New Political Protest Ideas

June 14, 2004 10:44 AM

Signal Orange has an idea to protest the Republican National Convention. Sounds a lot more effect than some other plans going around.
posted by gwint (25 comments total)

I think they'd better get permission from next of kin first.
posted by konolia at 10:50 AM on June 14, 2004

I think they'd better get permission from next of kin first.

I'll bet Nick Berg's dad could come up with a good T-Shirt slogan or two.
posted by Space Coyote at 10:53 AM on June 14, 2004

Those crazy kids should make t-shirts that say "no blood for oil" so they could end this war once and for all and put a stop to this administration's antics.
posted by bondcliff at 10:55 AM on June 14, 2004

I'm just hoping for an entertaining riot, myself.
posted by jonmc at 10:56 AM on June 14, 2004

Signal Orange isn’t trying to speak for your loved ones and it isn’t trying to speak for you.

Then they shouldn't use the names of the individuals. I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. I'm as rabidly anti-Bush and anti this-war as anyone, but this is beyond the pale. These soldiers have already been used in the most sickening, costly manner possible. No good can come of using their names for political purposes, in the absence of explicit evidence that they or their families would support such use. For once, I agree with konolia.
posted by stonerose at 10:57 AM on June 14, 2004

My favorite anti-Bush-administration protest tactic can be summed up in three words:

Imperial Death March
posted by mr_roboto at 11:02 AM on June 14, 2004

ah, mr_roboto, I fully approve.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 11:10 AM on June 14, 2004

Those names are (or at least should be) public knowledge. Hell, they deserve a bit more veneration than they've been getting.

I understand that every single damned thing that even mentions anything even involving Iraq is instantly a political act according to whoever disagrees with it, but no one's saying these people would have voted for the Democratic or Republican or Green or Stark Raving Loony Party had they not gone into a territory that became so hostile so quickly.

What these shirts seem to be saying (in a fairly dignified way) is that these people won't be voting for anyone at all in November, and their sacrifice should at least be noted.

I'm considering picking up one of those shirts myself.
posted by chicobangs at 11:19 AM on June 14, 2004

I knew the orange shirt thing was going to end up here. I don't know, it's kind of icky for me (the War President image was harsh but not as problematic, for me).
but it's all about taste, really. I'm not sure it will be effective either, there are just so many ways this can blow back.

there's of course a very fine line between pretending those kids haven't died like flies in Iraq hiding their coffins and banning images of their funerals (like Republicans do), and doing something not-very-tasteful as this thing -- as stonerose said, many people will just think these kids are being used once again

the Star Wars bit is fun, too bad Ashcroft obviously doesn't get it -- there are no movie theatres in the Middle Ages, where the Attorney General happily resides. but it's brilliant, I agree

on preview: chicobangs, it's clear that these kids deserve a memorial. I don't think an orange shirt is the right one, that's all (remember the trouble VietNam vets had when they asked for a Vietnam Memorial? you can't really make political use of casualties of war when a war is lost/going bad/immoral. the Iraqi kids deserve a memorial, though. I doubt they'll ever get one. for starters, the commander in chief who sent them there to slaughter should take the time to show up at a couple funerals, once in a while. away from the cameras, of course. but he should go. or send his Vice President if he is too busy spending the weekend at Camp David )
posted by matteo at 11:23 AM on June 14, 2004

who sent them there to be slaughtered

my bad
posted by matteo at 11:27 AM on June 14, 2004

its a brilliant idea, and i dig the site design--very clean.

Vietnam had the MIA bracelets for the idea that someone, somewhere hadn't forgotten.

would this idea be more acceptable if it was families of the dead who started it? i don't think i could wear one unless i'd written to or heard from the family. Too heavy...i can't imagine being the person who does the art for all of those shirts, with an ever growing list of new ones to make.
posted by th3ph17 at 11:38 AM on June 14, 2004

I, too, dig the clean site design.
posted by signal at 11:50 AM on June 14, 2004

What these shirts seem to be saying (in a fairly dignified way) is that these people won't be voting for anyone at all in November, and their sacrifice should at least be noted.

I'm considering picking up one of those shirts myself.
Me too.

It's actually a great idea, and it also reminds me of the mia bracelets.
posted by amberglow at 11:55 AM on June 14, 2004

btw:

Where is PFC Keith Maupin?
posted by matteo at 12:00 PM on June 14, 2004

matteo, I understand your point. It's not the optimum concept, but it's the best idea I've heard yet, especially from the viewpoint that the contributions of these people are being swept under the rug, successfully, for political gain.

In the wake of Ted Koppel, I don't see how, as long as it remains what it is -- a reminder of the fact that people are dying in this war, and their contribution shouldn't be ignored due to inconvenience -- that this is any more than a vox populi situation. No one's revealing personal information about these soldiers, and they're not doing non-military people (which sidesteps the whole Nick Berg question).

It beats standing around and watching. But if someone has a better idea, I'd love to hear it. If I had a better idea, I'd find that site designer to help me promote it.
posted by chicobangs at 12:02 PM on June 14, 2004

Cool idea. Can I get one that says "Asia Cottom can't vote (not even in 2008 when she would have been 18)", "Killed when terrorists hijacked her plane and flew it into the World Trade Center"?
posted by CRS at 1:03 PM on June 14, 2004

Pardon me. She was killed when her killers flew Flight 77 into the Pentagon, not the WTC.
posted by CRS at 1:05 PM on June 14, 2004

Sure, CRS... you can get a shirt like that. And then wear it on your trip to Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, where the people that made the decision to hijack planes and crash them into buildings are. Protest your ass off, maybe Osama will lose the next election.
posted by Jart at 1:09 PM on June 14, 2004

CRS: silk screening is easy to learn; you can probably take a community college class or something. Go for it!

(Although I'd probably go for something more concise that "Asia Cottom can't vote (not even in 2008 when she would have been 18), Killed when terrorists hijacked her plane and flew it into the World Trade Center. Pardon me. She was killed when her killers flew Flight 77 into the Pentagon, not the WTC." That's a bit much for a t-shirt, really. Unless humor is what you're going for.)
posted by mr_roboto at 1:12 PM on June 14, 2004

And what will be the protest and the Kerry nomination (Democrats) since both parties voted nearly unanimously to invade Iraq...suddenly, the Dems oppose the war and the GOP is all for it?
posted by Postroad at 2:15 PM on June 14, 2004

Postroad: I'm sure there will be some orange shirts at the DNC as well.
posted by Ptrin at 2:58 PM on June 14, 2004

to protest the Republican National Convention.
When you cast a vote are you also protesting? Protesting seems odd here unless you're under age.
posted by thomcatspike at 4:18 PM on June 14, 2004

CRS, when you make that shirt, make me one that says "Nancy Masako Arakaki can't vote: killed when enemy forces bombed Pearl Harbor."

It's as related to the war in iraq as your example is, after all.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:52 PM on June 14, 2004

Jackasses. They will change nothing. This "protest" will change exactly zero minds.
posted by davidmsc at 9:02 PM on June 14, 2004

NY Convention Protesters Say Rights Threatened
posted by homunculus at 5:42 PM on June 15, 2004