Protesters are disrupting my commute...

[ehrnst]

[IMG][/IMG]

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. Inconveniencing and angering people only alienates them!

(and other protest tactics from people who never do jack shit about anything).

[benz380]

9. Do you know where this picture was taken? Was it NC? Thanks. n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. Jackson, Mississippi

May 28, 1963.

[ColesCountyDem]

31. Montgomery, Alabama

Rosa Parks, circa 1956, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation on the city buses was illegal.

[Hissyspit]

37. "Why don't you protest..."

[Enthusiast]

2. K&R! This post deserves hundreds of recommendations! nt

[joshdawg]

3. K & R!

[Derek V]

12. +1

[abelenkpe]

4. Thank you. Nt

[99Forever]

5. Civil disobedience is the only option left.

So be it.

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - John F. Kennedy

[NBachers]

6. Barbara Dane and the Chambers Brothers - "It Isn't Nice"

[narnian60]

16. Perfect

Thanks for posting that.

[annabanana]

32. That's wonderful! - Thank you

How is it possible I never heard that before?

[NBachers]

40. That picture of the Chambers Brothers really affects me- those guys're really something aren't they?

[annabanana]

57. sigh... I was young once, too. . . . . n/t

[Lefta Dissenter]

36. One of the songs in our Solidarity Singalong songbook

with slightly modified lyrics.

Over a thousand consecutive weekday noon-hour singing protests in our Wisconsin State Capitol, over 600 arrests, and still going strong.

Thanks to those who have gone before us.

[barbtries]

46. damn that was great

i never heard that song before. thank you.

[Dustlawyer]

7. People could still take the bus and eat at the diner. When you block all traffic you lose some who

would be supportive to the cause. I support the cause, but not this particular method. It's like blindly lashing out instead of targeted civil disobedience such as the examples you used above. There were some white people in that diner and on those buses that saw the discrimination in all its ugliness while the black protestors did nothing to harm anyone except to exercise their rights. That is the key distinction.
I guess we will just have to disagree on this one!

[Gormy Cuss]

11. Yeah, and strikers inconvenience some potential supporters too.

Civil actions tend to disrupt the status quo.

BTW, many of those people who could still take the bus or eat at the diner didn't feel that way. The presence of an African-American in their space felt like as much of a barrier to them as protesters blocking a road.

[RoccoR5955]

15. Yeah, and strikers disrupt scabs from getting to work.

Get a grip!

[brush]

27. Join the protest why don't you . . .

while you mull over being inconvenienced for a short while.

Brown and Garner and their families are inconvenienced forever.

[Dustlawyer]

28. I think you and the others need to chill. You are acting like I support the police on this issue

when I only disagree with the strategy of blocking a freeway. We want the same thing, we just disagree on how to go about it.
This strategy of blocking the freeway is potentially more than an "inconvenience" to someone trying to get to the hospital. Even though they said they would move to open a path if that happens, the delay could mean the difference between life and death. What about someone getting fired for being late for work...
There are other effective ways to protest without risking other people's lives or livelihoods, as well as pissing off people who might be sympathetic to the cause.

[heaven05]

30. that's getting old also

as an excuse to denigrate the protestors. What's your solution to the almost daily executions by the police in the streets and the homes of americans. You can complain but do you have a better option to bring a reckoning to the state sanctioned murderers in our streets posing as police? ........... .

[helpmetohelpyou]

39. Block police stations not citizens

[IronLionZion]

43. And if someone felt entitled to self-righteously punch you in the face?

It would be OK with me, since Brown and Garner and their families paid the ultimate sacrifice. It's totally fine with me if you feel some pain on your face....it's for the cause. Human society might learn something after it hits you in the face. It's for the greater good that your face must be sacrificed.

I will gladly sacrifice your face to bring attention to a cause that is deeply important to me.





it's always easy to make someone else pay the price. Think how many racists would happily sacrifice a few lives of someone else's race in the name of public safety. Not one of the supporters of this will ever notice that irony ever, even if it hits them in the face like a truck going at highway speeds.

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. K and R zillions of times

[certainot]

13. not quite the same. those were very targeted actions with a clear message. more appropriate

targets for protest would be police stations and any of the 1200 or so radio stations that have been excusing the police brutality and racism for 25 years. or the universities that endorse a lot of those stations.

[certainot]

17. one thing i've noticed about protests that stop traffic

hile it does get cops attention, which is appropriate for police brutality protests, those radio stations will talk about that 'inconvenience' all day long and long after the protestors are gone. that's what they did with OWS- what team limbaugh screamed at OWS protestors went unanswered. cops and local govt heard about the lazy rich long haired stinking flea ridden hippies and community organizers and homeless lazy bums trashing the streets and stopping traffic and burdening hard working tax payers. that got blasted from 1000 radio stations until OWS went home, and then some- you can still hear it.

so, until protestors protest those stations and the universities that keep them in the black, how many protestors is one national or local wall street kock alec republican blowhard worth?

[fadedrose]

14. Wish I knew the answer

if there is one that will create justice for everybody.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

18. K&R. Can't believe any DUers would whine about short-term inconvenience.

[pipi_k]

55. Well except maybe

a single parent who needs to get a doctor's note to prove to a kid's school that he really is sick

The parent took a few hours, or the whole day, off to get that note. Not to mention that the kid probably feels like shit.

