David B, Gaudere, forgive me if I’m not posting in the correct forum. This one seemed right. If I’m wrong, move this mutha with my blessings.
I’m a terrible debater IRL. I get emotional, I think of great responses an hour after the conversation, I make generalizations when I feel cornered… Thank God I didn’t go into law.
Today I had a conversation with a co-worker who said “I hate protestors. They’re just whiners. They’re so angry. Why waste your life being angry? Find something else to do. Besides, nothing’s going to change.”
This statement took my breath away. All I could say was, “You wouldn’t be able to vote if Suffragettes (sp?) hadn’t protested.”
She said, “That’s okay, I don’t vote.”
Holy shit.
The other argument I came up with was that Gandhi and Martin Luther King protested peacefully and changes have been made due to that protest.
Help me. What can I say the next time this comes up?
I guess you could ask her if her idea of “finding other things to do” involves watching TV or shopping. I mean, if she’s not willign to vote or act on her convictions, hell if she doesn’t even have* convictions, what “other things” does she have in mind for the angry ol’ protesters to do?
I understand how she got the idea that all protesters are idiots–I live too close to Seattle not to understand it. But if she can’t understand the power of group effort, I don’t think it’s worth debating with her, honestly. I can’t think of anything that could convince her to care that would be worth your time to convey.