Paul Ryan's Photo Op goes wrong when teacher refuses award from "lackey for the One Percent"

[Scuba]

Watch as Wisconsin teacher Al Levie refuse the MLK Gateway College Humanitarian Award from Ryan for being "a lackey for the One Percent".



Way to go Al!!!!!!!!!!

[dembotoz]

1. courage

[MarianJack]

2. Good for him!

Wanna bet that he'll be lambasted by fox, beck, hannity, limbaugh & other odious ilk?

PEACE!

[PA Democrat]

3. Stay safe, Mr. Levie. The right wing hate machine will be riling up their base.

[fasttense]

4. Good on him!

[Citizen Worker]

5. Well said Mr. Levie, thank you for having the courage to stand up publicly against this band of

thugs. Calling these thugs out for what they are at public events will give others the courage to stand up and fight back.

[Ed Suspicious]

6. I love listening to the cries from the winger audience... "IT'S FOR THE KIDS!"

No. It's for Paul Ryan.

[jsmirman]

7. K&R *

nm

[joeglow3]

8. Honest question here (I have my flame suit on)

Is this any different than people who disrespect our president? They believe they are standing up for something against someone they are completely oppose to. While we clearly disagree with their motivations, are they not being brave for standing up for their beliefs? If we say they need to respect the office of their elected official, does the same logic not apply here?

Don't get me wrong, I agree 100% with the sentiment, but this, in combindation with the Bewer posts, got me thinking.

[jsmirman]

9. I have a multitude of replies - focusing on the specificity of the event

whether a Governor usually attends MLK Day presentations, whether he was inserting himself into an event a Governor wouldn't have attended in the past, some thoughts on how this reflects on Tim Thomas' decision, but also on the traditional nature of that White House activity, etc.

Want to see how others field this one first and I have to get to some work, but this is where my thoughts initially go

[librechik]

11. Ryan is a Senator, not a governor--and he was co-opting the event, not respecting it

He goes in and offers "his own certificate" and therefore gets to take over the intent of the event and cheapen it with his own misguded ideals--It was really like back in the day allowing George Wallace to hand out his own certificate at an event honoring MLK. That shouldn't happen. Who invited him? Did he just show up?

[jsmirman]

13. Augh - apologies - Congressman

I think we both need to wake up - up late and haven't had my wake up shower yet.

Not a Governor, nor a Senator...

But that is one of the questions I'm asking - did he, indeed, just graft himself onto the event? If so, doesn't seem equivalent at all to regular duties/traditions of a President

[librechik]

16. no problem, just clarifying n/t

[LiberalLovinLug]

12. I think the difference may be the motivation for the disrespect

Ryan, who IS a shill for the 1% and above, and stands for many things directly opposite of MLK, comes to an event in honor of MLK to use it as a photo op handing out awards.

If disinformation or stupidity is the reason for the disrespect then,......I don't have respect for THAT. "Get your government hands off of my Medicare!"
On the other hand, if a 1%er wants to protest by not accepting an award for a predatory vulture capitalism achievement at Rockerfeller Center or Trump Towers by Obama because of stricter Banking regulations he brought in thus making his job more difficult....hey, he has every right.

[Luminous Animal]

17. I agree with you. And also, I can imagine if a Dem gov. had wagged her finger at Bush...

we'd be cheering.

[RZM]

19. Here is one area where there is equivalency between the left and right

You're right about Bush. Had it been a Democratic governor, DU would be cheering and Rush and co. would be saying that W. is the most disrespected president ever.

Same thing here. If a teacher refused an award from Alan Grayson because she thought he was an 'America-hating socialist tool' DU would be up in arms and the teacher would be feted as a hero on FR.

Both sides share equal blame for these kind of things. They both do it and it's really pretty predictable. I try not to be part of the problem, but I'm sure I am sometimes anyway

[joshcryer]

24. I don't see anything particularly wrong with that.

We agree with Alan Grayson's views, if he was snubbed in a similar manner, I think we'd be right to wag our finger. What's important is that our ideas are for the 99% not the 1%. There are detractors who would actually agree with Ryan's vote on Health Care (and call Health Care merely a 1% scam), they're fine to express that, too.

But it takes a certain kind of bravery to take a stance like this, particularly when we know that Ryan, even if you agree with his vote on Health Care (compare what we got to what he proposed, though), resoundingly comes out against the 99% in the rest of his votes.

[RZM]

26. I adopt more of a live and let live thing when it comes to ideology

For the most part, I don't hate people for what they believe in or stand for. I've got my own beliefs and I articulate them, but I try not to turn it into a vicious war where the streets shall proverbially flow with the blood of ideological nonbelievers. If Brewer wants to wag a finger or this teacher wants to tell Ryan to take a hike, I really don't care and I'm not offended. If somebody is standing up for their beliefs, more power.

