The other night I am causally watching the DNC, doing my usual cable news channel rotation to, not only get a full spectrum of the media interpretation, but also to avoid the commercials as much as humanly possible. I turn it to Fox News and I witness a group of protesters known idiotically as, "Remake ‘68," about to rough up the Fox News reporter Griff Jenkins. It really makes evident what a sad state the art of protesting really is in. Sure, there have always been blunders, such as Chicago ’68, the incident “Remake ‘68” is named from, but as time moves forward on its endless march, protesting seems to be getting worse and worse. Much like the band Chicago.
I think an obscure, unknown Brit named Matthew Knowles from the Society of British Aerospace Companies put it best, when after a recent British protest he said, "These stunts are becoming tiresome and do nothing more than peddle inaccurate propaganda." I will not go so far as apply this statement as an absolute concerning protesters, but I will concede that it certainly does feel this way. Truly, protests seem to have lost any ability they might have had to inspire and move people, not only because of more powerful abundant forms of media, but more so due to the actions of some the protesters. Too often their goal is to express themselves, not in a peaceful protest, but with strife between themselves and those they oppose. Further popular targets include, anyone who challenges their views, media, bystanders, and their choice of venue and its inhabitants. Their reasoning is that by causing a ruckus they can bring further attention to their cause. However, all such protests only succeed in taking the focus off their message, to some degree discrediting it and those who follow it, and even reflecting poorly on protesting in general.
This was certainly the case with the far-left “Remake ‘68” protest, which got out of control when a Fox News camera showed up. A lot of swearing, shoving and pushing ensued and I am glad that nobody was hurt in the fiasco. I believe a frequent use of profanity and violence, such as the kind “Remake ‘68” engaged in, can denote a lack of intelligence and certainly, with those people I believe this truly was the case. “Remake ‘68” would have rivaled Nazi Germany with their civility. If they can't handle people with differing viewpoints, I suggest they leave the country and go somewhere where it is moderated by a dictatorship form of government. These people, by the way they have acted, heavily defecated on their own cause and if there were any peaceful protesters there, then their time was completely wasted by the actions of the pathetic mob.
Why is it that the anti-war groups who protest violence often resort to it when confronted by a conflicting viewpoint? Isn't this the exact antithesis of what they claim to be proponents of? “Remake ‘68” obviously was promoting an anti-war ideal, but yet came prepared for violence, naming themselves after the protest that turned violent in ‘68, and wearing masks to hide their identity. The message, the masks, and the name of the protest itself, lead me to conclude that peaceful protesters were few in number, if there were any at all.
People today are prone to picking and choosing the freedoms that should be available to each individual. The range of the rights you receive, in the eyes of others, varies depending on your values. They only want people to have the freedom that is convenient to them or lines up in relation to their own beliefs. You can't pick and choose with things like freedom. It has to be all encompassing, and an innate right of every person whether you agree with them or not on political or social issues. This is the concept that is behind our nation and our system of government; to protect the rights of each individual. What gets me is how out of touch some of these protesters are. They are often ignorant or misinformed on how the political and social world works, often promoting ideas that may sound good, but only in concept and would never be successful in a real world application.
We see insane protests all over the political spectrum. For instance, the far-right religious loons who go out and protest at soldiers funerals citing God's punishment and causing unneeded grief and pain for the mourning friends and family. The far-left whack jobs that promote things like violence, anarchy and rioting causing unnecessary trouble for the police and local government, while the whole time they talk of freedom and an anti-war agenda. These instances give protesting a bad name and a reputation that drains respect from anyone who protests peacefully. I have no problem with people who want to speak their mind and organize a protest, but your actions must be consistent with your message, done with respect and without infringing on anyone else’s rights. If these things occur then you lose my respect, the respect of many others and forfeit your cause.
Finally, to close; all the Fox News bashing is getting extremely cliche and really damn old. I can't even look up porn anymore, or hilarious videos of animals getting hurt without someone on the comment page turning it around and using it as an excuse to say FU to Fox News. Truth is, Fox News does something every other news and TV station does: caters to a demographic. It is how media works. If you don't like it; don't watch it. Easy. You don't see me bitching about Lifetime, because I got my Will and Grace fill years ago and I don't have to tune in. I seriously doubt that people who complain about Fox have ever even really watched it, and they are probably just feeding off other people who have the same political views as them and they just can't stand the fact that other viewpoints are being represented within the media. My thoughts on this are usually confirmed when people are confronted about why they hate Fox News. They can never really cite any specific examples. Yeah, Yeah, Fox News sucks, okay I got it, now shut up and get back on your X-Box emo boy!
No comments:
Post a Comment