Tanks Threaten Protesters in LA

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:00 am

So, based on your argument, it's okay for someone to whine on a public street, but it's not okay for someone to be annoyed by someone whining on a public street.

Of course, that makes perfect sense.

I'm sorry, but even plopping your group down on a busy street and handing out flyers for your cause is obnoxious in the same way that pop-up banners are obnoxious. Sure, you can just click the "X" and be on your way, but when it happens over and over and over again day after day after day with a dozen different groups that are all vying for your attention, you just get sick of it. If I care about your cause, I WILL GO TO YOU. Don't stop me on the corner when I'm trying to get to class, don't hand me a flyer and fucking colored ribbon that I have no use for, and don't come knocking on my door with your propaganda (and yes, that also does happen, especially with certain religious groups).

I'm sorry you think this attitude is irritable, but I think it's perfectly normal to get aggravated when there are a dozen different people getting in my face on a daily basis.

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:04 am

Though, now we're talking about something completely different than protestors marching on the street with stupid signs.

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:13 am

Bah. All this is is people expressing their opinions. Until one of you goes out there and grabs a sign from a protester and beats him over the head with it, I don't care. You wanna dislike it? Go ahead. Me by guest, there's coffee and cakes in the kitchen. I don't get it -- okay, actually, I think it's fucking ridiculous -- but fine. There's no point in arguing about this, because we're all adults and our world-views are pretty much firmly cemented in place. You're not going to change my opinion, and I don't really want to change yours because what you think makes you who you are. As long as you're not hurting anyone and I'm not hurting anyone, it really doesn't matter.

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:23 am

A distinction also needs to be made between garnering support for your cause and obnoxiously forcing your cause on people. There's a difference between having a bake sale or an organized rally and idiotically roaming the streets with signs and stupid slogans or even stopping passersby to give them flyers they didn't ask for.

chix0rgirl · Post by **chix0rgirl** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:44 am

Y'know, going back to my analogy of a pregnant girl headed for an abortion clinic... If I were going in to get an abortion and was approached by person after person telling me the "facts" about abortion, I think I'd almost go through with it no matter what, just to spite them. That'd just be the reaction that comes from the top of my head, I guess. Or to a lesser extreme, I'd just be so frustrated and annoyed by them that if you ever mentioned "Christians" or "pro-lifers" around me I'd get pissed.

And because some people are dumb, permit me to state that this example applies to anyone advocating any type of cause in a pushy way. Violation of other people's privacy is not "freedom of expression" at all.

chriscaffee · Post by **chriscaffee** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:55 am

I'm sure protests do work. I mean, even if they convince one person to support a cause that qualifies as "working." That doesn't change the fact that they are annoying as hell. I'm not going to try and say they are pointless in general, but I will say that they will not convince me as an individual, and it definitly turns me off.

The Dems bugged me five times last week, thrice in one day. Two of the visits were for the same purpose, to issue me the same flyer indicating that as a free thinking American I should vote straight Democrat. The response of the second visitor:

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure you had one of... those."

*gestures to a flyer on the floor of my entryway laden with dirty shoeprints.*

Seriously, if you are going to go out and advertise your politics, at least get your shit together and don't bug the same person/people twice. Once is plenty. And when you're playing PSO, there is no way to pause. Thanks for dropping by during Dark Falz. You lost me out of 10,000 XP jackass.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 1:23 am

Huh. Protesting is more polarizing than I thought.

Usually, when protesters or picketers come to campus, I generally just ignore them and I'm on my way. It can be annoying or amusing, depending on my mood and/or response, but it usually has almost no impact on my life.

In this thread, though, it seems like it genuinely bothers more people than I had thought. I figured most people were pretty indifferent to protesting, with a few people maybe being persuaded to their cause.

This leads me to wonder, do you think protesting brings more people to their cause than it turns against? Do you think Gibbon and 'Holic's point of view is fairly common?

I mean, if the mind set of Gibbon and 'Holic is at least somewhat common, would that mean for every 1 or 2 people that are "converted", 2 or 3 people resent them for bothering them and are therefore turned off to their cause even more?

Assuming, of course, that a good majority don't care either way regardless of the protesting, but if protesting pisses as many people off as it recruits, does it accomplish anything?

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 1:39 am

From my observations and experience, the grand majority of people treat them like beggars. Just ignore 'em and walk on by.

