French Protests Continue

[Night Stalker]

Always glad to entertain GenieBoy! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

About that Clint Eastwood quip ... I don't know whether to nod sheepishly, bow head in shame, or grab a baton and look for heads to bash [img]graemlins/whackya.gif[/img]

Seriously though, that is a perfect demonstration of peaceful NON passive-aggressive protest. Unlike some in the States where protestors blocked a major highway then started pulling people out of cars .... (just heard a radio sound byte, will post corroberating story if I find one)

[ 03-21-2003, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: Night Stalker ]

[Reeka]

OK, I have been told that I need to clarify a little bit of my original post, enough though by this time it has greatly diverged from my original thoughts:

1. Mentionned France because they have been the "county" that has been most openly critical of us

2. I mentionned the destruction of the MacDonald's because I, quite frankly, found it to be rather ridiculous.

I am well aware that there were many protests in other areas, but to my limited knowledge, France is the only one of our allies that has been so public in their condemnation of our activities.

[Memnoch]

Originally posted by Night Stalker: Seriously though, that is a perfect demonstration of peaceful NON passive-aggressive protest. Unlike some in the States where protestors blocked a major highway then started pulling people out of cars ....

I don't know about anyone else, but if anyone tried to pull me out of my car when I wasn't planning to get out of it they would get either of two things: a) a club lock to the head; or b) a lawsuit for assault. Don't care what you're protesting about, that is NOT the way to get your point across.

[Masklinn]

About the MacDonalds issue :

Ronn, I was NOT saying it"s "ok". If you just read the first posts you are under the impression the protesters completly anihilated one restaurant with rage and anger. And this is completly false.
It's just 2 or 3 retarded mongos who threw some rocks at it, period.

And it was just one ! Knowing how many MacDonalds there were on the the protesters way (a lot, trust me), it's just one isolate and unfortunate incident and absolutely not a general will.

Stupid people are everywhere...can't do anything about that.

And Timber, thx a lot for having made a link between that and the wine poured. I didn't want to do it myself. You're a true friend to me.

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by Masklinn: About the MacDonalds issue : Ronn, I was NOT saying it"s "ok". If you just read the first posts you are under the impression the protesters completly anihilated one restaurant with rage and anger. And this is completly false. It's just 2 or 3 retarded mongos who threw some rocks at it, period. And it was just one ! Knowing how many MacDonalds there were on the the protesters way (a lot, trust me), it's just one isolate and unfortunate incident and absolutely not a general will. Stupid people are everywhere...can't do anything about that.

That makes your point much clearer. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[Cloudbringer]

Well, I saw coverage today of two rallies, one in Chicago and one in NYC (Manhattan, I believe) and both were, last I saw, reasonably calm. There were some minor skirmishes at the end of the NY one,but all in all there were 10's of thousands and they marched peacefully, without damaging property or injuring anyone. The Chicago one impressed me (last I saw of it on the news, anyway) because there were pro and anti rallies right next to each other and they weren't being violent. One pro woman actually said she was happy to see the other side there and all of them had a right in a democratic society, to voice their opinions.

Kinda restores your faith in people...if only until you hear about people being dragged from their cars... I think I missed that one! That's precisely the sort of thing that would have made me uneasy about being in a traffic tie-up for a protest!

OH and the Manhattan group had permits for their protest.

[Grojlach]

Originally posted by Reeka: 2. I mentionned the destruction of the MacDonald's because I, quite frankly, found it to be rather ridiculous.

As I was the one who questioned the way your first post was stated, I suppose I should respond to this...
Reeka, it wasn't destroyed. To say it was "destroyed" is making it look far worse than it really was, giving a wrong impression of what really happened in context with what happened elsewhere on this planet during demonstrations, making me wonder why you would single out an incident in France which was a) definitely not as bad as you made it look like and b) not worth noting considering what happened at several other places in the world during these demonstrations. It just gives an entirely distorted worldview and most definitely has a much higher chance of triggering the "Where's mah gun, I'll teach those Frenchies" kind of responses than a more neutral and fairer approach at bringing the news would have done.
Oh, and please read Masklinn's last post.

Originally posted by Masklinn: About the MacDonalds issue : Ronn, I was NOT saying it"s "ok". If you just read the first posts you are under the impression the protesters completly anihilated one restaurant with rage and anger. And this is completly false. It's just 2 or 3 retarded mongos who threw some rocks at it, period. And it was just one ! Knowing how many MacDonalds there were on the the protesters way (a lot, trust me), it's just one isolate and unfortunate incident and absolutely not a general will.

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by Grojlach: It just gives an entirely distorted worldview and most definitely has a much higher chance of triggering the "Where's mah gun, I'll teach those Frenchies" kind of responses than a more neutral and fairer approach at bringing the news would have done.

"Where's mah gun"?????

Ok Groj, I know what you are saying, but that is just a bit too stereotypical to be helpful.

[Grojlach]

Originally posted by Ronn_Bman: "Where's mah gun"????? Ok Groj, I know what you are saying, but that is just a bit too stereotypical to be helpful.

Sorry, wasn't meant in any mean-spirited way (more in a light-hearted playful manner - hey, I've named Twittsburg as my current residence, for Christ's sake ; I don't mind some light-hearted-but-never-seriously-meant playfulness in my words from time to time... Though I should have included the winking smilie to make it clearer it was playfulness-with-a-wink rather than the hit below the belt it may seem to some now), but sorry if it offended anyone.

[ 03-23-2003, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: Grojlach ]

[Reeka]

Originally posted by Grojlach: Quote: Originally posted by Reeka: 2. I mentionned the destruction of the MacDonald's because I, quite frankly, found it to be rather ridiculous.

As I was the one who questioned the way your first post was stated, I suppose I should respond to this...
Reeka, it wasn't destroyed. To say it was "destroyed" is making it look far worse than it really was, giving a wrong impression of what really happened in context with what happened elsewhere on this planet during demonstrations, making me wonder why you would single out an incident in France which was a) definitely not as bad as you made it look like and b) not worth noting considering what happened at several other places in the world during these demonstrations. It just gives an entirely distorted worldview and most definitely has a much higher chance of triggering the "Where's mah gun, I'll teach those Frenchies" kind of responses than a more neutral and fairer approach at bringing the news would have done.
Oh, and please read Masklinn's last post.

Originally posted by Masklinn: About the MacDonalds issue : Ronn, I was NOT saying it"s "ok". If you just read the first posts you are under the impression the protesters completly anihilated one restaurant with rage and anger. And this is completly false. It's just 2 or 3 retarded mongos who threw some rocks at it, period. And it was just one ! Knowing how many MacDonalds there were on the the protesters way (a lot, trust me), it's just one isolate and unfortunate incident and absolutely not a general will.

[/QUOTE]Groj:

I DID NOT deliberately misquote or get into hyperbole on the MacDonald's issue. The news report that I initially heard when I posted stated that it was "destroyed." And I stand by the fact the French have been the most outspokenly critical ofall of our allies. If you think the story was blown out of proportion, then your gripe is with the news media and not with me.

Or maybe we should have a rule in this forum and you should not post anything unless you have had it verified by three or more independent sources.

And for the record, I find the "where's my gun, ma, I'll teach those Frenchies statement," highly insulting and, I would think, beneath you, Groj.