Saturday, October 02, 2010

People unclear on the subject

Was out on the Mall in DC today with Tyler, museum hopping and people watching. No really big protest crowds anywhere, but a lot of small, weird, hanger-on type protesters. You know your protest is failing when you and your 3 friends are the whole group, carrying the 150 signs you had printed up.

Some people really really really don't know how to protest though.

We saw one group with the sign "Socialism is the Alternative", and I said to them, "yes you are exactly right, thanks for reminding me that things could be worse". The sign is like an inkblot test. You can read it however you want.

Another strange one was, "Private Armies are Dangerous" to which Tyler observed "they better be"!

I really don't get this one; it's like printing A=A on a sign. Why walk around in the heat waving a tautology?

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UPDATE: I guess we left too soon to go for a late lunch, because I see on the TV that there are a good amount of folks out on the mall now.

9 comments:

Indy said...

I just made out a fairly large "A=A" sign, and I don't care which group of crazies is holding a protest next, I'm there. I can't wait to mix in and hold up my sign with an expression of furious seriousness. I figure it's good for a shot in the local paper. I'll send you a copy.

Anonymous said...

Private Armies are Dangerous

Probably a protest against the longtime and continuing use of private contractors by the Department of Defense. Not the best sign in the world, but certainly an issue worth thinking about.

Anonymous said...

Didn't Obama propose a private army of young people? Whatever happened to that?

Anonymous said...

Didn't Obama propose a private army of young people? Whatever happened to that?

It was a fictional figment of some Republican's imagination. As such, progress has been slow.

Pelsmin said...

My wife and daughter were on the mall headed to a museum; the crowds weren't too big, but they made up for their lack of size with virulent anti-semitism. Her favorite signs were "Boycott Israel" and "Free Occupied Gaza." I agree with the second, though the occupiers changed a few years ago.

BTW, Obama did call for some kind of domestic corps: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." July 2, 2008, just before the part about hope, and after the section on change.

John Covil said...

Still, though, calling private military contractors, "dangerous," seems only to result in a response from them of, "Thank you! Glad you think we're effective."

Anonymous said...

"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.

Failing to see how how "public security corp used to respond to national disasters" = "private army".

Anonymous said...

Still, though, calling private military contractors, "dangerous," seems only to result in a response from them of, "Thank you! Glad you think we're effective."

Darn right. They're second to none in ripping off the taxpayer and shooting first while asking questions never.

Somehow I don't think that the sign was intended for the contractors.

Anonymous said...

July 2, 2008, just before the part about hope, and after the section on change.

Ahh, the famous "private army" speech. The one where he argued that we must strengthen the Peace Corp, America Corps, etc. Amazing how that gets equated with "building a private army of liberal muslim death zombies".