Impeach Beach Party
January 7, 2007 10:07 PM   Subscribe

A Flash Mob met yesterday in San Francisco to form a Giant Impeach Sign on the beach. The project was dreamt & organized by Brad Newsham
posted by growabrain (36 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Regardless of whether or not it's effective, that's pretty damn cool.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 10:20 PM on January 7, 2007


That was great! I just wish the pics were larger.
posted by spacelux at 10:21 PM on January 7, 2007


I agree it's cool. But get back to me when Pelosi shows up.
posted by trip and a half at 10:25 PM on January 7, 2007


Good for them! And their spacing was so clean! They might've considered a different font, though...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:26 PM on January 7, 2007 [1 favorite]


The font was fine, it was the kerning that was off.
posted by quin at 10:30 PM on January 7, 2007


at least they kept their clothes on.

Mooted improvements:

1) Assign people numbers via their phone and make a video of them assembling into their preassigned pixel positions.

2) prefix a 'C' and a 'H' . . .
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 10:30 PM on January 7, 2007


How did I miss this? Good for them...once again, I feel proud to live in S.F.
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 10:33 PM on January 7, 2007


This photo provides better context for non-san franciscans of where this is and its scale. Thats Golden Gate Park back there.
posted by vacapinta at 10:38 PM on January 7, 2007


Hope it winds up as part of Google Maps.
posted by notmydesk at 10:40 PM on January 7, 2007


Then they all went in to wait 30 minutes to drink for $9 Mojitos at the Park Chalet. I wish I were there.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:42 PM on January 7, 2007


wow that pic is amazing vaca. this has been making my day.
posted by digaman at 10:48 PM on January 7, 2007


Maybe next time they'll do this naked.
posted by tula at 10:56 PM on January 7, 2007


Impeach who?
posted by fenriq at 11:01 PM on January 7, 2007


The font was fine, it was the kerning that was off.

If you look closely, it appears some guy thought the "I" needed to have a dot on top. He's standing in the same place across several photos where other standees have moved around.
posted by vacapinta at 11:13 PM on January 7, 2007


Neat, but in the end pointless and meaningless.

Much like life.
posted by mathowie at 11:36 PM on January 7, 2007 [3 favorites]


Hey, who pissed in #1's cereal?

Hope it wasn't me, I wasn't that drunk last night.
posted by fenriq at 11:44 PM on January 7, 2007


I think it was that latest guitar wankery post. A man can only take so much, you know... I mean, you wake up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and think: oh my god, what have I created? It's gotta hurt.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:52 PM on January 7, 2007


Matt's not wrong. I really like the effort. I mean, I grew up with my mother telling me about how it was her and those like her that eventually ended the Vietnam war. And while I loves me mum, and I believe that in some small way the protests did make a difference back then, now is a different day and age. Protesting is good. And necessary. But the fact is, that it probably doesn't do much in the real world.

Yes, it demonstrates that there is a contrary view, but the people that will see it already knew that.

A better message would have been to find some way to focus the attention of our country on the caskets being brought home from Iraq. Honestly, that was the thing that actually made a difference 40 some years ago.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see the people in this administration go down. And if this mob pulls it off, I will be the first to congratulate them.

But I've become an old man, and history is on my side. This will do nothing. I don't begrudge their efforts, I just wish they had found a way to actually make a difference.
posted by quin at 12:02 AM on January 8, 2007


But the fact is, that it probably doesn't do much in the real world

You could say the same for any single anti-war demonstration (out of thousands that took place) during the Vietnam war. It wasn't, of course, any single sit-in or march or activist's speech, or anything like that, that "made a difference". It was all of the above, in large doses, for a long time. And of course, a LOT more caskets coming home, over a lot longer time.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:09 AM on January 8, 2007


And quin, sorry but, your mother told you about how her generation helped end the Vietnam war? And you're calling yourself an old man? Uh... this does not compute.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:13 AM on January 8, 2007


flapjax at midnite, People have been telling me I was an old man when I turned 20. (Some nonsense about 'having an old soul' or something. I think they were being charitable about my being a cynical, pragmatic bastard since I was a kid, but whatever). I'm 35 now, which puts me neatly in place to be an old man (to my 20's something staff) and a young enough person to have a mom who fought against Vietnam.

And you are correct in one way. I really believe that the protests that took place in the late '60's made a difference. They turned the attention of America on to the fact that a lot of their kids were dying in a foreign land. And that is what our country is lacking today. Sure, there are protesters, but they want to press for impeachment. While I believe that to be a noble goal, it is not something that people will rally around.

The newest generation has seen the term Impeachment as a way to get the guy who had a blowjob out of office. I don't think that majority appreciates how significant that word is. And I don't believe that people who spend a good portion of their time watching TV today will care about anything other than news of actual bodies being brought back. Real stories of solders who have died. An honest and constant look into what they are going through.

I'd like to believe my mom made a difference, but I really believe that the thing that ended that war was that the people started to actually see the end result on their TV every night.

Something that our generation has, apparently been spared.
posted by quin at 12:38 AM on January 8, 2007


The main achievement of the anti-war protestors of the 60s was getting Richard Nixon elected. Twice.