Moreover, if I am interested in a cause, the last place I'll go for information is a group of supporters handing out buttons on the goddamn street corner.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 2:43 am

Right. Well, of course you're not going to seek protesters out for information; I doubt anyone is really seeking protesting groups out for information on the subject.

That isn't really their purpose to begin with. They simply want to bring awareness to the cause.

Even if you don't take any flyers or ribbons, or you completely disagree with their cause, if they caught your attention and you thought about it for even ten seconds, then they were successful as advertisers.

Because now you're at least somewhat aware of their situation (whatever it might be). So, maybe you'll hear something about it that you normally wouldn't give a second thought to, but now you might pay more attention. Maybe you'll become more informed on the subject as a result. It affected you, is the point.

The question is, does it do more good than bad? If, when you hear about the situation or cause again and you think negatively about those "wacky protesters", then they only hurt themselves. Do you think there are a lot of people like that? If so, are they cancelled out by the amount of people that would join the cause because of the protest?

The past election would be a good example to illustrate my point. We all are aware of a lot of the active protesting done by liberals in support of Kerry up until November. Did that help his campaign or hurt it? 'Cause for every few people that might've been persuaded by their protesting, I think even more were turned off by what they perceived as crazy radicals or something.

Just something to consider.

PRV · Post by **PRV** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 8:04 am

I know that if I see anyone handing out leaflets, I go into immediate "Leaflet Avoidance Mode", which primarily involves me making sure that there's at least one other pedestrian between me and the nearest leaflet dispenser at all times. Then they get the leaflet, not me.

It's not a sense of meanness. I'm quite happy giving money to charities, and I'm quite happy with picking up leaflets. But I'll only do it if, say, there's a stand with leaflets in and I can see that whatever the leaflet's about is something that interests me. I want to be able to choose the leaflets I pick up. I don't like leaflets shoved in my face by random people on the street, often because 90% of the time it's something I'm not only not interested in, but I'm actively opposed to. Like conversion to some religion or other.

Basically, if someone is fervent enough about something that they'll stand in the street and demonstrate, it automatically turns me off. If I want to find out more about something, I'll do it myself, thanks.

Neo Yi · Post by **Neo Yi** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 10:01 am

This is why I safely protest in the internet and most of things I protest are generally crap that doesn't affect this world in any way, shape, or form. To me, it's kind of pointless to carry a sign around and stand in front of whatever it is you're protecting and so forth, I mean, some authorized figures gonna come up and arrest you/send you way/mail you to Alaska/drive you out, etc.
~Neo

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 4:53 pm

I'm protesting serious discussion in this thread.
BRING BACK GRATUITOUS NUDITY!

plasticwingsband · Post by **plasticwingsband** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 5:57 pm

I'm protesting people who protest serious discussion in this thread.

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 5:59 pm

plasticwingsband wrote:I'm protesting people who protest serious discussion in this thread.

STUPID FACIST HEAD!

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 6:25 pm

Let's have a serious discussion about gratuitous nudity.

It's good stuff. I support it.

Baba O'Reily · Post by **Baba O'Reily** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 6:27 pm

Well, at what age does public nudity stop becoming a gratuity and start becoming an eyesore? I mean, is 45 pushing it?

Spazz · Post by **Spazz** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 11:52 pm

Speaking of public obscenity, did you know it's illegal to fart in public in Louisiana?

The Scarlet Scorpion · Sat Nov 13, 2004 1:50 am

Zeta wrote:
Okay, now that I've actually read the article, I've come to the conclusion that Zeta is paranoid
I've noticed that, too. I didn't always act like this. It's only in the past 2 years or so that I've gotten this neurotic.

You too?

Oh, and I hear a Pennsylvainia school board has now okayed the teaching of creationism in class. Oy.

Oh, and I rather like the phrase "Freedom Patriot Police." It really does sound like something Bush et. al. would concoct. Maybe I shouldn't have entered my Social Security Number on my voter registration form (which, it should be noted, also lists me as a Democrat. Oh dear...).

Neo Yi · Post by **Neo Yi** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 11:02 am

Well, at what age does public nudity stop becoming a gratuity and start becoming an eyesore? I mean, is 45 pushing it?

If my own parents started doing it...
~Neo

The GHZ Forum

Tanks Threaten Protesters in LA

Okay, I'm done.