The problem I have is that both sides seem to think it's great when they do it and terrible when the other side does it. I just don't get that. If you think it's wonderful to stand up for your own beliefs, why be hostile when others who do the same thing? It's fine to disagree with the motives, but it quite often gets taken beyond that into the realm of 'those beliefs and the standing up for them are fundamentally illegitimate.'

I do think that some things that are beyond the pale should be shouted down of course. I don't think it's cool to stand up for holocaust denial, or homosexuality being considered a crime, or violence directed at people for having lots of money. Problem is, a lot of people seem to thing that perfectly normal beliefs shared by many (such as having a set of basic conservative or liberal beliefs) are actually beyond the pale. That's what worries me.

[joshcryer]

27. I personally think we could use some partisan populism to invigorate things.

We've been playing this bipartisan game so long that it's really weakened the left as far as strategy is concerned. The right wing has been partisan, extremely so, for the past 30 years, and it's done wonders for them. I personally did not find this refusal to accept the award very negative or anything, he seemed rather polite about it (the guy yelling in the crowd "for the kids!" was adding more noise than the guy denying the award).

[RZM]

29. I didn't really either and that's my point

The right is probably saying this is a terrible act. I happen to think it's just fine. But if I think this is fine, I can't really come down too hard on Jan Brewer either. At least according to my own moral code.

One can be a champion of their own side without thinking the other side is fundamentally illegitimate for doing the same thing. And that's where I disagree with the hardcore ideologues on both sides. Doing your own thing is fine. But too often that comes with a belief that it's evil when others do their own thing. I say everybody do their own thing and let the chips fall where they may. Kropotkin might not entirely agree, but he'd probably be at least somewhat sympathetic

[joshcryer]

25. Yes, it's different, as the President does share values with the 99%.

Significantly more than Paul Ryan, in any event.

[Triana]

10. Woot!

Now that's what I'm talkin about. If more people just put it out there like that...these lackeys for the 1% might pull in their claws.

[99Forever]

14. Now that's just plain ...

...AWESOME!!

I can't stand the smarmy Ryan.

[Blue Owl]

15. In yo' FACE, Ryan!

REJECTED

[MrMickeysMom]

18. BIG!

Respect!

[T S Justly]

20. Al Levie deserves praise and respect above and beyond using him as a political prop. K&R (nt)

[Lifelong Protester]

21. I see the teacher here as walking away

this is WAAAY less disrespectful than what the governor of Arizona did. He did not fling the award back at him, he didn't say anything confrontational to him (that I could hear) nor did he keep the Congressman for doing his smarmy handing out of 'personal certificates'. Mr. Levie walked away.

One does NOT have to accept an 'award' if they do not feel comfortable doing so. I do not in any way see how this act on the part of Mr. Levie is at all like the disrespect shown to President Obama. I see no fingers waving, I see no direct confrontation, I see a man walking away from a sham.

Mr. Levie did not, in my opinion, show disrespect to the man, he refused a piece of paper. His later remarks were just that, LATER, and off stage.

Nothing but applause from me, he handled it better than I'm afraid I would.

[cascadiance]

22. Ryan, go off and suck on your own koolaid!

[just1voice]

23. That's fantastic! That's 1 person doing what they can do for society

Imagine if even 1/2 of our society acted this way in their daily lives.

[zinnisking]

28. Beautiful!

It was done with class.

Who was the guy that appeared to be shooing Mr. Levie off the stage?

[Bake]

30. Now, if he had accepted the certificate and then ripped it in half

THAT might have been "disrespectful," but we'd still be cheering it. At least I would.



Bake

[Fawke Em]

31. The comments on the actual site are all rightwing!

They're awful, uninformed and typical rightwing mean.

[Oilwellian]

32. My reply on Youtube

It never ceases to amaze me to watch the American right wing, who claim to revere their Constitution and the right to free speech, piss and moan when an American practices that right. Ryan wants to decimate Medicare yet the tea baggers sport signs saying "keep government hands off my Medicare." Perhaps a study of the poverty the American elderly lived in just 100 years ago, would help the right wing understand why Levie did what he did, but that would require a teacher. How amusing.


This video could use some help on Youtube. If you have the time, go to the page and vote like as well as leave a supportive comment.

[uponit7771]

33. My first urge is to cry at work, we are the 99%

[cgnick]

34. Wat to go Mr. Levie.

He is correct in his critism of Mr. Ryan.