G7 domestic problems? YOUR OPINION WANTED

[EUR_Zaitsev]

As we see so many being arrested in Washington D.C. over the meeting of the G7 in Washington D.C.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-group-protests.html

[alaric]

The IMF and World bank protesters are fighting for a cause they believe in. They don't care that it's not the most popular or most understood cause, it's important to them to voice their opinion.

To me, that is what America is all about: Voiceing your opinions and trying to make the world a better place. If that means you've got to get down in the streets before anyone takes notice, so be it.

These people are prime examples of what all Americans should be. Citizens that care enough about their country and the world to even have and opinion, let alone voice it in such a public way. I think the founding fathers would be proud.  

[tasty]

It's difficult to make a judgment on either group here. There are obviously very peaceful demonstraters that have organized a legal protest against what is an morally bankrupt institution that is unknowingly supported by millions of citizens of first-world countries. The only problem is the Anarchist and Radical Marxist factions that try to infringe on the protests of the less radical but still far-left leaning majority. I have seen this happen in protests I have participated in against Taco Bell, IMF World Bank, and Boeing. I can attest to the defeating feeling when these smaller factions do stupid things like behaving violently or vandalizing property in order to draw attention to their pathetic groups. They ruin it for everyone else. Once one person decides to act out in this way, they get 100% of the media attention and the entire demonstation is seen by the public as meaningless.

The police are also at fault in the equation. Their watchful eye casts a disapproving shadow over the entire operation, and usually (especially with protest of a global nature such as this one) they are under intense pressure to put down the protests or detract attention away from them. Just notice the media spin in the article Zaitsev linked to: statements such as "largely unsuccessful" in disrupting the meetings are ambiguous personal value calls and make bad journalism. The police behaved inappropriately at Seattle and in Philadelphia and Los Angeles when people protested the Republican and Democratic national conventions. They arrested people for ridiculous reasons just to get them off the street and behaved with unnecessary violence toward others.

So, hopefully neither of these phenomenon proliferates at G7. More power to the protesters and the message they deliver. As Ralph Nader said, "Welcome to the politics of joy and justice."

[Jeb]

alaric,
i think thats true to a point...
Protestors who believe in their cause are nice...
then there are the religious fanatics who bomb abortion clinics, it really can go both ways.
i'm from seattle where the big WTO thing happened a couple years ago, and their was these pussys on tv complaining about how they got hit with a nightstick by police after they disobeyed orders. I"m tired of oversensitvity and political correctness these days.

I'm sorta a devels advocate when it comes to argueing contraversial opinions, but i'm not stupid enough to argue with a animal rights protestor, religious person, or person who is a member of the NRA.

What you get with alot of protestors is the idealism that they are the only ones who are right. the idea that their veiw is the only way that can work and that can cause alot of problems.

I think that protestors could do alot better for their cause if they lobbyed congressional bodys, because surely if their viewpoint is so perfect a logical person in public office would suport it.

[0 Kilz:M:]

They are all a bunch of dumbass hippies who have no clue wtf they are doing. Its all about smokin grass and protesting something, they are stupid. I know this because they tried to do the same protest in my city 2 years ago, I went down to see wht the big deal was and all these dirty ass hippies were yelling and waving signs, but NONE of them truly knew why they were there. Unless you are very truly educated on the subject and have some obvious valid points to make in a constructive manner, then just stfu. These people are mainly teens who know nothing of the world or how it runs, it is a very complicated and slippery tightrope we walk. Like me, I have no idea of how to wage a war or fight terrorism, or give animal rights, etc....therefore I stay out of it and let the educated people on those subjects fight those battles.