Sunday
Aug292004
Sunday, August 29, 2004 at 12:01AM
Protesting the Protests
The other day I read one of the headlines on my Excite homepage. It was an article about two guys in New York City who were organizing a protest to disrupt the Republican National Convention. I was curious to see #1 what exactly were they upset about with the Republicans and #2 the means by which they proposed their protest.
First of all, I am against protests unless all normal channels have been exhausted. My first reaction was, "Oh brother, some more clowns who missed the 60's and want to get their protest on." At least in the 60's, Blacks were being kept out of schools, riding in the back of the bus, and in some cases, forced to use inferior toilet and drinking facilities. Those protests had merit. I guess the Viet Nam War protests had merit too, but why on earth would somebody protest a party's convention? The ultimate RNC protest was the Democratic National Convention.
Be that as it may, there are a couple of guys in New York City ginning up the masses to "Shut It (the RNC) Down." Don't miss the irony here. They are using their first amendment rights to suppress the first amendment rights of others. My position is these gentlemen should get involved in the party which represents their views, and spend their time getting out a message instead of expending energy to suppress one.
The two men are in theri 30's and work in the financial district in NYC. They are proposing a mass underwear flash exposing anti Bush messages. This promises to be very effective. I feel like voting for Kerry just imagining such a spectacle. In case one of the protesters gets arrested, a guide on their website tells them what to say to police - "I am going to remain silent. I would like to speak with a lawyer." Shrewd, very shrewd. People on tight budgets may like reading about dumpster diving in NYC on this website. Maybe not.
I felt a blog post coming on so I checked out the Shut It Down website. I still did not know why they wanted to "Shut It Down."
It's a Gay Thing
The main reason stated on the website was protesting the Federal Marriage Amendment or the Hate Amendment as they called it. I guess because same sex couples cannot get married, the RNC should not meet. All Republicans are not against same sex marriages and all Democrats are not for gay marriage. Other reasons were mentioned, like Republicans using NYC for political gain and the Feds ripping off NYC in promised aid.
I checked out the aid thing. According to the NYC comptroller, $15 billion of the promised $20 billion has cleared or is in the pipeline. The other $5 billion will come after some bills make it through congress.
How "Shut It Down NYC" is supposed to work
The aim is to get as many New Yorkers as possible to call in sick on September 1 and go to protests instead. They are targeting Broadway plays, hotels, restaurants, and retail centers.
I would hate to be a business owner in New York City poised to make good money from conventioneers only to have my employees not show up for work to express their political views. The Republicans will come to NYC and leave. The NYC businesses and people will remain. This protest will only hurt New Yorkers if you ask me.
My Protest Proposal
I think I will call it -"Just Shut Up and Do Your Job." I am proposing on September 1 everyone go to their job and work hard. Do more than is expected of you. Show up on time. Goof off a little less. Be a little kinder to your customers and coworkers. Maybe your boss will give you a raise or a promotion. Maybe you will feel better about yourself. Maybe your coworkers will respect you a little more.
If you have a beef with a political view, get involved with a campaign, which expresses what you believe or run for office yourself. Don't waste your time trying to silence the voices of free men and women. Let them talk. Listen to them. Respond with respect and intelligence. Write letters to your political representatives. Get involved in the system instead of trying to thwart the system. It has worked pretty well for a long time and I suspect it will withstand this latest wave of possibly well meaning, but certainly misguided
Links and References:
(1) Excite article about Shut It Down protest organizers
(2) Shut It Down NYC website
(3) What the NYC comptroller says about the $20 in Federal aid promised to NYC. In a nutshell, he says $5 billion is in jeopardy, but congress has bills in process which should ensure it is paid.
(4) Watson's Closet This is one of the links on the Shut It Down website. They sell T-Shirts that say clever things like "Bush is Nasty." One of their slogans is "Hell hath no fury like the gay community scorned. Again."
Until the next time
John Strain