# Anti-War protestors barred me from class! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 5, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365 "2003-03-05T23:22:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/21 "2003-03-06T04:29:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by even sven \* > \*\*Now when we had the lecturer strike, that made sense. We were showing our solidarity with them. Going to class was kind of akin to supporting scabs. \*\* Yeah, well I guess that makes me a scab supporter then. :sigh: ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/22 "2003-03-06T04:51:19Z")
> [@](#): > > …“do not cross a picket line” is engraved in my mind somewhere near “do not murder.” Not to pick on you, **matt** , but this just stuck out at me. If I pay for the classes, if they are _keeping me_ from doing something I _want_ to be doing, that I _paid_ to do, they can take their fucking picket line and shove it up their fucking asses - I don’t care if it was a Students Against Puppy-Stomping rally. Goddamn, this riles me up. These fuckers think that they can keep someone away from their education just because they’re following a dubious tradition of clueless morons protesting on campus? That they can _force me_ to do anything but point, laugh, and go to class? Not that all student protesters are clueless morons, of course…but I didn’t join a goddamn Union. I’m not a scab. I don’t belong to their group. I paid tuition. It’s been a while since I was in college, but I reacted to “forced protests” back then the same way. Nobody’s going to force me to not show up for class and make me waste my money, and make it therefore look like I agree with their harebrained propaganda. Mob tactics are ugly, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/23 "2003-03-06T05:29:59Z")
My take is this- they can protest war all they want. I don’t agree with them, but I’m not going to waste 10 minutes of my life in an argument trying to get my point across to them. I have no problem with the concept of protesting. However, when they are disrupting other students who want nothing more than to get through the day undisturbed, I have a problem with it. Its ironic- the same kind of people that are vehemently against propiganda and having beliefs pushed upon them resort to doing the EXACT SAME THING when they are protesting (at least what I witnessed). I went to Spanish class, but it was hard to concentrate with protestor bleating out anti war poetry at the top of their lungs with a loudspeaker. For 20 minutes straight a woman was screeching “They’re trying to send my kids to war. And that’s bad bad bad!” over and OVER again. I hope things aren’t as bad as this tomorrow ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/24 "2003-03-06T05:35:18Z")
I say tomorrow you show up with a bullhorn and set up a Spanish study session right by them. Recite vocabulary words, read textbooks, and practice conversations as loudly as possible. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Soup\_du\_jour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Soup\_du\_jour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup_du_jour)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/25 "2003-03-06T05:44:41Z")
I’d attend that study session! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/26 "2003-03-06T06:25:41Z")
Heh, heh, heh. I’m glad I go to a trade school where we don’t have time for this kind of stupid shit. No protests at school today. ---
**Author:** ![viking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@viking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/viking)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/27 "2003-03-06T06:31:11Z")
My favourite protest was when they set up a ``tent city’’ to make the point that students were broke. Except I’m walking past it a there’s a four-season mountaineering tent in there that I know retailed for $950. And rents were as low as $200/month if you had roommates. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/28 "2003-03-06T07:04:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stitch \* > \*\*Makes me wish I could have been there to see how non-violently they reacted to being forced out of my way. \*\* They don’t like it. My theory, I say “excuse me” once and if your protesting ass doesn’t move you get the shoulder. Those years of playing offensive tackle in high school finally payed off. I got the finger numerous times today and called all sorts of names ranging from “asshole” to “fucking nazi”. I was merely trying to get to class. I may have deserved the “asshole” crack, but nazi? I really don’t get that one. All I said was that they were right, we shouldn’t go to war - that Saddam isn’t a threat to the US just like Hitler wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/29 "2003-03-06T07:36:29Z")
If these are anything like the lame-ass protests that they had when I was in school, you’ll find that a sizeable proportion of the protestors aren’t even current students. You’ll also find that well over 90% of the protestors have about zero knowledge of the relevant facts. No one ever tried to bar me from class but I certainly would have forced my way in. Anyone who called me a Nazi for simply trying to attend school would have gotten punched. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/30 "2003-03-06T07:46:58Z")
Would it be wrong for a non-Jewish person such as myself, on being called “a Nazi” for simply disagreeing with someone to say, “Fuck you, I’m Jewish!”? I mean, the Nazi’s were some of the nastiest fucks to ever darken this planet and to call a person who’s trying to get to class a Nazi is fucking pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/31 "2003-03-06T11:38:59Z")
