on protests

(Photo Credit: Leah Hogsten--The Salt Lake Tribune)

So there was a "large" anti-war/Bush protest in downtown SLC today, that is about a couple thousand people. Blow hard Mayor Rocky Anderson spoke. I saw it on the channel 2 jumbotron on Main Street, and I looked at the window as my TRAX train passed by.

Of all the people to protest to, however, Bush is the worst one to do. He doesn't care what the people think, especially now that he cannot run for re-election. If you protested Clinton, he might care because he loves people and wants everyone to love him (child of a alcoholic). Bush is charming, but he doesn't really enjoy people as people, only certain people. That is, he likes people who agree with him and no one who disagrees with him.

Moreover, I get extremely annoyed with ultra-liberals. They tend to want to talk about their pet issues, to go through the laundry list of greivences, rather than to stay focused and stick to a clear message that everyone can agree with. 55% of Americans want a change of course in Iraq. They don't necessarily want to impeach Bush, or take on Haliburton etc.

In the fall of 2002, I argued with people whom I thought would be the most receptive to preventing the war in Iraq: the DLC. As an employee, I tried to convince the higher ups that Saddam wasn't a threat, that there probabbly weren't any WMD's, that Bush would mismanage the occupation like he did in Afghanistan, that the war would be a big mistake. Of course, they didn't listen that much (but they did conceed that Bush probabbly would mismanage the occupation), and cheerleaded this disasterous policy. But I knew that grabbing a placcard and marching would have been even less effective.

That isn't to say that protests and marching in the streets in general is fruitless. The immigration march in the spring proved that protests are still very effective in the US. I just think protesting this president on this policy with this crowd is a waste of time and effort. But if it makes you feel better, have at it.