The US didn't get out of Vietnam until 1974. Before that, the anti-war movement's approach made it impossible to build a political coalition broad enough to allow a politician to withdraw without admitting defeat. Watergate and the Arab oil embargo weakened the US enough to make withdrawal possible.

Their other main legacy is the feeling on the left that persists today, that it's more important to be right than to be effective. If you've got the right principles, you don't have to make the ugly compromises and play the political games that might actually lead to change. It's better to have good parties on the beach and post your outrage to MetaFilter than to get your hands dirty with politics like those Clintons.

Meanwhile Bush is trying to build up troops and have the military use more agressive tactics, supposedly to stabilize the situation so the US can progressively withdraw. That was the Vietnam strategy in 1969. Given the willful political cluelessness of the anti-war movement, I expect the US will be fighting in Iraq for another 5 years at least. Once the US is out, the only question is whether the Iraqi people will suffer like the Vietnamese did or like the Cambodians did.
posted by fuzz at 3:40 AM on January 8, 2007 [2 favorites]


Impeach giants!
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:23 AM on January 8, 2007


I've always considered the present protest movement a lot smaller in size than the movement which developed for the Vietnam War. Frankly, I salute people's willingness to protest, but at the same time, feel that due to their numbers it accomplishes very little. That this happened in San Francisco of all places will probably leave it to being disregarded as typical S.F. liberal behavior. If it had happened in thirty cities across the nation, I think it might have gained a bit more strength behind its meaning.

As is, in our present day, there has always been an existing subset ready to protest...nearly anything. This has resulted in a sort of apathetic response, as most individuals who react to it see it as the protesters simply being "that part of the left" who were expected to protest the war from the start.
posted by Atreides at 6:34 AM on January 8, 2007


Given the willful political cluelessness of the anti-war movement

Yeah right. Why does every idiot with a keyboard think he's karl rove who knows exactly how the electorate feels about everything. It's so tiresome.

This isn't 1969, and the idea that people would support a war just to spite Cindy Sheehan is idiotic.
posted by delmoi at 6:52 AM on January 8, 2007


get back to me

get back to me when something like this gets pulled off somewhere besides san francisco. like kansas. that would really get some notice.
posted by poppo at 7:19 AM on January 8, 2007


Their other main legacy is the feeling on the left that persists today, that it's more important to be right than to be effective.

This is so utterly true.
posted by Falconetti at 8:12 AM on January 8, 2007


Well, I thought it was cool, nice font except for the dot over the i.

Making an effort can help things change for the better.

When I became a tenants' rights activist in my apartment building and then a community activist in this formerly crime infested neighborhood, I was told by the local police repeatedly that if the community said nothing, then nothing would be done by the police to get rid of the criminals. That was outrageous to me. It was their job I thought but the numerous officers informed me that when people in the community complained, when they expressed their needs and wants, then things happened. I took that advice seriously and it worked.

Thousands of miles away from those people standing on that beach, I'm here in NYC wondering what practical thing I can do to help end this damn war and get the Bush dynasty out. I'm inspired by their effort. Thank you people standing on the beach in SF.
posted by nickyskye at 9:35 AM on January 8, 2007


It warmed my heart.
Repitition can be a very effective tool. The right wing wankers have proven this. It is to a large extent how political dialogue has been skewed to the right over the last decades.
So:
Impeach them.
They are attacking our democracy at it's roots.
They are criminals.
Impeach the criminals.

lather,rinse, repeat.

and repeat.

Impeach the criminals.
posted by pointilist at 10:41 AM on January 8, 2007


Who would've thought that Bush isn't Mr. Popular in, of all places, San Francisco! Get back to me when there's a giant human Impeach sign on the sands of Pahrump, NV.
posted by gyc at 10:56 AM on January 8, 2007


giant human Impeach sign on the sands of Pahrump, NV.

I think it would be more interesting and effective on the Mall in DC.
posted by tkchrist at 11:37 AM on January 8, 2007


That's impressive but it will come to nothing unless a large part of the people are willing to risk their safety and security to make something of it. Bush critics are routinely investigated by the FBI and/or IRS, so very few people will risk more than breaking a nail holding up a sign. (See how many sign holders were careful to make sure the sign covered their faces?)
posted by davy at 11:51 AM on January 8, 2007


Get back to me when there's a giant human Impeach sign on the sands of Pahrump, NV.

It'd probably be interpreted as a crop circle by some of the residents.
posted by brundlefly at 12:25 PM on January 8, 2007


I've always considered the present protest movement a lot smaller in size than the movement which developed for the Vietnam War.

Interesting. I've always assumed the latter, i.e. that the Iraq protests were much bigger, especially in terms of the early Vietnam protests. I suppose that the ones near the end on the Mall were pretty big ...

Anyone have any random stats?
posted by mrgrimm at 12:55 PM on January 8, 2007


Tula, that was my first thought. Always funny to check comments and see someone is on the same wavelength. I guess that would get more attention, right? ;)
posted by taursir at 2:39 PM on January 8, 2007


Bush should redeploy the submarines in the Arabian Sea to the West Coast and blow these beach hippies to kingdom come. That will show Pelsoi who's boss.
posted by homunculus at 7:31 PM on January 8, 2007


« Older American Fascism   |   Rare elements Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments