Desultory Thoughts

Well, it’s been an eventful week! Our protest coverage generated a variety of responses. Seems we made a lot of people laugh and a lot of people really mad. It’s natural. Politics is a polarizing topic that tends to cause passions to bleed to the surface. A nice political debate is invigorating and good for the soul.

So Today I thought I’d highlight a few of the responses we’ve recieved on the topic of last week’s protests. I will excerpt several notes we’ve recieved and respond to them (some of my responses here will mirror those I’ve posted in the comments section- I apologize for the redundancy). This post is directed to those peace-loving regular every-day folks at the protests last week. Both separate protests, that is. Because heaven knows we wouldn’t ever want to lump Leftists and Israel haters into the same group.

My main argument is that protesting is just plain stupid. There are so many better and more efficient ways of getting your point across than by staging a protest.

Example: You spent time and money making a sign/outfit/bucket, took the day off work (wink, wink), made the pilgrimage to Rocky’s Castle, and spent the day demonstrating. I wrote a 3-paragraph blog on my lunch break. And I pissed off a lot more people than you could have ever dreamed of. Why? Because nobody takes protests seriously. Anybody who gives a rat’s butt what you have to say is already there with you. This includes any kind of protesting, by the way. Conservative protests (though extremely rare) are just as stupid as liberal protests. Please don’t stop though. It’s extremely amusing.

So let’s go down the list. First up is is actually a thoughtful comment from Unbiased Observer, who writes:

I would like to say that some of you seem to have no idea about the atrocities committed by both Muslims and Jews in this region. You seem to have very little awareness of what is going on over there and if you had, you wouldn’t be so glib with the comments you make.

Oh believe me, I am well aware of the atrocities committed by Muslims in this region. What I must be less aware of are those committed by Israel. Pray tell, what atrocious acts has Israel committed against Muslims lately? Sawing people’s heads off? Kidnapping journalists, abusing them, and forcing them to convert to Judaeism at gunpoint? Strapping a bomb to themselves, boarding a crowded bus and blowing everybody to shreds? Hiding weapons caches in civilian homes? Setting up HQ in synagogues?

I didn’t think so. You want glib? Google the Nick Berg beheading or the United Flight 93 cockpit recordings and then come back here and tell me again how evil Israel is.

Seriously, if you can come up with some atrocities committed by Israel that are even in the same ballpark as those committed by their Muslim neighbors, I would love to hear them.

Next up is Tracy, who I must say is the queen of potty smack!

First of all, I love how so many of you right-wing bloggers love to imply that those who were protesting don’t have jobs…the rally was held during lunch and many used their lunch breaks to attend. The place was crawling with business attire and cell phones (Not that you would show your readers pictures of those people, though I have some, if you’d like).

Ok, ok. So some of you have jobs. I guess libraries, Starbucks, and Wild Oats have to get their people from somewhere!

Well Tracy, your lunch break must be longer than mine. I barely had time to pop over and make a few observations. There’s no way I would have had time to don my protest gear, grab my “Bush is a Terrorist” sign, and partcipate in the protest. I’d only be able to chant half a hateful epitaph before I’d have to get back to work. Maybe I should get a job with your employer!

Incidently, The only suits I saw were worn by Rocky Anderson and the paper mache Bush (which, unintentionally I’m sure, actually looks a lot like Rocky Anderson). And quoting Sickboy’s reponse, “The fact that you have a cell phone and own a pair of Dockers does not excluded you from Moonbatism.”

Next up is Elizabeth, who challenges me on my rhetoric:

Where is the “Death to Israel” sign? I don’t see it.

Clever! Since there was no sign at the “Death to Israel” rally that said “Death to Israel,” I shouldn’t be so critical of them. Nice try. If Robert Breeze were to have actually had a sign that read “Death to Israel,” 1) do you think he could have suckered even Utah’s homeless into holding them? 2) Would he not have had the crap kicked out of him?

