My first and only protest occurred 47 years ago. As a college student, two students were expelled because the young man got the young lady back to the dorm after curfew. Several of us decided this was too much. In that era the university felt they were obliged to be the parents away from home. We decided to go to the president’s mansion and make our feelings known. The crowd swelled to several hundred. The president chose not to come out. He sent the Dean of Students. The dean, using a megaphone, told us to disband or all of us were subject to expulsion. Unfortunately, several students were armed with eggs. They began to throw them at the dean and the house. Plus, the president, who was obscenely obese, became the subject of some unkindly chants. Fat ass can kiss my ass. The campus cops who were more like the Keystone Kops, arrived and could do nothing but duck more eggs. The city cops came and got the same result. The fire department came and turned the fire hoses on us. Getting knocked on your duff with a fire hose was an experience that stayed with me for a long time. At least the National Guard didn’t show up and shoot us.
The irony of all this came later. Not much changed for us, but the same liberals who,today, want to treat us like the students were treated then, freed the students. My daughters lived in co-ed dorms. My granddaughters will share rooms with males. Basically, there are no rules for students today.
I plan to attend a Tea Party in Phoenix on 4-15-09. I will not take eggs and didn’t in 1962. I did have a position in the front then and was vocal. I will do the same next week. I am not protesting taxes so much as my speedy loss of liberty. The injustices I’m feeling are very similar as those I felt in 1962. I’m mad and I refuse to be quiet as the government takes over my life. I don’t want the government running the auto industry, the banking industry, the health care industry, education, energy, and all other aspects of my life. I don’t want the government spending my grand kids into poverty. I don’t want to live in a nation that adopts the same socialist practices that have failed everywhere else. I don’t want the government making the nation like California, New York, and Michigan. Broke and going broker.
I wouldn’t be surprised to be hosed again. The way this country is going, the government will soon use force to stop disagreement. I may be in the minority, but 52,000,000 of us didn’t vote for Obama and his politics. It will take a lot of fire hoses to blow that many of us down.
So attend a Tea Party near you if you are mad about the direction we are heading into. If you’ve protested, like me, protest again. If never, try it. Nothing changed for us in 1962, but we all felt better for trying. The change came later. The change will come here if enough of us get mad enough and let our government know how we feel.
I’ll be there, too!
We need to confront the mainstream media at these events. Huffington Post lunatics and others are trying to infiltrate the crowd and will no doubt be trying to get on camera to make the movement appear as foolish as possible.
Compete for camera attention!
I’ll be there with my: "Obama-You’re Not MY Momma"— sign. My grand kids deserve better than the future we’re going to get if we don’t stop this madness.
Bill Robertson
Bill – a couple of comments:
<<As a college student, two students were expelled because the young man got the young lady back to the dorm after curfew. Several of us decided this was too much.>>
All right Bill! Fight the power baby!
<<At least the National Guard didn’t show up and shoot us.>>
You make it sound like you think they would have been justified to do so! You don’t think that, do you?
<<My daughters lived in co-ed dorms. My granddaughters will share rooms with males. Basically, there are no rules for students today.>>
I strongly suspect that your son-in-law will have something to say about who his daughters will be rooming with in college!! But if they do end up rooming with a boy, they can thank Grandpa for getting the ball rolling.
<<The injustices I’m feeling are very similar as those I felt in 1962. I’m mad and I refuse to be quiet as the government takes over my life. I don’t want the government running the auto industry, the banking industry, the health care industry, education, energy, and all other aspects of my life. >>
I can’t say that I share your deep pessimism about the country and it’s direction. You mentioned that there were 52MM that didn’t vote for Obama but a significant majority did. When George Bush won the election 5-4, the majority of the population had not voted for him. Yet that majority was told by Bush and his cronies that they knew better than you and his policies were enacted. And look where we are 8 years later. Our country deteriorated in so many ways in the 8 years that Bush was president. The only thing that saved us was the resiliance of the American People and the heroic toughness of the American Soldier. The failure that is the Bush Administration has given us the most dangerous crisis in generations. The majority decided that they’d had enough with those failed policies and they dumped Congressional Republicans in 2006 and removed the Republican from the White House in 2008.
<<I wouldn’t be surprised to be hosed again. The way this country is going, the government will soon use force to stop disagreement.>>
Altho I would be shocked if you were hosed (as long as you stay peaceful, which I’m sure is your plan), you must realize that our government has long been working very very hard to stop disagreement! There are "protest zones" miles away from national political conventions, all sorts of hoops that must be jumped thru to obtain permits and other implicit or explicit permission to protest. Until very recently, the prohibition of coverage of the return of fallen soldiers had everything to do with stopping disagreement. The practice of hiding the costs of a war that’s entered it’s 7th year in emergency funding bills was designed to squelch dissent. And look how hard it is to defeat an incumbent national politican!!
I applaud your willingness to stand and be counted. I don’t agree with you but I would quickly jump to your defense if you were forcably silenced.
Chris:
I appreciate and respect your opinions and your contributions to this blog. I’m sure you won’t be a part of any Tea Parties next week. I truly hope you are right about your support for the things the current administration has in mind for your son and my grand kids. I respectfully fear becomming more socialistic is not in their best interests. I don’t believe George W. Bush was good for America. But, that doesn’t excuse what is happening now.
So, I will protest and show my attitude. Hopefully, one mainstream media will carry the story of the numbers of us who feel like I do.
Bill