I think we’ve all seen, and perhaps known, people for whom the act of protest is less about issues and more about enhancing their self-image as groovy, enlightened outsiders. There are probably schisms in these movements between the people who really want change and the people who would sort of be happy if the status quo were preserved, therefore giving them something to protest.
There are going to be a whole lot of Jesse Jackson-type old line black activists who are going to be secretly disappointed if Obama wins. I believe this explains the wacky antics of Jeremiah Wright. It’ll be hard to rail against the honky power structure if the president is black.
Sitting on top, man, on top. It’s like, when it’s on the spin cycle, it’s like, it’s kinda jiggling you about, it’s… woah. Buzzy. Heh heh. Got any pizza?
Yes, I have played in the water while high, it is fun.
Yes, I am somewhat conservative in parts of my personal philosophy. I believe in personal responsilibilty, fiscal prudence and a small government. I lean more progressively on abortion/reproductive rights, environmental issues and a more non-aggressive foreign policy. I’ve not yet made up my mind on who gets my presidential vote- Obama strikes me as an inexperienced empty suit and McCain has but one platform (didja know he was a POW?:rolleyes:). As to the intelligensia… well, if the moniker fits, then wear it and wear it proudly.
But if you don’t want to be the useful idiot of whatever political agenda that you hold dearest, then perhaps you ought to question it more thoroughly.
As to the guy who doesn’t believe me… why is it unbelievable that an environmentally conscious protestor would arrive on scene in a Mercedes? Is it because it is reasonably and visually incongruant with their self-proclaimed beliefs? Even the exalted Jerry Garcia had a 7-series BMW…
No, they’ll just call him an Uncle Tom or a House Nigger or whatever crap they come up with next week. Movement Freaks always find reasons to harass people who want to erode their power base.
(It’s interesting how none of the Movement Freaks seem to realize they exist at the pleasure of the majority and could be destroyed utterly with a relatively minor shift in sentiment. PETA in particular refuses to take the hint.)
I didn’t say it was unbelievable. I said, more precisely, that i don’t believe you.
It’s amazing that morons who indulge in stupid rants against “tree-huggers,” and who use words like “intelligentsia” as a pejorative, always happen to find environmentalists who also drive large European cars. I’m not saying it never happens; i’m just saying i don’t believe you in this case, because your whole post smacks of idiocy and exaggeration.
Happy now?
So fucking what? All Jerry Garcia is to me is a famous musician. How is that relevant to your point about environmentalism?
The coal plant in question is going to put out almost zero acid rain emissions, and given the prevailing winds likely none of them would reach New York. In this case the protesters are targeting carbon emissions, as it impacts the whole damn planet. Largely, they’re upset that the plant won’t be “carbon capture ready”, which is a somewhat dishonest argument since 1) there is no carbon capture system made which could scrub a plant that size (yet), and 2) WHEN they become available, almost any coal plant can have CCS installed as a retrofit. On the other hand, their base argument is sound, the plant will indeed release lots of carbon emissions to the environment. On the other hand, that part of Virginia is looking pretty tight for electrical reserves, and the projections I’ve seen show that something has to be done or else there will be power shortages, and serious ones, by 2015. On the other hand, a nuclear plant would be a better way to address that for several reasons. On the other hand, most of the mainstream environmental activists aren’t any happier with that…
Agreed, seems rather weak to call it a pile-on. Perhaps the poster could come back and claim to be in favor of declawing outdoor cats in urban environments, but is anti- spaying and neutering?
Yeah, that’s not a pile-on. You’ll KNOW when you get piled-on. We take our pile-ons very seriously around these parts. You can’t just come strolling in, hey look at me, I’m the FNG, pile-on me already! You have to earn your pile-on, son.
Yeah. Anybody remember the pile-on of…oh, musta been ought-oh or ought-one or so? Dayum, that was a pile-on. Kids today with their I-pods and I-phones and I-don’t know-what-alls just don’t know what a good pile-on is. Round here, you know when you get piled on, son, and this ain’t it. Grumble, grumble, grumble.
[Hitches pants up around armpits] And get off my lawn!
Point of order: an unwashed hippie is cleaned up much more effectively by hoses than by setting dogs on him, even friendly dogs. Dog drool is hardly an improvement.
I have a friend who used to work for an environmental organization in east Tennessee that fought mountain-top removal. They spent years working with local communities to establish trust and goodwill. He was absolutely furious when Earth First decided to come “help” with some direct action protests. In a matter of weeks, the Earth Firsters had undone a lot of the community-building his organization had been working on for so long.
And I certainly believe he was everything the OP says. There’s plenty of unwashed heathens around here driving their daddy’s BMWs. Mostly from the City.
If Pippie drove down there in a Mercedes, she isn’t an Ithaca native; she’s going to Cornell or Ithaca College, and got caught up in the hippie-dippie atmosphere of the Commons.
