Posted on 03/23/2003 3:01:19 PM PST by I_Love_My_Husband
Protesters' tactics alienating even those against war Experts question effectiveness but organizers see success
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco -- As a few hundred anti-war demonstrators marched past white-collar workers and hard hats along Market Street on Friday, some chanted, "It's only a matter of time before you join us, join us."
But after the disruptions in San Francisco last week that led to 2,133 arrests over two days, and with activists promising more civil disobedience Monday and Tuesday, it's becoming harder for many people to sympathize with the demonstrators -- even for those who support their cause.
"The protesters are acting like sore losers," said Aitan Melamud, a retired urologist, as he watched a protest outside Bechtel Corp. headquarters Friday morning. "Like if they can't have their way, then we can't go on with our lives."
Dejah Dorantes was dropping off an overnight package near Montgomery and Bush streets Friday afternoon when she was caught between demonstrators coming one way and police the other. One officer told her and others to get inside a Walgreens or risk arrest and asked the manager to lock the door.
"Chrissakes, I feel like a war correspondent, and all this really is is just a civil disobedience-riot zone in my own native city of San Francisco," Dorantes said.
Those familiar with the peace movement say that if activists want to transform the protests into a lasting political force, they have to reach out to those who cannot see past their tactics.
Tonight, organizers with Direct Action, the loose-knit network that coordinated last week's civil disobedience, will meet to map out their next steps.
"It's kind of an empowering thing for people -- 'Wow, we shut down the Financial District of San Francisco,' " said Stephen Zunes, an associate professor of history at the University of San Francisco and an expert on social movements.
"But," Zunes said, "they have to get a general strike called or something like that before these kind of tactics can turn into a political power. Often, these type of movements peter out quickly."
----rest of commie bs snipped------
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Zip it, sister. When one of these courageous warriors lying on the ground is your husband,
brother, or father, then give me a ring, okay? Until then, stuff a sock in it.
The foolish Wahhibists do not know what they hath wrought.
We will oppose. 'Pod
Oh, you're vicious. I once took the wrong exit off 80 and ended up in an Oakland hood at midnight, on my motorcycle. Scary.
I needed this smile, after a day of tears and hurt. Love you!
That's what this protesting is mostly about -- people wholly without character attempting to garner something none of them have ever felt in their lives: power.
You really ought to shut up.
Well, if you really want to silence me, contact the Admin Moderator and complain about my posts, perhaps they will ban me. Either way, I couldn't care less.
Look, Muslims started this war years ago and made the same mistake that the Japs made in 1941 when they brought it onto our soil. They have awakened a sleeping giant and we will crush them one by one. Death to Islam!
You're right about this, of course. However, the problem is that, compared with the Vietnam protests, the present-day "peace movement" is starting out from the beginning under far tighter Communist control.
This business of organizing "snotnosed college kids" (SCK's) into "affinity groups" is an old Fascist/Bolshevik tactic. The Nazis used it in the Weimar period, the radical Left has used it all over the world. It is designed to take SCK's and turn them into hardcore radicals/terrorists by drawing them to identify with the affinity group as their "peer group" and involving them little by little in escalating violence.
These tactics have been described on David Horowitz's site by an ex-radical organizer in a couple of revealing and disturbing articles:
Before doing that, Old Cracker, maybe you ought to try Viagra first...
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