# What good does it to be a part of a protest on inauguration day? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 18, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463 "2017-01-18T12:46:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/41 "2017-01-18T18:34:14Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > But I take it that by limiting the question to how much racist content was published **today** , you aren’t arguing with the overall notion that Breitbart has a record of publishing pro-white garbage? I picked today because I wanted to make it easy for you. It’s a lot harder to dig through their articles and find everything published on some random date last year. The crux of it is this: if 9 out of 10 Breitbart articles (to pull a ratio out of thin air) are not racist, is it fair or accurate to call it “a racist website”? What if that ratio were 99/100 or 999/1000? I don’t think it would be. I suspect some minuscule fraction of what has been published on their site could be sincerely argued as racist. That’s probably also true of many other news sites. That’s even true of the SDMB (although we probably wouldn’t use the word “published”). ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/42 "2017-01-18T18:38:45Z")
Kimstu, I hope you enjoy your protest on Saturday. It sounds like exactly the sort of thing I can applaud as concerned citizens expressing their views in one of our greatest traditions, even though I may disagree with some of those views. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/43 "2017-01-18T18:39:59Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I picked today because I wanted to make it easy for you. It’s a lot harder to dig through their articles and find everything published on some random date last year. The crux of it is this: if 9 out of 10 Breitbart articles (to pull a ratio out of thin air) are not racist, is it fair or accurate to call it “a racist website”? Have you tried the chocolate mousse? Hard to believe it’s only 10% dog shit! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/44 "2017-01-18T18:42:47Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Kimstu, I hope you enjoy your protest on Saturday. Thanks!! Weather looks okay and turnout seems promising, so excelsior! ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/45 "2017-01-18T18:43:41Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > 50% of the country did not vote for Trump. He didn’t even get the most votes among people who _did_ vote. And in a democratic election, the winner is the one with the most votes. Trump won an _undemocratic_ election. This seems like a bit of a silly quibble. I can think of some parliamentary systems in countries that most of us would describe as “democratic” where the eventually-selected prime minister hails from some minor party that didn’t get as many people’s votes as others. Is the only type of election you’d describe as “democratic” one that’s an absolute pure plurality-wins system? No exception for filtering the “will of the people” through a federalist or parliamentary system? Those are all “undemocratic”? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/46 "2017-01-18T18:51:37Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I picked today because I wanted to make it easy for you. It’s a lot harder to dig through their articles and find everything published on some random date last year. The crux of it is this: if 9 out of 10 Breitbart articles (to pull a ratio out of thin air) are not racist, is it fair or accurate to call it “a racist website”? What if that ratio were 99/100 or 999/1000? I don’t think it would be. > > I suspect some minuscule fraction of what has been published on their site could be sincerely argued as racist. That’s probably also true of many other news sites. That’s even true of the SDMB (although we probably wouldn’t use the word “published”). Maybe you have a point. Let’s take a biker skinhead mass-murderer: he didn’t ride motorcycles ALL the time. And sure, maybe he said some racist things, but most of what he said was probably, “Can I have a pack of Marlboros?” or “I’ll have a number 3 combo with a Diet Coke” or other mundane things. And maybe he did kill a few people, but that was only one thing he did. So does he really deserve to be called a biker skinhead mass-murder? You’ve convinced me that it is an unfair thing to call ANYONE. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/47 "2017-01-18T18:53:12Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > The crux of it is this: if 9 out of 10 Breitbart articles (to pull a ratio out of thin air) are not racist, is it fair or accurate to call it “a racist website”? What if that ratio were 99/100 or 999/1000? I don’t think it would be. Even _one_ racist article, which wasn’t later rescinded or repudiated, would classify a news organization as “racist” in my opinion. And the opinion of many others, fyi. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/48 "2017-01-18T18:55:14Z")
