I don’t think you’re reading this thread. …Wait a minute.
Anyway, I’m not speaking to you. grin
My suggestion: you quit with the inane generalizations. In essence you’re saying, “Conservatives have more important and responsible things to do with their time than protest.” I think John Corrado’s post was extremely articulate, and I’d take it a step further–most institutional power is held sway by conservative values, at least in the sense of “conservative” as traditional or representative of the status quo. The liberals, therefore, and whoever else desires to effect change, are on the outside looking in. If your causes have significant advocacy in Congress, as most conservative issues do, then you’re less liable to be spurred to action yourself. And as has been pointed out on this thread, there are plenty of conservative protests out there…just not necessarily directed at political institutions, but rather social and cultural institutions.
Yes Sir. And my suggestion to you is that you quit reading things into my words that are not actually there.
Not quite. However, conservatives do not generally focus on government and govermental solutions to problems to the same extent as do liberals. Conservatives (and Libertarians) see a smaller role for government in people’s lives than do liberals, and their focus tends to be less in that direction.
Actually I think that Izzy wasn’t too off.
Time? Vietnam war.
Protests? Largely Student.
However polls showed that opposition to the war wsa actually stronger among working class blue collar people. Yet, you didn’t see them protesting. Why? They had jobs.
And yes there are plenty of conservative protests. Anti-gay rights. Cubans calling on Elian not to be returned. Anti-abortion. On and on.
First, I’m honored that Gadarene thought so well of my post.
Second- Izzy and oldscratch- and, by extension, P.J. O’Rourke- do have a point regarding the fact that having a job makes you less likely to protest. It means having to schedule vacation time (including time to travel to the site, as well as possible time off should you get arrested) or take unpaid time off, it means running the risk of getting blackballed at work because you’re running against the grain, etc.
Now, I don’t want that to sound like Republicans are the only working people in America. Gadarene and oldscratch would- rightly- rip me a new one over that. However, I’d posit that most of those with very flexible schedules- college students, the unemployed, stay-at-home spouses- tend to be more liberal in their viewpoints, and therefore, those who have the easiest of times going out to protest are also those more likely to support liberal causes.
I still believe that power has a great deal to do with it- had serious gun control legislation been passed this year, there never would have been a Million Mom March, but the NRA sure would have whipped up something equivalent on about the same scale. But because Congress shows no interest in gun control, gun control advocates feel ‘out-of-power’, just as the NRA and its supporters feel ‘in power’.
Likewise the Cubans who protested Elian’s return felt ‘out-of-power’ (as the decision was completely up to the executive branch (which was Democratic and interested in returning the boy home) and the judicial branch (which was supposed to be neutral)) and therefore protested; while those who supported Elian’s return felt ‘in power’ (as the Clinton Administration was working hard to make that happen).
Actually I think it goes beyond physical contraints on time. Recent polls have shown youth to be, on average, more conservative than the country as a whole. So there’s alot of conservative students and youth who could be out there demonstrating as well. However, as I mentioned previously, the attitudes towards govenment are different.
John Corrado,
I don’t know if you could categorize the unemployed as a separate category with it’s own political viewpoint. Unless you mean chronicly unemployed. As in Al Sharpeton and his band of merry men.
I’ll bet the stay-at-home spouses are not significantly more liberal than the country as a whole. They might be more conservative.
(BTW, a word of advice: I wouldn’t pay any attention to compliments that you get from anyone on this board. Feel good about the compliments and you’ll feel bad about the insults.)
Here’s a lengthy rant by a besieged Philadelphian.
I can’t speak for the Seattle or D.C. demonstrations, but I work in Center City Philadelphia and I think the news coverage has been pretty fair. For the most part, the demonstrators have been calm, peaceful, and well organized – and the media has shown that, as well as the calm, peaceful, and well organized police response. The city has bent over backwards to cut the protestors some slack.
Don’t believe me? I think Mayor Street’s been more than tolerant, considering:
– A city-funded march through the heart of town, complete with stage, sound, and port-o-potties. (This was after the city opened up protest space in a park NEXT DOOR to the stadium where the convention is being held. I can understand that the protestors would think they can get more attention in Center City – four miles away – but all they have succeeded in doing is pissing off the locals.)
– Complete tolerance of an illegal 3,000 plus march through the heart of town on Monday
– The city has let protestors camp in the parks and have even provided drinking water and port-o-potties
If anything, the protestors are over-organized. There are so many different groups marching alongside one another that their messages tended to blur together.
On Tuesday, however, the violent ones weren’t particularly rare and were just as organized. Don’t let anyone kid you, this was premeditated. So far, very few people had been arrested, and even protestors admit that they were upset about that. Peaceful demonstrations don’t get points across. Word on the street was that something was going to go down…and it did.
I had the great fun of walking through the march on the way to the train station on Tuesday afternoon. (It was like being caught in a sudden squall; the protestors were marching up the Ben Franklin Parkway but took a quick turn up to avoid police and I got caught in the storm.)
They slashed tires, swung at cops, broke windows, beat up cars (both police and civilian). They even raided a construction site and tore down scaffolding. Despite the taunting, the kicking, and the punching, the cops were more than lenient. They marched in order, and tried to herd the protestors along…very Roman legion, very cool to see in practice, if somewhat horrific.
I personally witnessed a guy run up, kick a bike cop in the back, and fall on the ground screaming ‘Brutality!’ before the policeman even had a chance to turn around.
I have never seen people get away with this much in public. Sure, some kids got roughed up, but the kids hit first, to a one. It was more surprising that more kids weren’t hurt, even after the Commish was knocked on his ass and beaten, the kids were hauled away efficiently without an inordinate amount of violence. I’m sorry, but if you steal my bike and then HIT me with it, I’m going to kick your ass.
And you never saw a wealthier set of protestors. I swear it was like the running of the rich kids – every third protestor on Tuesday was on a cell phone or had a digital (often digital video) camera at the ready. It screamed bourgeois bohemian – it’s summer break and I’m here to march 'cause daddy can bail me out.
Yesterday was calm, the peaceful protestors were out again, and things were great, despite the eerie police presence. There was one report on the news about a group of protestors that assaulted a cop, trying to make the officer draw his gun (without success), but that was it.
Ultimately, the protestors lost this one. The peaceful ones weren’t heard, and the violent ones weren’t able to incite another Seattle.
Shame people can’t find a better way to protest. Good luck to Los Angeles.
Oh, and more on topic, there were “right wing” protests: a group of religious nuts, some conspiracy wackos (although there were plenty of liberal conspiracy wackos in the other protests), and one Anti-Mumia march near Gino’s steaks on Passyunk ave (They wisely chose not do their planned march by the stadium when the violence broke out.)
But today looks calm, I’m going to sit back, open a black cherry wishniak and suck down a krimpet. God this city is absurd. By god, I love it.
