It’s just that soooooo many of the options given are tremendously ineffective.
Not going to Wal-Mart? So what. Unless you go there on a daily basis, noone will notice. It’s not like there won’t be other people shopping there. As for blacking out your blog, the only people that will notice are those who visit your blog anyway, essentially preaching to the choir.
Closing your business down is effective, sort of. Course, making that harsh of a political statement may cost you more business than just the day off. Most employees will just think “great, a day off.”
Oh yeah, go ahead and call in sick. Just don’t tell them that you are staying home on short notice because you are making a political statement, because you may not have a job to come back to. I wouldn’t expect to. And if you just call in sick, guess what? People will just think you are sick. Great way to get the message across.
Face it, as far as protesting goes this is weak at best. There are tons of better ways to protest than just not doing anything at home.
Well, if you want my two cents, anything we do now is ineffective. Bush is president again. We’re not going to change that. Unless there’s some bombshell, he’s not getting impeached. And he’s even said he no longer has to be accountable. How on earth we can do anything, I don’t know.
As such, I viewed this sort of as a futility protest “Yes, we’re whipped, but we’re not mute.”
Besides, if you have a normal protest you get some predictable folk on the right wing wailing about bongos and stopped traffic and dirty hippies.
There was plenty of that, my boy. CNN showed some great stuff that will tide me over until Protestwarrior gets some pictures up. MSNBC, not so much. FNC? Nary a bongo to be heard and not a dreadlocked whiteboy to be seen. Sad day when Brutus is favoring CNN over FNC.
Brutus, what is this…thing…you have about bongoes? Something you want to share with the group? We care about you. We want you to feel better. Do they remind you of something? Want to show us on this doll where the bad bongo man touched you?
I find images of grubby hippies banging their bongos endlessly amusing. Sure, it’s not Shakespeare, but to each their own. And where there are large gatherings of the grubby folk, there is sure to be bongo abuse and dancing aplently.
Now, I won’t ask what these scalliwags planned to accomplish with their little gathering. Who knows, maybe they expected Dubya to turn down the job? What I will ask: Why do [large] protests invariably include that most portable of percussion instruments? Kazoos are portable, but you never see those. It’s never a call to ‘jam on that ukulele…FOR PEACE!’ No, it always some scraggle-bearded whiteboy, quite probably with dreadlocks and one of those floppy Jamaican hat/beret things, and he is attacking that fine little instrument like his Grandmothers life depends on it.
The VISUALIZE WORLD PEACE bumper sticker always struck me the same way. It sort of relieves the bearer of any responsibility to actually DO something about it.
Tooting the Liberty Kazoo, huh? Sounds like a good pickup line…
One day, they will turn up, all clean-cut, with signs that have non-outlandish slogans, and will drop the whole carnival ‘Free Mumia!’ atmosphere. Then protests may start changing public opinion. Just look at the 60’s. Till then, it’s time to flip on CNN, pop open a bottle of red, and laugh myself silly.
Yes, I’m quite sure as someone such as yourself presents a more wholesome image, Brutus, all freshly scrubbed and washed and all your smelly spots deodorized, and you probably don’t have enough rhymthic sense to play the radio, much less the conga drums (thats what they are, you know…congas…)
I’m curious. Could you name a single conservative activist campaign/activity/bumper sticker that shows the slightest bit of intelligence, wit or effectiveness?
Are you inspired by rednecks chaining themselves to a Ten Commandments monument or waving plastic fetuses at rape victims? Does it fire you up to see Jesus fish eating Darwin fish?
Help us out. Let us know how smart people protest.
Protests? Bah, not necessary. Smart people work on getting their candidates elected. Which is something even the most amusing bongo playing cannot accomplish.
Lucikly enough, the concerns, issues, and interests of those not in the voting majority simply don’t matter. If you (that is some candidate who you hope might represent some of your concerns) lose, shut up and try to get elected next time.
When did ever say or imply that conservative ‘protests’ were any better or more effective? Since you are a disingenuous and hypocritical smarm-weasel, let me answer that for you: Never. So fuck off.
The ancient art of the ‘smart protest’ was lost many years ago in this country (If it even worked back then.) Now we get anarchists, hooligans, dirty hippies, bongophobes, and yes, pro-life zealots and whatnot. Not a one inspire confidence to their cause, though some do provide ample amusement, assuming they aren’t smashing windows or whatnot.
Right, well I’ll be voting for Boxer again next term. What’s that, you said she has a stick in her ass? I guess I must have one in mine too then. Darn.
