protest ronin

Just give them the sign and they will dutifully rant about anything!.....


I have a problem with the media being constantly labeled "the liberal media". It's just annoying and it's untrue. But whenever a news program, talk show or blithering idiot with a picket sign, says anything that borders on fringe talk, it or they are blasted as liberal. I hate to tell you people, but crazy is not confined to liberal folk. Crazy comes in both red and blue. Crazy is crazy.

I also take offense to the idea that having any sort of liberal tendencies is somehow a bad thing. Guess what? I happen to think that social programs are good. I think that poverty is something in which many people become stuck; people who show up to their low-paying jobs on time and work hard. People who either are born into poverty or come to our country seeking a better life for their families (which you will recall is the foundation of our country), who become stuck in the cycle of not having enough education to move up in society, living in places where you or I would never even drive through, having their children exposed to things from which they can't possibly protect them enough and having days, weeks, months and years pass, giving up slowly on accomplishing the goal of a new standing in life.

I also think that someone has to pay for these things, which is why we have taxes. Unlike some of the more conservative folk I know, I do not think that making promises and then plunging our country into insurmountable debt is a good idea. I think that the system as we know it is arcane and needs a major update to bring it into modern times. I do not however, think that offering large companies tax breaks is the way to go.

I would be remiss not to note that there are those, and they are many, who say they want something better, but don't actually want to have to do anything to get it. Liberals did not create those people and those are not the targets of social programs and favors. No matter who is running what, those people will stay there because they are comfortable and they don't care. That, however, does not mean that we should throw away the bushel for a few bad apples.

This however, leads into my greater point about the fray, who for some reason are always labeled liberal, but who come in equal parts on both sides and are just ridiculous, universally. Perhaps we could just call them all "emotional" and steer clear of the erroneous label.

These are the protesters that you see out near the bull in the financial district - calling for the imprisonment of any and all governmental officials; the ones you see in front of planned parenthood with pictures of aborted fetuses, snarling and shouting bible scripture as you walk in to pick up your free birth control, or to get a woman's annual exam (a fantastic benefit of the social programs for those without medical insurance).

Those folks abound in New York and when I walk past them in the middle of the day, on my way back into the office, where I have a job and work for 10 hours a day, I wonder to myself what the hell these people do for a living. Is there some sort of protester-for-hire day labor site, where you can drive by and hire a lunatic to rant about your cause? I can see the signs now....

"Are you pissed as hell, but lack the balls to tell others? Do you have an axe to grind AND a job? Well worry no more, friends. Protesters for hire will do your bitching for you; in tye-dye no less! Only $29.95 and a bag of reefer for a half day (protest materials included)."

I do wonder however, if these idea-mercenaries would be able to really embrace the idea; after all, it does smack of capitalism and salesmanship. Since I don't have the time or chutzpah to put this idea into practice, I rely on you, loyal readership. If you will just spread the word to the incensed, downtrodden and wronged, we can get this off the ground and have some go-to people when the inevitable crisis arises.