacteria in it over the weekend. I still have all four limbs. Dear Florida that acronym for the Health Department needs to be changed. DOH does not inspire confidence.

I just went through something called "consent to call" training. New FCC regs about calling cell phones with auto dialers. Thanks Obama!
Oh man. I know I shouldn't giggle... but


Comment by Mondobubba on 10/14/2013 14:37:03
Quote by BobR:
The USA is #1!!! At what, I often wonder.

Certainly not basic life skills



Why do you hate Murica, Bobber?

Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 14:39:15
Quote by BobR:
The USA is #1!!! At what, I often wonder.

Certainly not basic life skills
Not only did Americans score poorly compared to many international competitors, the findings reinforced just how large the gap is between the nation’s high- and low-skilled workers and how hard it is to move ahead when your parents haven’t.
This is amazing.

This is truly why we need a middle class that thrives. *sigh*




Comment by Mondobubba on 10/14/2013 14:39:26
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
:Grunt:

I came in contact with water that Florida Dept of Health says has flesh eat bacteria in it over the weekend. I still have all four limbs. Dear Florida that acronym for the Health Department needs to be changed. DOH does not inspire confidence.

I just went through something called "consent to call" training. New FCC regs about calling cell phones with auto dialers. Thanks Obama!
Oh man. I know I shouldn't giggle... but


Oh I more than giggled when I saw DOH on the warning signs.

Comment by Mondobubba on 10/14/2013 14:41:57
Speaking as we were about the teabaggers protests, there is a meme making the rounds of conservatives in which they discuss how shameful it is there are "riot police" abusing WW II vets. Problem is the "riot police" are wearing bike helmets. That's because they are bike cops you morons!

Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 14:45:21
Quote by Mondobubba:
:Grunt:

I came in contact with water that Florida Dept of Health says has flesh eat bacteria in it over the weekend. I still have all four limbs. Dear Florida that acronym for the Health Department needs to be changed. DOH does not inspire confidence.

I just went through something called "consent to call" training. New FCC regs about calling cell phones with auto dialers. Thanks Obama!




tell me again why you still live in that state other then the job thing?


Comment by TriSec on 10/14/2013 14:45:53
Quote by BobR:
The USA is #1!!! At what, I often wonder.

Certainly not basic life skills



Killing people and blowing stuff up, silly!


Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 14:49:25
Quote by Mondobubba:
Speaking as we were about the teabaggers protests, there is a meme making the rounds of conservatives in which they discuss how shameful it is there are "riot police" abusing WW II vets. Problem is the "riot police" are wearing bike helmets. That's because they are bike cops you morons!
Asshats would crap their pants if they ever saw riot police.

I actaully would have been fine if Riot police had shown up and take care of those assholes who attacked the bike cops in front of the white house.


Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 14:51:41


Comment by Will in Chicago on 10/14/2013 14:54:42
Good morning, bloggers!!

BobR, I think that the protests this weekend were about pride -- not legitimate pride in one's self, but the pride that states one is superior to others.

What is truly pathetic about these protests is that there are no real solutions proposed to our common problems. In the case of Palin and Cruz, they seem more concerned about the spotlight than offering solutions.

Comment by Mondobubba on 10/14/2013 14:56:27
Mala, Scoop did you get your zombie on last night?

Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 14:59:23
Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, Scoop did you get your zombie on last night?


I have recorded but caught Talking Dead after, they had Nathan Fillon on (swoon) so I kind of caught the gist of a new threat. Can't wait to watch later!


Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 14:59:50
BTW: Nice to see you Mondo!

Comment by TriSec on 10/14/2013 15:00:01
Regarding our trucker's "protest"...

Northern-tier bloggers will be familiar with a winter traffic phenomena known as the "Conga Line". Sounds like one of those would have been more disruptive than the few extra trucks out on the Beltway this weekend.



Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 15:01:00
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, Scoop did you get your zombie on last night?


I have recorded but caught Talking Dead after, they had Nathan Fillon on (swoon) so I kind of caught the gist of a new threat. Can't wait to watch later!
Nathan Fillon is part of Walking dead? I wish I didn't hate zombies and vampires so much.


Comment by Will in Chicago on 10/14/2013 15:02:02
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Speaking as we were about the teabaggers protests, there is a meme making the rounds of conservatives in which they discuss how shameful it is there are "riot police" abusing WW II vets. Problem is the "riot police" are wearing bike helmets. That's because they are bike cops you morons!
Asshats would crap their pants if they ever saw riot police.

I actaully would have been fine if Riot police had shown up and take care of those assholes who attacked the bike cops in front of the white house.



The U.S. National Park police are working on a skeleton crew, trying to prevent vandalism and theft. They need our respect and should not be called riot police.


Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 15:02:13
Quote by TriSec:
Regarding our trucker's "protest"...

Northern-tier bloggers will be familiar with a winter traffic phenomena known as the "Conga Line". Sounds like one of those would have been more disruptive than the few extra trucks out on the Beltway this weekend.

BTW, Tri -- your post on saturday was brilliant. Absophuckin-brilliant.


Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 15:03:49
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Mala, Scoop did you get your zombie on last night?


I have recorded but caught Talking Dead after, they had Nathan Fillon on (swoon) so I kind of caught the gist of a new threat. Can't wait to watch later!
Nathan Fillon is part of Walking dead? I wish I didn't hate zombies and vampires so much.


no, he was on the show about TWD last night with Greg Campbell (think that was his name) who I think is the showrunner this season. The Talking Dead is just a geeky, nerd out show


Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 15:04:46
So Raine, am I to take it that you too are under the spell of one Nathan Fillion?

Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 15:05:22
Quote by Raine:
BTW: Nice to see you Mondo!



ditto that

Comment by TriSec on 10/14/2013 15:05:48
Quote by Raine:
BTW, Tri -- your post on saturday was brilliant. Absophuckin-brilliant.



Aww, shucks.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 10/14/2013 15:07:26
Quote by TriSec:
Regarding our trucker's "protest"...

Northern-tier bloggers will be familiar with a winter traffic phenomena known as the "Conga Line". Sounds like one of those would have been more disruptive than the few extra trucks out on the Beltway this weekend.




Put a Conga Line in the right hand lanes for exits and that really would annoy people


Comment by BobR on 10/14/2013 15:16:53
Quote by Will in Chicago:
The U.S. National Park police are working on a skeleton crew, trying to prevent vandalism and theft. They need our respect and should not be called riot police.



Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 15:17:33
Quote by wickedpam:
So Raine, am I to take it that you too are under the spell of one Nathan Fillion?
I was under his spell when he played Vicky's son on One life to Live about a billion years ago. (I was a OLTL fan girl)



Comment by Raine on 10/14/2013 15:21:25
He played Joey Buchanan. I was sold... and yes this is Soap opera nerdness:


Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 15:22:24
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
So Raine, am I to take it that you too are under the spell of one Nathan Fillion?
I was under his spell when he played Vicky's son on One life to Live about a billion years ago. (I was a OLTL fan girl)




oh hon, come to the warm glow of Firefly we can talk Captain Mal or even a little Caleb from Buffy, or Captain Hammer of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and last but not least Castle from the show of the same name.

Embrace your inner fangirl and geek girl we are a very welcoming community, if not a slightly off kilter.

Comment by wickedpam on 10/14/2013 15:24:04
Quote by Raine:
He played Joey Buchanan. I was sold... and yes this is Soap opera nerdness:



this is another man that gets better looking with age