Heh? You’re military?
You can picket and demonstrate, so long as it’s out of uniform and you don’t associate yourself with any branch, or the DoD.
If you aren’t military, that seems pretty unconstitutional.
Tripler
So, what do you do?
Newspaper. Objectivity and all that.
Aaah, screw them. What do they do, have a ‘Behavior Nazi’ after you? You are entitled to your own opinions after all . . .
Tripler
Whether you write about them or not is your own business.
Nah!! If we all got together there would be a hundred fist fights before we even got to the parade site!!
Whoa, I could so do this! runs to buy markers and poster board Mine (which I didn’t make up, but saw in another thread a long time ago) will say “George Bush is a great president. No, really.” And it’ll be the greatest political poster ever.
If it does pull off, I could offer a dorm room floor to one female (preferably college-age) Doper.
Well, it’s NATURAL that it would SOUND like a good idea.
I mean, think about it. Why are we here?
We read The Straight Dope, for one thing. Hell, we READ.
We think. We think about weird shit. We communicate. We’re interested in what each other says about whatever. We’re a lively-minded bunch. We hold each other’s attention, and draw each other back.
In short… we are not necessarily representative of a cross section of the American public. We’re a selected and selective bunch, for all that we are self-selected, without actually meaning to.
And I see us all gathered together in a mob on Pennsylvania Avenue.
And I see the Leader Of The Free World, standing in the Oval Office, looking out the window at us. He leans over, and presses a button. “Send in Jones,” he says.
The speaker replies “Mr. Smith is today’s briefing officer, sir.”
“All right, Smith. Whoever.”
The door opens, and in walks a tall man in a suit and mirrorshades. His hair is so impeccable, it might be a carefully carved helmet, rather than the man’s natural hair. A wire runs from his collar to an earplug. A bulge is plainly visible beneath his tailored jacket.
“Smith?” asks the President, “what can you tell me about this bunch?”
“They’re activists, Mr. President. Organized themselves over the internet, through a message board affiliated with a Chicago news syndicate.”
“Corporate?” asks the President.
“No, sir. Just a bunch of private citizens.”
“Are they lobbyists or something?”
“No, Mr. President.”
“Are they rich? Are they in charge of anything? Affiliated with any major political machinery? Members of any recognized groups or special interests?”
“Not that we can determine, Mr. President.”
“They’re just a bunch of Americans with signs who are bright enough to know how to use the Internet?”
“It would seem so, Mr. President.”
“Then it’s safe to pretty much ignore them?”
“I think so, Mr. President.”
“Well, that’s good. Now, about this Saddam Hussein thing…”
To me this would end up seeming more like performance art than demonstration, either of which I’m for. jackelope, perhaps you could use that explanation.
Not a bad thought; it had occurred to me also that this is mainly performance art, since the purpose is not to show by force of numbers that some specific action ought be taken by the gov’t, but to get out and show that a bunch of people can really dig each other even though–or because–they differ so wildly in their beliefs.
I’m halfway convincing myself. I’ve got a friend who lives up there; I guarantee he’d be into it. And he would probably film it for us too.
If I decide not to go, would someone kindly carry two signs, one with their own slogan and one for me reading, “Sorry I can’t make it; will someone carry my sign for me?”
Or, perhaps your sign could say, “I only came for the beer.”
Or:
“I am not with these people, it’s just an incredible coincidence.”
Or,
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Tris
“Birth 'em here, kill 'em abroad, God won’t sort 'em out”?
I’m in for the beer and suchlike afterwards, but I’m busy enough around here in the protests where we actuallly agree on the issue at hand.
Well, I’m thinking more along the lines of “Let 'em live, so they can defend freedom against theocracy”, but hey, thanks for the suggestion!
How about a fun cartoon?
“Hey, Joe, I hear you just turned 18! Go register for the National Draft!”
“Yeah, I just turned 18, so I can now die thousands of miles away from my country. And in another three years, I’ll be allowed to drink alcohol.”
Okay, so it doesn’t really apply to Lucretia’s cause (much, anyway), but it’s one of the things I’ve been considering, along with “Bullying is assault too” and “The Christian Right is Neither”.
Have I mentioned I’ve not yet found a political platform with which I completely agree?
I agree with you on the Supremes, but Georgetown and Metro??? What’s the point? And anyway there are no Metro stations near GU.
I’m up for being a Metro-savvy Doper.
Oh, shoot, you would ask that, wouldn’t you? It’s Something & Constitution. I think. There’s a funny-looking little stone house. And it’s right across from the Big Pencil.
Okay, I’ve looked it up, and I’m pretty sure that Feminists for Life and the Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians meets at the northwest corner of 15th & Constitution NW. Then all the pro-lifers march down Constitution, up Capital Hill, and up to the front steps of the Supreme Court, where policemen are wearing their full regalia to protect the Supremes from monks and homeschooling moms and dangerous folks like that. And that’s very close to the Capital South Metro, whence one can either go home or find a nice ::sneezeChinese:: restaurant.
