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This is what I like to see...

Started by Nervo Jan 15, 2004 at 7:29 PM 22 replies 1.5k views

Original Post

Jan 15, 2004 at 7:29 PM

Hundreds Protest Bush Visit to MLK Tomb 1 hour, 11 minutes ago By LOUISE CHU, Associated Press Writer ATLANTA - Kathy Nicholas had planned to pay quiet tribute Thursday at the tomb of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. So did President Bush (news - web sites). The combination was anything but quiet. Nicholas was among about 700 people who booed, chanted and beat drums near the typically placid grave site, angry that Bush was there on what would have been the slain civil rights leader''s 75th birthday. "When I heard Bush was coming here I couldn''t believe it. I was outraged and disgusted, and I just think it''s a photo op. It''s so transparent," said Nicholas, a flight attendant who brought a sign that read: "Mr. Bush, May Dr. King''s spirit rise up n welcome you, touch you n speak to you." The protesters pushed past Secret Service barricades. They pounded on the sides of three city buses parked on the street in front of King''s tomb to block them from the president''s motorcade. Two people were arrested for stepping into the street and refusing to move. As Bush arrived, the crowd booed and chanted "Bush go home!" He placed a wreath on King''s grave before heading to a $2,000-a-plate fund-raiser in Atlanta. While the protest was loud, no one was injured and the crowd dispersed soon after the president''s 15-minute stop. Bush''s visit to observe King''s birthday upset some civil rights activists who said the president''s policies on Iraq (news - web sites), affirmative action and funding for social services conflict with King''s legacy. They also complained that the scheduling conflicted with their own plans to honor King. "If Dr. King was here today, he''d be protesting too," said Petite Hammonds, a protester from Atlanta. Officials at the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the organization founded by King''s widow, said they extended no formal invitation to Bush but accepted his offer to come. "Out of respect for that office and out of respect for Dr. King, he''s coming," said Lynn Cothren, an assistant to Coretta Scott King. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president''s visit was a way to pay tribute to "Dr. King''s legacy, his vision and his lifetime of service." "This is a way to honor a lifetime dedicated to fighting for equal opportunity and equal justice for all people," he said. King''s widow declined to comment on Bush''s visit but has been vocal about her opposition to the war in Iraq. original article

Salsa

Jan 15, 2004 at 7:55 PM

Pasting the article text is just a bit redundant now isn''t it? Just posting the link would have sufficed.

So anyway, what you like to see if people getting rowdy and angry? Or generally your main pleasure in daily life is seeing people hiss at Bush? Either way, I really don''t see the relevance of this.

shortcurves.com - it feels so good

Wavinator

Jan 15, 2004 at 7:59 PM

I think the protestor who said MLK would be protesting Bush is right. Did you notice that they once again tried to pretend there were no protests by trying to relocate people outside the range of cameras in so called "Free Speech Zones?" So much for supporting freedom.

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Just waiting for the mothership...

Nervo

Jan 15, 2004 at 8:02 PM

quote:
Original post by Wavinator
I think the protestor who said MLK would be protesting Bush is right. Did you notice that they once again tried to pretend there were no protests by trying to relocate people outside the range of cameras in so called "Free Speech Zones?" So much for supporting freedom.

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Just waiting for the mothership...

Yes, I''ve heard of these zones. Apparently well away from the media. I also heard that this was also commonplace with Clinton. Perhaps with other predecessors.

black_mage_s

Jan 15, 2004 at 8:04 PM

quote:
Original post by Nervo
quote:
Original post by Wavinator
I think the protestor who said MLK would be protesting Bush is right. Did you notice that they once again tried to pretend there were no protests by trying to relocate people outside the range of cameras in so called "Free Speech Zones?" So much for supporting freedom.

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Just waiting for the mothership...

Yes, I''ve heard of these zones. Apparently well away from the media. I also heard that this was also commonplace with Clinton. Perhaps with other predecessors.

And because Clinton did it, that somehow makes it right?

| Deviant Art | I Want My Island | Mail me |

Nervo

Jan 15, 2004 at 8:08 PM

quote:
Original post by black_mage_s
quote:
Original post by Nervo
quote:
Original post by Wavinator
I think the protestor who said MLK would be protesting Bush is right. Did you notice that they once again tried to pretend there were no protests by trying to relocate people outside the range of cameras in so called "Free Speech Zones?" So much for supporting freedom.

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Just waiting for the mothership...

Yes, I''ve heard of these zones. Apparently well away from the media. I also heard that this was also commonplace with Clinton. Perhaps with other predecessors.

And because Clinton did it, that somehow makes it right?

| Deviant Art | I Want My Island | Mail me |

That was never my implication. Of course I''m in full support of people voicing their opinions. Luckily this article came out because you don''t get to read stories on protests against Bush in his face very often. And it need not be said that I''m a vehement anti-Bush citizen.

Wavinator

Jan 15, 2004 at 8:43 PM

quote:
Original post by Nervo
Yes, I've heard of these zones. Apparently well away from the media. I also heard that this was also commonplace with Clinton. Perhaps with other predecessors.

Can you provide me with any links that show Clinton did the same thing? I was just looking and couldn't find any. The cyclone-fence topped with barbed-wire located 1/2-mile away from the president thing is new to me. I remember incidents where Clinton actually argued with people who were behind barricades

In any case, no matter who does it, it's wrong. Yes, there's a duty to protect the president, but the public soil of the US is a Free Speech Zone.

