Protesting then and now

I've perused the thread blasting MoveOn, Code Pink, and others for calling names, being rude etc. etc. Interestingly enough, none of these critics seem to criticize the message, just the methods being used to deliver it. They seem to want a more polite, respectful group of demonstrators.

However let us look back the Vietnam war and the anti-war movement that went along with it. For one of the largest factors in ending that war was the anti-war movement. Now were those protesters nice and polite? Did they show proper respect to their "betters"? No, they didn't.

They took over university buildings, held massive protests across the country,wrote excoriating letters and articles, were loud and rude, hell Abbie Hoffman even got a bunch of people together to levitate the Pentagon.

And guess what, they brought the war to an end.

There comes a time when people have to step up their protests. We cannot afford to be nice and polite, for nice and polite simply gets chewed up and spat out. It is time for people to be outraged and outrageous, to do what it takes to bring this illegal, immoral war to an end. All that conducting a anti-war movement according to the proper rules of etiquette accomplishes is to get more and more innocents killed daily.

I applaud MoveOn, Code Pink and others who are out there leading the way, we need more of this. Playing nicey nice simply plays into the warhawks hands. When you're nice and polite, you're ignored by the media. Thus, it takes outrageousness to get peoples' attention. I suggest that we all follow this path, raise a ruckus that nobody can ignore. Otherwise this war will continue to drag on and on.

Face it people, the war mongers don't place nice, why should we. Speak the truth, say it loud and proud, and let the critics ignore us at their own peril. The lives of innocents depend on it.

We have been playing nice for the last 6 years, doing all the things that polite society considers the correct way to petition our representatives. Voting was our only real way to change things but that is not a certain thing anymore to say the least. We have done all of that and we can't even move "our side". I am not certain "our side" even listens to our grievances. There is little left but to be loud and outrageous and hope that catches on.

We put thousands and millions of people out in the street, and there is no media coverage, even local coverage. I've marched in protests that have drawn out five thousand people in a town of 100,000, not a peep in the paper or local television.

But tell the truth, be outrageous, and that gets airtime. Yet even members of the left seem to think that it is too much, that we should be polite. People are dying while we're being polite.

Of course if we did do something like take over a university building or levitate the Pentagon, we would all be either arrested or shot as terrorists. Just shows you how much "progress" we've made.

Still, if outrageous is all that they'll pay attention to, then outrageous we should give them.

have gotten us. NOTHING. Even some of those here on DU that would berate us for supporting such "antics" as we saw yesterday with CODE PINK have been disappointed with the non responses we have been getting. There is no other option other than to sit back and watch the end destruction of our constitution. When the only acknowledgment we get from "our side" is no response or cussing and arrest we know it is time to ramp it up. "Our side" was the only hope we had. They can't arrest all of us. I hold on to the hope that "our side" would not shoot us down.

I don't know, I am just tired and very discouraged. I have no side anymore and really, none of us do. Lives are being lost while we play nice and they play politics. They disgust me.

Why I oughta!

Those were the days I guess.

BTW, I think I got that phrase from the eloquent DancingBear.

:hug:

I love you too lonestarnot! :hug:

Us rabble rousers must stick together. I guess we came into adulthood causing trouble and raising awareness by outrageous means and it looks like we may end our adulthoods doing the same. I guess it keeps us out of the bingo halls :).

Thanks for posting this.
I'm getting really tired of virtual people complaining about real people doing real things in the real world to stop this illegal, immoral war!

First, from what I've read (and what I've written) the primary complaint about CodePink isn't that they are "nice and polite" its that there outlandish outfits and tactics are alienating. I have no problem with civil disobedience, but civil disobedience while dressed like a clown isn't likely to get the message across effectively.

As for Vietnam, what "brought the war to an end" wasn't the yippies political theater (Pigasus for President) or their street tactics (if you think that the riots in Chicago brought the war to an end faster than would otherwise be the case, I have a bridge to sell you).
What brought the war to an end was the growth of widespread opposition to the war amongst the middle and upper classes -- the parents of the kids who were being drafted and sent off to die in rice paddies. It was when veterans and mothers groups started speaking out.