I happen to think that coalition governments that bypass parties which win the most votes are also undemocratic, but I am not sure that actually happens in any truly democratic state. But no, I don’t think a parliamentary system is inherently undemocratic. People vote for their MP, and the selection of the chief executive is a function of how many MPs get elected. I do think a federalist system which weights votes by geography (like ours) is inherently undemocratic, yes. I know that technically people are voting for a slate of electors, but the only _purpose_ of the electoral college is to make the system less democratic. ETA: That was to **HurricaneDitka**. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/49 "2017-01-18T18:58:36Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Even _one_ racist article, which wasn’t later rescinded or repudiated, would classify a news organization as “racist” in my opinion. And the opinion of many others, fyi. So if I can find one “racist” thing that CNN ever published and they didn’t rescind or repudiate it, it’s fair to label CNN “a racist website”? That’s absurd in my opinion. And the opinion of many others, fyi. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/50 "2017-01-18T19:21:46Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > So if I can find one “racist” thing that CNN ever published and they didn’t rescind or repudiate it, it’s fair to label CNN “a racist website”? That’s absurd in my opinion. And the opinion of many others, fyi. So do it then. Find the racist article that CNN published. I’ll be very curious to see it. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/51 "2017-01-18T19:25:19Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > So if I can find one “racist” thing that CNN ever published and they didn’t rescind or repudiate it, it’s fair to label CNN “a racist website”? That’s absurd in my opinion. And the opinion of many others, fyi. Yes. Support of unrepentant racism makes an organization racist. Now, if they wrote one racist article years ago, I might consider that they are not racist _anymore_. But the editor who allowed the racist article to go to print and never refuted it _is_ racist, and an organization with someone like that in charge _is_ racist. Here are [a few of the articles](http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/14/media/breitbart-incendiary-headlines/index.html) you’re defending, by the way: > [@](#): > > **‘The solution to online ‘harassment’ is simple: Women should log off’** > > **‘Bill Kristol: Republican spoiler, renegade Jew’** > > **‘Trannies whine about hilarious Bruce Jenner billboard’** > \*\* > ‘Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy’\*\* > > **‘Suck it up buttercups: Dangerous Faggot Tour returns to colleges in September’** > > \*\*‘Hoist it high and proud: The Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage’’ \*\* > > **'“Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?” ’** > > **‘Gay rights have made us dumber, it’s time to get back in the closet’** > \*\* > ‘Science proves it: Fat-shaming works’\*\* > > **“There’s no hiring bias against women in tech, they just suck at interviews”** ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/52 "2017-01-18T19:37:58Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Yeah, I want to draw a distinction between people who actually do racist shit and people who don’t. Calling the latter a “prominent white supremacist” is not only factually incorrect, but it dilutes the significance of the label. I hold those who enable racists as a lower scum of humanity than racists themselves. Racists, at least actually believe the things the say and think when they seek to harm another person or group of people due to their hate. People like brietbart know better, but they like the money, so they are happy to give voice to such hate. > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > So if I can find one “racist” thing that CNN ever published and they didn’t rescind or repudiate it, it’s fair to label CNN “a racist website”? That’s absurd in my opinion. And the opinion of many others, fyi. Yes, actually. Tell ya what, find one, and we’ll discuss it. I actually don’t know what you’ll find, as I haven’t paid attention to CNN since the 80’s, but I doubt you will find the sort of thing you found on brietbart. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/53 "2017-01-18T19:45:41Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I hold those who enable racists as a lower scum of humanity than racists themselves. Racists, at least actually believe the things the say and think when they seek to harm another person or group of people due to their hate. > > People like brietbart know better, but they like the money, so they are happy to give voice to such hate. > > . You mean I coulda been getting paid all these years? Damnit. