Revulsion
When even a newspaper that is against the war in Iraq cannot stomach the antics of the "anti-war" protesters, you know there is a real problem. The newspaper in question, the Portland Tribune, tries to have it both ways by denouncing the actions of what it calls the few, while lauding the majority of protesters. What they fail to do is show that one single person in the majority actually objected to the antics of the few. One gets the impression that nobody did so at the time at all.
But then there was a smaller group of demonstrators — if they can even be called that — who engaged in numerous actions that violated the sensibilities of ordinary people and damaged the very cause the activists claimed to endorse.
This splinter group of protesters showed its support for “peace” by burning a U.S. soldier in effigy. It exhibited its supposedly pacifist nature by knocking a police officer off his bike — an action that brought out the police riot squad.
Perhaps the most disturbing scene of the afternoon, however, involved the man who pulled down his pants in front of women and children and defecated on a burning U.S. flag. This disgusting act actually elicited cheers from some members of the crowd, but we hope that the emotion it produces in the community is one of revulsion.
Offensive behavior does not advance peace and justice in the world. Rather, it undermines the moral message of peace demonstrators. It leads people to believe that it’s not possible to be both patriotic and opposed to the war in Iraq.
If the goal of peace demonstrators is to influence public opinion and encourage an end to the war, the activists must connect with their fellow citizens — not repel them.
This behavior on the part of anti-war demonstrators is not at all unusual. They are getting worse as they grow bolder, however. The burning of the effigy exactly shows the mindset of the anti-war crowd's strongest supporters. Read the comments that follow the editorial. One of the very earliest hints that it must be an evil right wing conspiracy to discredit the anti-war crowd. As someone points out farther down, there isn't any need to do that. The left can discredit themselves without any help whatsoever. I think this editorial proves that.
By daveinboca, Saturday, 24 March , 2007 @ 11:09 am
The teenage wasteland that is the ultra-left collection of lesbians, gays, druggies, junkies and professors [and a few crazy housewives] probably represents the sliver of America that is stuck out there in biker trailer parks, but wants to get drug connections downtown. Portland is a Mecca for drifters and ne’er-do-wells who end up hooked on drugs and perv-sex.
The guy defecating is probably projecting his personality.
By Hurricane Shirley, Monday, 26 March , 2007 @ 1:56 pm
Staying on your point, Gaius, as to why no one in the crowd was seen objecting to the objectionable behavior, while I haven’t the time to read all 239 comments under the editorial you quoted, there were two points I found interesting.
One commenter suggested that pooping on flags is the highest form of patriotism because Thomas Jefferson advocated such a form of protest. I’m going to have to research that some time (let’s see, the Google search string would be…).
Another commenter gets to the crux of the matter by suggesting that in today’s culture, people are encouraged to act out their feelings rather than think things through. I completely agree with this observation. Within such a zeitgeist, all the pooper has to do is say, “Well, that’s the way I feel,” and he will be within his rights.