I don’t think anybody could get a license to close Constitution for several hours so that Dopers could march. It’d have to be a sidewalk thing.
I think I’ll carry a sign that says “Read Books, Not Signs.”
Ooh fun! Count me in.
It would be better to do it closer to summertime, or in the sumemr, if that’s possible.
Green bean Obviously you have not spent many summers walking around in DC. Much less actually trying to locate a Congresscritter at that time of the year. They migrate.
I am not doing a “close the street” demonstration permit, man. Those suckers cost money! I mean big bucks, and lots of questions. If this sucker gets much larger, I am gonna check out the possibility of the “Incredible Coincidence” defense, and not getting licenses.
Do ya think?
No, actually, Monday morning I will be calling around to find out where to get, and which must be got type of answers about permits. I figure thirty people, so far, as a guestimate. I will skim the thread Sunday night, and post a definite, maybe, possibly list, and we can start dogging down the date from there. I am very strongly leaning to an early May time frame, given the desire not too share the traffic of Cherry Blossoms. Without blossoms, April is not nice enough weather wise.
One of the questions that I was asked off line was how likely was it that we would draw a counter demonstration.
I really had to think about that one.
I finally decided we were a counter demonstration. We are demonstrating against all the people who aren’t demonstrating. Everyone else who happens to be out that day is on our side!
So, outspoken rhetoricians of the world, step forward! You have nothing to loose but your . . . uh, . . . your, . . . your obscurity! That’s it!
Hmmmmmm. In some of our cases, even that’s not at risk.
Tris
As Johnny Ringo(;)) said not too long ago, I’d lost my obscurity by the time I hit my thousandth post. That is, for anyone who didn’t recognize me running through threads naked.
I’m there. Now all I need is a cause…
My read on this so far is:
Definitely willing:
Triskadecamus
AHunter3
punha
Lucretia
Joe_Cool
RTFirefly
erislover
CasperQ
NoClueBoy (needs a clue about the Capitol, and the Capital)
welby
Super Gnat
phantomdiver
Green Bean (but wants to sweat a lot)
Emilio Lizardo
Interested:
Eonwe
Zoe
Derleth
ultrafilter
FordPrefect
Mamapotomus
Mr. & Mrs xenophon41
Ethilrist
seal_clubber
Mangetout
Tripler
Interested with caveats:
Happyheathen (flame thrower and Barry Switzer, and family)
Stofsky (only interested in Barry Switzer)
Munch (singing)
Gartog (the ocean)
Cosmopolitan (cripple)
Coileán (wants more beer, doesn’t mind the ocean.)
Scuba_Ben (Is it kosher? And what about the flowers?)
Cisco (reality issues)
Michael Ellis (no textile crafts)
Jackelope (press weenie)
Wang-Ka (busy having delu . . . er . . . fantasies)
Olentzero (beer only)
Hot Damn.
I officially declare this a movement!
If you want your name moved around on the list, then say so. If you want help, ask.
Now everyone choose:
April, in time to see the Cherry Blossoms, and a whole lot of toursist, and traffic.
April, but after that crap is over.
May, but early in the month, before it gets hot.
May, but later in the month, because I like hot.
June, I am a masochist, and really want to sweat.
July: (I’m not coming, get yourself a new grand marshal)
Also choose:
Weekend
Weekend, or I can’t come.
Weekday
Weekday, or I can’t come.
(Demonstrating on weekends involves talking to an empty office building.)
Don’t forget, You are responsible for arranging to speak with your own representative. (Furriners can go talk to their embassy, I suppose.)
After the talk time, we walk away from the Congress, and I suppose, down to the general direction of the Supreme Court, The White House, and some places that have good beer and food. Route planner is evidently Going to be phantomdiver since she is such an old hand at this sort of thing.
If I walk more than a mile, I want a chair waiting for me at the other end. (“Old fat guys of the world, sit down!”)
Tris
Who you callin’ a press weenie?
Oh, me? Oh, OK then.
Seriously, I’ve decided this is performance art and not political activity, and therefore does not violate my contract of employment (please do not correct me). I’m even ready to take a couple of vacation days for it, so call me committed.
I’ve got a buddy up that way I need to visit as well, so I’ll make it a real vacation. He’s not a Doper, or much of a Web person at all, but I guarantee he’d be interested. And he’ll bring a wicked sign, probably written in Greek.
Re. the timing: I hate tourists, but have no problem with hot and humid - I live in Memphis.
Weekday, preferably early in the week, is my choice, since I don’t want to do this without maybe getting to see some real live Congressvolken, or maybe a Supreme or two.
I’ll be sure to alert Harold Ford Jr., my representative. And Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander while I’m at it.
I swear, this is the coolest idea I’ve ever heard. And that comes from a man who attended Arenacross this morning.
I vote for early to mid May. I agree that a weekday would be best for this sort of activity, but my schedule that far out is a big unknown, so I have no idea if I can come or not. If I am off, though, I am definitely there.