Text 11455, 80 rader
Skriven 2007-02-03 00:11:28 av Josh Hill (14894.babylon5)
     Kommentar till en text av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Ärende: Re: My Presidential Pick for 2006
=========================================
On Fri, 2 Feb 2007 20:47:42 -0600, "Carl" <cengman7@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>
>"Josh Hill" <usereplyto@gmail.com> wrote in message 
>news:4co7s2te71urgruttqal9cbkmaii5obp9m@4ax.com...
>> On Thu, 1 Feb 2007 23:06:11 -0600, "Carl" <cengman7@hotmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"Josh Hill" <usereplyto@gmail.com> wrote in message
>>>news:4mb5s2hljjftpetsbv26h5kf3a24411uqp@4ax.com...
>>>> On Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:40:27 -0600, "Carl" <cengman7@hotmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>[Putting on my contrarian hat]
>>>>>
>>>>>When I go out in public with my wife, I've never tried  make a statement
>>>>>about my sexuality. That doesn't mean I'm hiding it... it means it's 
>>>>>none
>>>>>of  anyone else's business and I'm certainly not going to force others 
>>>>>to
>>>>>notice me.
>>>>
>>>> But your sexuality is presumed. Even then, it is demonstrated in acts
>>>> like holding hands or wearing a wedding ring, or even being
>>>> accompanied by a woman of your approximate age.
>>>
>>>I don't care what's presumed... my actions in public have no motive
>>>to indicate anything to the people around me.  If two guys have
>>>rings on, few would notice or care.  It's when people go out of their
>>>way to draw attention to themselves and their agenda that it becomes
>>>distasteful to me, and I generally don't care what the agenda is.
>>>
>>>I've said in the past I don't see the point to protest marches either.
>>
>> You're saying that we would have had the Civil Rights Act if King
>> hadn't marched?
>
>Yeah. I think it was inevitable.
>
>Likewise I think it wasn't protesters that stopped the Viet Nam war, but
>rather the nightly news reports showing body bags that swayed opinion.
>
>Conversely, I don't think Farrakahn having another million man march is
>going to sway the majority to think like he does.
>
>Anyone that is swayed by the masses rather than the message is...
>well... not someone that should vote.

I disagree, because I think that protests are a form of communication,
a way of getting a message to the public or exerting pressure. They
get an issue which would otherwise be ignored on the nightly news. And
they pressure government, which finds protests politically messy. The
brutal attacks on freedom marchers earned the civil rights movement a
great deal of sympathy throughout the country, and that in turn helped
created the public sentiment that allowed politicians to vote for
civil rights. The antiwar protests galvanized young people and turned
them against the war, including me: I was about 13 when some of my
little friends were gassed in the march on the Pentagon, and the
government's odious claim that the protesters had hurled the gas
taught me one of the most important lessons of my life, that a
lifetime of cherry tree propaganda notwithstanding, our government
could lie, was lying. As to Farrakahn, I don't think protests convince
people to support causes in which they don't believe. The cause must
have merit as perceived by the public. The protest is a vehicle, as, I
think, is the response of the government: think the Boston Massacre,
the attack on the Bonus Marchers, Kent State, the Chicago convention,
the Freedom Marchers, what have you. Protests force tyranny to show
its stripes.

-- 
Josh

[Truly] I say to you, [...] angel [...] power will be able to see that [...]
these to whom [...] holy generations [...]. After Jesus said this, he departed.

- The Gospel of Judas
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32
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