If outrageousness always worked, Fred Phelps wouldn't be the pariah he deservedly is.

When the more moderate less out-spoken people start speaking out and marching things will change. No one freaks out when either base makes a stink, it's when the people towards the middle start grumbling that fear of being kicked out of office sets in.

And frankly what do you think sparked that widespread opposition to 'Nam? Naaah, couldn't have been all those protesters that were seen on the news all time, they couldn't have had anything to do with that now, could they? :eyes:

And let's see, how outrageous were those who fought for labor rights? The forty hour work week, overtime, all those fine things that we now enjoy. Were they nice and polite? Hell no, they went out and shot people if they had to, Code Pink is simply exercising their pesky First Amendment rights.

We've tried playing nice, we've tried being polite, and what the hell has it gotten us? The war kicked down the road for six years while hundreds of thousands are dead, a country is destroyed and our own country on the verge of collapsing. Yeah, real progress there, eh?

Frankly if we aren't outrageous this war will last for a long while and destroy all of us in the process. You want to talk outrageous, let's talk the collapse of our country, now that's outrageous.

uppity women who stood outside the White House wanting the right to vote. I seem to remember there were a lot of people who thought they would kill the cause but I also remember hearing that a lot of women gained courage from them, enough to finally stop asking and demand.

Amazing that we made as much progress as we have with all this outrageousness;)

Stunts like the yippies protesting at the NY Stock Exchange ,or attempting to "levitate the pentagon, got headlines but if you think that they helped spark opposition to the war, you are mistaken. Similarly, the common practice of displaying the Viet Cong flag at demonstrations also didn't spark opposition -- it actually made it difficult for some people who otherwise were questioning the war to throw in with the antiwar movement.

Apparently you don't recall "clean for Gene" -- the recognition that in order for Gene McCarthy to have a shot at the Democratic nomination, his supporters had to look "respectable" to the voters that they were wooing. So they cut their hair, put on jackets and even ties and went door to door. THe result -- McCarthy won 20 of 24 delegates in the New Hampshire primary and setting the stage for LBJ's withdrawal from the race a couple of weeks later. McCarthy went on to win the Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Oregon primaries. There is not a person on the planet who thinks that McCarthy could have had the success he had if his supporters had gone door to door wearing pink tutus and tiaras.

Yes, McCarthy ultimately did not prevail. But the thousands of voters who supported him became part of the antiwar movement and ultimately were the reason that Nixon was forced to end US involvement in the war.

Kerry spoke and others were allowed to speak against the war at that time . Now we are shut out even of reps offices and the protests are far to peaceful and have been .

It's a whole different ball game now , besides being a sick game it's still a game .

I am not going to bash anyone for trying but the way it's being done does not get our voices out , we are restricted now .

Beside all of this I still believe most people are either unaware or don't care since they have not been affected yet . also most people can't afford to travel to DC . Many people don't even have jobs and the colleges are not in an uproar either .

we don't get the real news or the picture of what's happening in Iraq and we don't have a draft which I perfer we did not .

Today was supposed to be a 9/11 general strike , I didn't see this happen because most people have to be uninformed as I said before , either that or the me generation has no care .

My future is affected but I'm 58 and I won't be here that long hopefully , but the youth , if this is all fine with you then welcome to it because your future is now , not tomarrow or when it's too damn late .

I don't care what anyone has to say , it's going to take the youth once again , the boomers parents were not out in the protests , at least you have our backing .

Hell , I don't even know if I can blame the youth of today , I have no idea what their lifes are like in this screwed up time . Perhaps it's the boomers fault , who knows , I don't have children . Perhaps the boomers dropped the ball trying to get on with their lifes after such a horrid time in the 60's and 70's , who would have thought we would be in another war again , I never did , I knew things were not fine across the globe with all these crimes going on under the wire and a slack media . Maybe we trusted the government , big mistake .

We are where we are and something has to be done , I just don't feel yelling in a hearing is the way to do it , it takes guts to do this but what will be the result that's the point to consider .