local6.com - Politics - Protestors Ransack Bush/Cheney Headquarters In Orlando
This is going to be one of those weeks where I am just going to be apalled by the immaturity of my fellow Americans. I'm tempted to laugh at these idiots but this represents a growing problem within America. There are a small minority of people (albeit a growing minority) who think that their opinions put them above law and order. A group of people who, misguided as they may be, have such conviction in their world view that they are willing... no, are impelled, to attack people with opposing viewpoints. Say what you want about Republicans, but it's been a long time since we've seen any acting this way.
Of course the union people were involved... as suspect an organization as you could ask for... I love their response to the twist their protest took: "A spokesperson with the AFL-CIO told Local 6 News that the Orlando protest did not go as planned." I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that! I'm certainly not a fan of John Kerry or the rest of the elite Democrats but, I'm not going to resort to lude or disorderly acts to show that to the world. Politics just aren't that important. You get the impression that politics in the U.S. is supposed to be a rational and intelligent process... but everyday I see something new that shakes my faith in that. The founding fathers tried to instill a sense of dignity to the process that has gotten dilluted since then... well steadily since Andrew Jackson anyway.
I just don't understand the need to hate or demonize a politician. Especially in the U.S. where they can only do 4 years of damage... if they go against the majority of American's concerns. I believe John Kerry is a threat to my well being and the state of the country but, I'm not hot to break into the DNC headquarters and draw horns and a mustache on John Kerry's picture while hurting people caught in the frey. Worst of all, these people were worked up about overtime... OVERTIME! Three people were injured because the AFL-CIO were pissed about overtime. Amazing.
There's always an attempt to paint these protesters as an indication about how fed up Americans are with Bush/Cheney... I don't buy it... You might as well say that the Columbine killers are an indication as to how fed up some kids are with social cliques and teasing in high schools... just because people can't act civilized when they're upset, is no reason to cannonize their criminal acts for political gain. The media is often sympathetic to destructive protestors... and I don't understand why... Maybe one day some Luddites will bust into the New York Times and smash the presses because they're upset with the reporting... of course, that would be an attack on freedom of speech... whereas attacking and vandalizing in the name of left-wing causes is heroic. No matter who's freedoms and speech it attacks. I suppose this is more evidence about how far out of line the extreem left is: That they can pull off these protests and cause millions of dollars in damage... while the extreem right is much more subdued. When the Southern Baptist Convention convenes they don't loot and throw rocks... They seem to be able to be angry without causing a riot... There's always that one nut who want's to pick-off abortion doctors, or burn churches... but when large groups get together, the extreme conservatives seem to be a lot more mature and composed than the extreme liberals. Maybe one day the conservatives will go on a moral crusade and start tearing shit up in the name of what is "right."
Bottom line: whatever the cause, empassioned violence is never right... civil disobediance is passive. You refuse to pay an unjust tax, or give up your seat on a bus... you don't blow up buses or riot at the treasury department... or even break into a ship's hold and dump the tea into Boston Harbor... That's childish, immature and unfitting for an American.
Oh yeah, I'm not exactly sure if there's a message hidden there, but, notice the picture at the end of the article of the guy pointing at the poster... the image is cropped to read "NO CHILD LEFT". That can be twisted into several interpretations... in this article though, it's ambiguous... but provocative.
