So if there was one thing I learned from the coverage of those big protests last weekend, it’s that signs matter.
See, when the media covers an event they don’t really want to understand, they will focus on the protester’s placards. But as a regular, long-term consumer of all things media (and fiber), I cannot recall this ever happening with the media coverage of the WTO protests, the NOW marches, the no-nuke concerts, the anti-war demonstrations. If I remember correctly (and regular use of Ambien has made it a challenge), the media instead chose to focus on the heroic faces of the protesters. Often, these folks would be huddled together, holding a candle, singing “Give Peace A Chance,” or something equally annoying. Fact is, they were young, heroic, speaking truth to power – so who cares if the signs were offensive: that reality would only undermine the ideal. That’s why you never saw them.
To me, most of the sillier signs this weekend didn’t reflect idiocy, but inexperience. I’m willing to bet nearly all of these folks had never been to a march before, unless it involved Dimes. Which is why the event resembled a picnic, not a protest. Sure, there were some tacky signs, but they were usually held by tacky people who sport more buttons than friends. And the fact is, leftist protesters have had far more experience doing this sort of thing, so they know the drill. They know when to cry, and when to raise a fist(after smashing a chair through a Starbucks window).
Finally, you media types who call these folks crackpots need to realize you’re only doing so because to them, you’re irrelevant. They no longer need you. Those protesters believe in the individual over the system, small over big government, private versus public. They don’t believe in you.
Granted, however, I’ve been known to call people who disagree with me – the Garafalo’s, the Olbermann’s – crazy, too.
But I’m right.
And if you disagree with me, you’re probably a racist.