If the parent is late, a whole lot of other people are inconvenienced as well.

Some doctor's offices won't even keep the appointment slot open, but will charge the patient for not calling the day before to cancel or reschedule.

So here's a person who might not be able to afford a hit to his or her finances probably not getting paid for time off, plus having to pay a penalty AND having to possibly reschedule.


Hey, nobody has to actually care about people like that, but it would be nice to realize that they exist.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Others have complained about the same thing.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. Yes indeed! Well said, and thank you, my dear Tierra_y_Libertad! n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

24. ....

[MadDAsHell]

47. Government tanks vs your neighbor driving to work are not equivalent...nt

[Nevernose]

54. For those who haven't seen the "uncropped" version:

[WillyT]

20. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[WillyT]

21. If The Powers That Be, Are Ok With Your Protest...

You're Not In A Protest... Your Are In A Parade.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. +1

[ohheckyeah]

56. Oh snap!

Good one.

[NuclearDem]

25. I can't even go to lunch with these protestors around!

[Dirty Socialist]

26. From the Dead Kennedys

"Give me convenience or give me death!"

[oberliner]

29. Not even remotely similar

The comparison is preposterous.

[KamaAina]

33. True enough

but the Montgomery bus boycott was meant to integrate the buses being boycotted.

The bridges in NYC did not choke Eric Garner to death.

[Sweeney]

34. I got her picture

She was too dead to autograph it but I guess she might not mind if I say I stood in line to honor heroism dead and gone. It doesn't have to be a big fight. Get all ninja on them. Touch then where they can't feel, and they will die with the thought of it.

Sweeney

[RufusTFirefly]

38. I bet that man was delayed in getting home to his family...

... all because some uppity seamstress refused to follow the rules. Such selfish grandstanding!

Her stubbornness only served to harm her cause.

[MadDAsHell]

49. You clearly don't understand the Montgomery Bus Boycotts...nt

[RufusTFirefly]

50. Yes, in fact, I do

Do you understand the sarcasm tag?
Ms. Parks' refusal to move led to the boycott. It was not part of it.

[MadDAsHell]

51. No you don't. The Montgomery Bus Boycotts didn't delay anybody...

"I bet that man was delayed in getting home to his family...
... all because some uppity seamstress refused to follow the rules. Such selfish grandstanding!"


As I stated below, the Montgomery bus boycotts involving Rosa Parks were just that, BOYCOTTS. The buses were actually more convenient to ride than ever before because so many were boycotting and walking instead.

Anyone who reads a book can see that today's protests are nothing like the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, in tactics or effectiveness. And we have (at least not yet) no Rosa Parks, MLK, etc.

[RufusTFirefly]

53. I'll just have to assume you're deliberately being obtuse

Surely, you can make better use of your time.
I know I can.

[robinlynne]

41. genius. I did not expect that!

[daredtowork]

42. Need Clarification in Berkeley: "Stop Policing My Tactics!"

There is some general confusion in Berkeley over vandalism/looting. At first, the vandalism/looting was committed by fringe "masked anarchists" - so it was basically super-egotistical white guys undermining the #blacklivesmatter support protest of white/privileged Berkeley.

Then the police made the unbelievably stupid mistake of taking batons and tear gas to this largely peaceful protest (against police brutality, among other things) in order to deal with these fringe vandals/looters. (wtf, right?)

At this point elements of the Berkeley protest itself divided on tactics. Some of the tactics *within* the protest resorted to vandalism, looting, and generally giving the finger to the system. The protesters who were against these tactics, and who thought the goal was to win the support of the community rather than burn the community down, were told to "stop policing tactics", that they were reproducing class/race structures, that they needed to check their privilege, etc. This was debate was highlighted with occasional violence. One peaceful protester who tried to stop looters was hit in the head with a hammer. A divinity student who tried to put out trash fires and explain the ways of peace was beaten and lost 2 front teeth.

As a white person, it feels bogus to say "I get it". I know there is no way I can. At the same time, I wish there was some way there could at least be more communication about the whys and wherefores of the tactics being used. Peaceful protesters in Berkeley are understandably nervous right now. They want to give their support. They want to check their privilege. They want to hand black leaders the megaphone. But they can't just stand by and watch their community burn down around them, either.

Also, it would be nice to have some pat answers to give all those busybody community consensus-makers who are the ones who seem to decide for everyone else whether a protest is the thing to support or its the thing inconveniencing everybody's commute. The up-and-coming generation may like to think the opinions of older people don't matter any more, but as long as this is a democracy, people of all ages are going to get to vote. So if you don't want white people attempting to police your tactics to keep you from burning down their neighborhoods, at the very least could you send out some ambassadors to explain the tactics and why they are so important?

[gollygee]

44. .

[slipslidingaway]

45. We were delayed in NYC trying to get home from Sloan Kettering ...

my husband had relapsed after a stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia, not feeling too well emotionally and physically.

We agree with the protests, but did not need the added headache that night ... just another view.

[MadDAsHell]

48. there seems to be a lot of DUers with more anger than historical knowledge...

The Montgomery bus boycotts involving Rosa Parks were just that, BOYCOTTS. The buses were actually more convenient to ride than ever before because so many were boycotting and walking instead.

Read a book people, a lot of the replies to the OP are collectively making us look quite ignorant...