Saturday, August 15, 2009

Protesting the Right Way.

It occurred to me that we on the Right have gone so long without protesting that we have forgotten how to do it better.

So a few Do's and Don't's as we head into another rally at Gabby's (21st, 4-6 pm) and Grijalva's (22nd, 12-2 pm) offices. Some of this may be tongue-in-cheek, but only to emphasize the point:

DO - wear comfortable clothing, colored to match the protest OR the fallback color of red.

DON'T - come half dressed. We want our signs to be read and message to be heard - not to have cars honking at your flat-belly.

DO - bring water and sunscreen. If you need a place to occasionally sit down, bring a chair.

DON'T - use bus stop benches. We are there to protest, not get Sun Tran upset with us. They have a job to do, so do we. Since we are all conservatives, we understand the desire to be left alone to do our work.

DO - stay on PUBLIC PROPERTY, sidewalks and easements.

DON'T - enter private property. Again, we conservatives believe in property rights of the owner. Let's prove to all that we respect that.

DO - bring your own homemade signs.

DON'T - hand out pre-printed signs. We are not MoveOn - We have the ability to think for ourselves.

DO - respect the roadways

DON'T - stand in traffic, or disrupt the flow. We want people to hear our message, not get turned off at us because there is a red shirt holding up the light.

DO - chant slogans

DON'T - chant slogans inside the counter-protest. That is ILLEGAL. No group promoting any protest (Tea Party, Code Blue, etc) condones, permits, or promotes direct confrontation. You get attacked, you are on your own...and we WILL laugh and point at you for your stupidity.

DO - spread out... preferably down the oncoming traffic side to the red, as they will be stopped waiting for the light. IN ALL DIRECTIONS, as long as we concede the right to the counter-protest to their corner/corners

DON'T - bunch up in one mass under the only tree for shade. How can anyone count how many people are there, if you just look like a blob of red? Spread out, numbers speak volumes at these rallys, come prepared to be in the sun, bring an umbrella if you need to...but please spread out! Also, you spent time handmaking your sign, right? You want somebody to appreciate it - they can't if it's in the middle of the mass of red.

And on the subject of signs, there are some good and bad's there, too:

GOOD - 7 words or less

BAD - anything over 7 words long, remember we are trying to get our message out to the drivers as they pass, they cannot read a novel during a red light.

GOOD - jokes, puns, quotes from founding fathers, quotes from talk show hosts or bloggers

BAD - racial slurs, personal attacks, curse words

GOOD - logic

BAD - nonsensical ranting

GOOD - logical linking of policy to political stances

BAD - use of the words: Nazi, Hitler, or any other form of Godwin'ing the argument

GOOD - BIG BOLD LETTERING

BAD - any lettering smaller than 2 inches tall...why do you think the Fed mandates lettering on roadsigns be 2 inches tall MINIMUM?

GOOD - pictures ex: Kool-Aid Man, Joker-bama

BAD - pictures that look like they were drawn by a two-year-old, unless it was actually drawn by your two-year-old. Then I say awesome for getting your kids involved!

GOOD - Flags

BAD - Flags waving into traffic. Again, we're not there to piss off the motorists!
UPDATE: Aug 17th: DO NOT BRING GUNS. If you have a CCW, bring your carry weapon. BUT DON'T BRING A FLIPPIN AR-15. Obamacare has NOTHING to do with the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

2 comments:

  1. With all due respect, may I add a couple?

    GOOD or BAD -- getting your kids involved, depending on the age of the children. If they are old enough to study and understand the issues and make a decision on that, great. Otherwise, leave them out of the protests. They do not deserve to be used as pawns or saddled with adult issues they can't comprehend.

    BAD - use of Joker-bama. Be honest here -- how many of you would scream bloody murder if you saw George W. Bush as the Joker? Keep the debate on the issues and don't get personal.

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  2. I agree with the first... middle of the road on the second...there was a lot of stuff like that done on Bush - and I let people do it, as it's our 1st amendment right of free speech.

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