I’ve always wondered what would happen, if I jammed my hand into someones throat when they were attempting to block my access to a venue I was attempting to attend. Protests like these are stupid. And there is no way this, or a million folks anywhere else, are going to change the minds of the administration. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/32 "2003-03-06T12:15:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by viking \* > \*\*My favourite protest was when they set up a ``tent city’’ to make the point that students were broke. Except I’m walking past it a there’s a four-season mountaineering tent in there that I know retailed for $950. And rents were as low as $200/month if you had roommates. :rolleyes: \*\* While it is stupid to turn up at a tent protest with an expensive tent, did it occur to you that they might have borrowed it, or did you just stick to your first conclusion because you didn’t agree with their protest? ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/33 "2003-03-06T12:42:04Z")
There was a student strike in Stockholm (and a couple of other places in Sweden as well) yesterday. The strike was of course against _The War_. Like previous posters I just cannot understand in what way avoiding learning something in school is a good way to protest something. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/34 "2003-03-06T14:32:11Z")
Somehow, I would expect that holding a book burning–a _textbook burning_, of course–would be the next logical step. To protest the war, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/35 "2003-03-06T14:43:18Z")
I can only imagine that would give the bookstore some excuse for inflating the price of books (by devastating the supply of used books) :mad: ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/36 "2003-03-06T15:08:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > \*\*Somehow, I would expect that holding a book burning–a _textbook burning_, of course–would be the next logical step. To protest the war, of course. \*\* Sounds right. Back when I was in univeristy student protests had a real ‘rent-a-mob’ feel to them. They would protest anything and everything, buy into the words of whoever shouted the loudest. When I started there, being in the student union was compulsory - under national law. We finally got that altered, and got it voluntary on campus as well. That was great, nobody had to join an organisation that held values they did not agree with. the union membership dropped from 100% of students to something around 20%. Here is the kicker though. that 20% of far-left students then held a binding referendum (after I graduated) and voted compulsory membershiop again!!! :smack: For everybody. The university council ratified that decision. I remember student pacifism as consisting of threats and aggressive behaviour. Sounds like nothing has changed. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/37 "2003-03-06T15:19:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Not to pick on you, matt, but this just stuck out at me. If I pay for the classes, if they are keeping me from doing something I want to be doing, that I paid to do, they can take their fucking picket line and shove it up their fucking asses - I don’t care if it was a Students Against Puppy-Stomping rally. Which is why I said that “do not cross a picket line” is engraved on _ **my** _ mind somewhere near “do not murder.” To review: my mind. I was explaining my own motivations for not attending classes. > [@](#): > > I remember student pacifism as consisting of threats and aggressive behaviour. Sounds like nothing has changed. I don’t think that’s fair. [Here’s](http://www.canada.com/montreal/story.asp?id=%7B9F0D33D0-6B61-4F06-95DE-ECF9F47F883F%7D) a report from the Montreal _Gazette_ about protests here. The _Gazette_ is, um, not known for being biased in favour of student protesters. Nowhere in the report does it say that anyone from the six colleges and universities whose students protested in this city blocked people from going to classes. In the US, tens of thousands of students walked out of more than 300 colleges and universities; students also walked out in Sweden, Spain, Australia, Egypt, and Bangladesh. I don’t think it’s fair to tar all of the student activists worldwide with the actions that **Incubus** is complaining about. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/38 "2003-03-06T15:23:53Z")
Every time I hear about these, I always wonder what the people doing them are majoring in. I can’t help but feel that most of them are probably in some weak-ass humanities discipline. Don’t get me started on idiot humanities majors. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/39 "2003-03-06T15:28:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Don’t get me started on idiot humanities majors. So, is that because studying the roots of our civilization and the nature of culture and human endeavour is not a valid subject? Or are you just having fun making ridiculous, overgeneralized non sequiturs? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365/40 "2003-03-06T15:44:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*So, is that because studying the roots of our civilization and the nature of culture and human endeavour is not a valid subject? Or are you just having fun making ridiculous, overgeneralized non sequiturs? \*\* No, it’s because in my experience it’s the humanities majors–specifically the really nebulous ones, like Women’s Studies or Peace and Conflict Studies–that appear to have all this time to waste. A few weeks ago, my school had a “civic engagement week.” Apparently, part of this took place in our science building. I don’t know why it had to be there; the humanities have two perfectly good buildings of their own plus the building with the food, mail, etc. at their disposal. Lemme tell you what these idiots did. They walked into our _labs_, erased data and other things on various boards that people were working on, and wrote crap that was supposed to be “thought-provoking”, I guess, like “x amount of college students didn’t vote. Are you one of them?” and crap like that. I swear, if they ever do that again and we find out who it is, heads will roll under the weight of vigilante justice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anti-war-protestors-barred-me-from-class/159365.md?page=3)