While visiting a base where I was stationed in the 2002-2003 timeframe, Retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks said (and I’m sure he’s said it at other times too) – that we should, if we see a protestor, go and shake his hand…
…and then wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she’s dating a pussy.
I think he’s right. And I know he’s wrong.
We should shake the hand of protestors and we should thank them for their service to our country. In fact, I think if you ask most people in the military, they’ll agree that should the day ever come where people cannot peaceably protest in the United States, well, we’ve pretty much fucked up.
The part he’s wrong about then, of course, is the part about protestor’s being pussies. If we look back there have been some remarkable protests – from Rosa Parks' bus to college campuses, to Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria.
Probably the most notable protest photo I can ever remember seeing is from China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 – that lone individual in front of a column of tanks.
Have you ever stood in front of a modern main battle tank? I have. It’s freaking awesome from only a couple meters away and I don’t think the photo really does justice to what that particular protestor saw. His entire field of vision was armor-plated. And the main gun on a tank – well, you can easily fit your arm down one.
And here’s the difference – the tank I stood in front of was British. While certainly it was on the ‘enemy’ side of the large scale exercise we were engaged in, I’m as sure as I’ve been about anything that it had no ammunition and that the crew inside it, when they turned the barrel of that monster toward me, had no intention other than making me wish I had a new set of drawers.
Let’s look at the Arab Spring protests – all those people were out there raising their voices when there was every chance – in fact history pointed in that direction – that they might be shot. Or at the very least jailed. Often it amounts to much the same thing.
And looking at these instances of people who are entirely brave and deserving of our respect, it’s almost embarrassing for me watching people take part in "Occupy Wherever" around the U.S. I almost have a hard time justifying the word ‘protestor’ when describing them. I think complainers or agitators or people-who-are-fed-up-but-not-sure-what-to-do-about-it, would be more appropriate.
People have the right to protest – but having a point would be in order. As it is, where people in other parts of the world run the very real risk of being shot, Occupy Wherever protestors mainly run the risk of their cell phone batteries dying.
It’s not nearly as inspiring. Not by a long shot. In fact, after a week, it looks more like people are doing it just to have something to write on their FaceBook pages. Maybe they’re hoping for a Kent State style government over-reaction to galvanize them (although it’s hard to imagine why they would and I certainly don't believe that to be the case). Maybe they’re hoping something will come up that they can grab onto with some conviction.
There’s a lot of talk about protestors being angry about corporate greed. If this is the case the writers at Saturday Night Live must be having a field day. The protest is a “social media-driven” protest according to many news sites. Nothing spells "stop corporate greed" like an almost implicit sponsorship by the likes of Verizon, AT&T, i-Phone. And it’s doubly laughable that so many of these people mourned the loss of Steve Jobs last week – while simultaneously protesting the 1% who are wealthy beyond a single person’s ability to spend.
Steve Jobs was no pauper. In 1986 he gave George Lucas $5 million dollars when he bought Pixar. He threw in another $5mil of his own to get it working. And 20 years later when he sold the company to Disney, it was for the tidy sum of $7.8 BILLION dollars. (Insert your own Dr. Evil impression here.) He was the single largest individual shareholder of Disney stock - by a lot.
Rich people are rich generally because they busted their asses and took chances most people wouldn’t take to get that way. Some are rich because daddy or mommy was rich. Well, that happens and there’s no use crying over it. If someone were to hand one of these folks (or me!) a briefcase with a million bucks, I think they'd probably take it and not look to pay any more taxes on it than they could reasonably help.
But, in the end, what I think these protestors are really looking for, is leadership.
They aren’t getting it from their elected representatives. And after a week, not one person has stepped up within the heaving mass of protestors to even try to give it a direction or some coherence - at least no one who has succeeded enough so that we've heard about it.
The reason, I think, is that most of thoe folks know deep down, that it’s not really that bad in America. The government isn’t rolling tanks up on Wall Street. They don’t have to worry about loony-tune dictators sending out the secret police to whack people who get out of line. They live in a country where they can protest peaceably if they want to – and it’s great they’re exercising that right.
But, and here’s a thought, why don’t they all exercise their right to vote. That’s where messages are sent. And I’ll even contribute something they can write on signs:
NEXT TIME – VOTE FOR SOMEONE ELSE.
It doesn’t matter who you vote for, or which party they belong to – just vote out the people who are in. We have the capacity to enforce our own term limits if we would all stop being such lemmings.
At the very least, the iPhone and Starbucks crowd currently gathered in U.S. cities should "Occupy A Point”. They should have one. A solid one.
What makes a solid point? I’d say the bar is set pretty high. If you want to be a real protestor, your point better be something strong enough where you’d be willing to stand in front of a loaded tank with a crew of unknown intention.
Then, I’d defy anyone to call you a pussy.
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