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Just waiting for the mothership...

[edited by - wavinator on January 15, 2004 9:44:12 PM]

Wavinator

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:27 PM

I just heard a Georgia state representative characterize the visit as a "drive-by wreath laying."

Ouch!

The rep''s contention was that it was a fund-raising photo-op. You have to wonder, though, if Bush would have been damned either way...

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Just waiting for the mothership...

Tron3k

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:29 PM

Wow, a spontaneous protest! That''s pretty cool.

Waverider

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:37 PM

Is the protest based on truth or opinion, though?

Why would MLK have been protesting Bush?

If it was a photo op, it pretty much failed because now everyone is aware of the protest.

A lot of energy goes into these things, and I sometimes fail to see the point of it all, really.

People build things up into something that might or might not be the truth, someone else capitalizes on it, etc. etc.

Tron3k

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:40 PM

quote:
Original post by Waverider
Is the protest based on truth or opinion, though?

Why would MLK have been protesting Bush?

If it was a photo op, it pretty much failed because now everyone is aware of the protest.

A lot of energy goes into these things, and I sometimes fail to see the point of it all, really.

People build things up into something that might or might not be the truth, someone else capitalizes on it, etc. etc.

It''s about the little people versus the big people. Don''t you get it?

Senses777

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:40 PM

I don''t think MLK would be protesting Bush for his views on affirmitive action... in fact, I don''t think MLK would be protesting. Care to give me a reason?

Nervo

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:49 PM

quote:
Original post by Senses777
I don't think MLK would be protesting Bush for his views on affirmitive action... in fact, I don't think MLK would be protesting. Care to give me a reason?

I think in essence here we'd be comparing apples to oranges. MLK lived in a time that had its own set of issues that was of a greater magnitude than exists today.

I would think if MLK were alive today perhaps he would just have been a normal man, but who really knows? I just can't find a way to equate what was then into now.

What I do believe is that obviously there are probably many members of the black community that are against bush for his lack of focus on domestic issues that affect many blacks, perhaps things like welfare and other social services meant to provide assistance to the needy. I think that they perhaps are using MLK's name to justify why they protested. I do think this situation underscores a difference he had with his domestic policies with Clinton. But that is nearly obvious seeing as both presidents represent different political ideologies.

By my posting this article, I was happy to see people protesting against bush and it being made widely publicised no matter what the cause was. I personally don't care about their cause in this article.

[edited by - nervo on January 15, 2004 10:51:03 PM]

Tron3k

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:51 PM

quote:
Original post by Senses777
I don''t think MLK would be protesting Bush for his views on affirmitive action... in fact, I don''t think MLK would be protesting. Care to give me a reason?

Maybe he would protest this:

quote:
The military prefers bases that resemble small fundamentalist towns in the Bible Belt rather than the big population centers of the United States. For example, even though more than 100,000 women live on our overseas bases – including women in the services, spouses, and relatives of military personnel – obtaining an abortion at a local military hospital is prohibited. Since there are some 14,000 sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults each year in the military, women who become pregnant overseas and want an abortion have no choice but to try the local economy, which cannot be either easy or pleasant in Baghdad or other parts of our empire these days.

Or a million other things.

Senses777

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:56 PM

No, I meant bush''s visit to the site. OK, maybe he can protest it as someone he doesn''t agree with visiting the site of a great hero as a promotion.

krikkit

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:57 PM

Who says it was a spontaneous protest?
Just as president's can show up at a gravesite with an ulterior motive, so can detractors, and a few bucks in the pockets of some people to get rowdy makes for good anti-bush publicity.

Not that I believe it, but if we're going to be distrustful, lets distrust everything.

[edited by - krikkit on January 15, 2004 10:58:14 PM]

Tron3k

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:58 PM

quote:
Original post by Senses777
No, I meant bush''s visit to the site. OK, maybe he can protest it as someone he doesn''t agree with visiting the site of a great hero as a promotion.

How would he protest Bush''s visit to his own grave site? He wouldn''t be dead yet

Tron3k

Jan 15, 2004 at 9:59 PM

quote:
Original post by krikkit
Who says it was a spontaneous protest?
Just as president''s can show up at a gravesite with an ulterior motive, so can detractors, and a few bucks in the pockets of some people to get rowdy makes for good anti-bush publicity.

Not that I believe it, but if we''re going to be distrustful, lets distrust everything.

How about, instead of distrusting everything, we use reason?

Tron3k

Jan 15, 2004 at 10:21 PM

Another article

quote:
Even though Bush may spend the majority of his time hobnobbing with donors at the fundraiser, because he will briefly visit Dr. King''s grave, he is allowed to deem the entire trip "official" and then bill taxpayers for portions of the huge cost of hotel rooms, rental cars, security, and travel. And those are no small costs - the Washington Post notes that Air Force One alone costs $57,000 an hour to operate.

Canada is prepared to launch missiles at the first report of a Bush victory in 2004.

Wavinator

Jan 15, 2004 at 10:32 PM

If King were alive today he''d probably be assisting in protests against Bush on the basis of economic justice, which was to be his next platform after the successful marches and political advocacy that helped lead to Civil Rights legislation.

And he would almost certainly be protesting against a sham war which has resulted in the deaths of more than 350 Americans and the murder of thousands of Iraqis.

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Just waiting for the mothership...

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