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/54 "2017-01-18T19:59:24Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > They serve several purposes. > > For the people who protest it gives them the opportunity to take action against the Trump presidency, rather than having to just bend over and take it. Even if the protests aren’t effective they are at least therapeutic to those who participate. > > For those against the Trump presidency it lets them know that they aren’t alone. > > \*\*For the lawmakers in Washington it reminds them that while the Republicans did win the presidency they don’t have a popular mandate, and so shouldn’t assume that their actions will meet popular approval. \*\* > > For the undecided it gets media attention directed at the negatives of the Trump agenda. I’m going to the Women’s March (and will point out to the purists here that it’s not held on Inauguration Day, but on Saturday). The bolded statement above is my primary reason for going. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/55 "2017-01-18T20:03:23Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > You mean I coulda been getting paid all these years? > > Damnit. Well, yeah. You still can. Get yourself a website. Plaster it with ads. Invite all your racist friends. Get them to post a bunch of racist stuff, and share it with their racist friends. Soon enough, you too could be making money by giving racists a voice. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/56 "2017-01-18T20:08:16Z")
Kimstu said: "Exactly. This is why I think it’s more accurate and informative to describe Bannon as a “white supremacism promoter” rather than as a “white supremacist” per se, and the former is how I always refer to him. " I generally prefer to identify speech/actions - not people - as racist or whatever. Partly for pragmatic reasons: “That was a racist thing to say!” is less harsh than “You’re a total racist for saying that!” Also for accuracy. That said, Brannon’s ex-wife has spilled some details about his personal anti-Semitism: [Trump Campaign CEO Steve Bannon Accused of Anti-Semitic Remarks by Ex-Wife](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-campaign-ceo-steve-bannon-accused-anti-semitic-remarks-ex-n638731). Depending on how much credibility you give her accusations, there’s some degree of reason to ascribe anti-Semitism to some of Bannon’s words/actions. In other words, it’s not just the stuff he published on Breitbart. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/57 "2017-01-18T20:17:54Z")
Why am I going to my local women’s march 1/21? Besides the reasons others have stated above, it’s to get reenergized. Psyched up. Overcome my personal fear and despair. It’s been a depressing couple months. I need to snap out of it. Being around a few thousand people who share some of my concerns will help. TL;DR, in right-wing social media-speak: I’m a special snowflake who can’t get over Trump’s overwhelming victory and needs a “safe space” to protect my fee-fees. Also, I’m totally irrational for expecting him to do the things he said he’d do, which even if he did them wouldn’t be as bad as libtards like me think they would be… (Was that close?) ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/58 "2017-01-18T20:36:03Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > TL;DR, in right-wing social media-speak: I’m a special snowflake who can’t get over Trump’s overwhelming victory and needs a “safe space” to protect my fee-fees. Also, I’m totally irrational for expecting him to do the things he said he’d do, which even if he did them wouldn’t be as bad as libtards like me think they would be… (Was that close?) You also missed: “Trump is a perfectly normal candidate and completely appropriate as a choice for president, and this is all just the same as us being upset about Obama as President, which by the way we had no problem with, you guys just all have faulty memories.” ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/59 "2017-01-18T20:39:14Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Yes. Support of unrepentant racism makes an organization racist. Now, if they wrote one racist article years ago, I might consider that they are not racist _anymore_. But the editor who allowed the racist article to go to print and never refuted it _is_ racist, and an organization with someone like that in charge _is_ racist. > > Here are [a few of the articles](http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/14/media/breitbart-incendiary-headlines/index.html) you’re defending, by the way: Let’s talk about just one of these for a moment, because I think it does a fantastic job highlighting how much ignorance drives the Breitbart-is-the-devil narrative: > [@](#): > > **Suck it up buttercups: Dangerous Faggot Tour returns to colleges in September** What’s the problem here? For bonus points, if you could explain how it’s “racist” that’d be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463/60 "2017-01-18T20:44:15Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > Yes he has. His nominees are all pretty horrifying. You can tell a lot about a person by who they surround themselves with. All of them? What is horrifying about Governor Haley, Secretary Chao, or General Mattis, for example? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-good-does-it-to-be-a-part-of-a-protest-on-inauguration-day/777463.md?page=4)