Do the signs need to say “Death to Israel” to be offensive? Seems to me they were pretty offensive as they were. The permit itself said “Death to Israel.” That’s what the dude wanted his group to be called.

Poking around your blog, I think it’s safe to say you’re not too big a fan of Israel yourself. Too bad you couldn’t have been out here standing with Breeze and his band of bums. It would have definately made things more interesting for Tyler and I.

Rob Banks of guerrillafolkpunx.org chymes in:

hey! i’d just like to say that almost all of us were not with the “death to israel” people. I had no idea that any of that type of thing would be present at this. (I really don’t know much about that whole conflict. I know, I should learn more about current events. I am sorry.)

Yes, you should.

And anybody with half a brain understands that the anti-Bush demonstration you were part of was not affiliated with the lone ranger across the street. I clarified that until I was blue in the face and I’m done.

Your signs were indeed rad. And I think the handkerchief “outlaw” look was very effective. Still not quite sure what you stand for (specifically, how the words ‘anarchy’ and ‘peace’ can be used in the same sentence), but you made an impression. I do have a suggestion for you though- as long as you’re sporting the black outfits, use a different color sidewalk chalk other than pink to scrawl out your messages. Come on, Pink? Black chalk would have been much more effective. Anything but pink!

As a political junkie, I understand the Israel-RestoftheWorld conflict very well. I also understand the reasons behind the anti-Bush protest. Rest assured, I dislike you for the correct reasons;)

Just kidding, man. I checked out your website and while you’re definately jacked up, I’ve seen much worse.

That’s all for this time. We of course welcome any and all comments. For those of you I’ve mentioned today, I would love to hear from you again. If I am wrong on anything, I will happily stand corrected.

[UPDATE: I moved the concluding text of this post to before the Ant-Bush protest photos, so as to better distinguish between the two separate protests.] 

Just back from diversity training at the Salt Lake City anti Bush/Jews/Sanity protests staged to oppose President Bush’s arrival here to speak at the American Legion convention. Angry Left starlet Cindy Sheehan was supposed to be here, but due to a recent surgery she couldn’t make it. Man, am I bummed. Rumor has it they may have her call in and broadcast her message to the crowd. Unfortunately, unlike most of the protesters, I have a job to get back to.

The Salt Lake City/Country Building is Mayor Rocky Anderson’s castle, and leftwing demonstrations there are commonplace. Rocky’s rallies are a dime a dozen, we were more interested in the much publicized “Death to Israel” rally.

Organizer Robert Breeze told the Salt Lake Tribune that the purpose of the rally is to protest “the torture and murder inflicted on Muslims by Israel and the penetration of the U.S. media by Israeli intelligence.” Those barberic Israelis! Excuse me, Mr. Breeze, but last time I checked, it wasn’t Israelis who cut off heads, kidnap journalists, hide amongst human shields, and bash babies’ heads in with rifle butts.

The rally was actually quite a disappointment. The rag-tag group of protesters was set up across the street from the main demonstration. I thought I’d get upset, but I ended up mostly laughing. Breeze himself looks like a creepy grandpa you wouldn’t want to leave your kids with, and his followers look like average street beggars. Tyler snapped some pictures. Breeze is on the right in this shot:

I had a brief conversation with him:

D. Sirmize: What’s your name, sir?

PROTESTER: Robert Breeze- Breeze like the wind.

D. Sirmize: So this is a “Death To Israel” rally. I’m Jewish. Do you want me dead?

BREEZE (LIKE THE WIND): No, no.

2ND PROTESTER: There’s a difference between Zionism and Jews.

D. Sirmize: Well you say “Death to Israel.” I would think that implies death to Jews.

BREEZE (LIKE THE WIND): Well you’d probably be wrong.

D. Sirmize: Probably?

BREEZE (LIKE THE WIND): Do you see “Death to Israel” on any of our signs?

D. Sirmize: I haven’t read any of your signs. But you applied for a demonstration permit under the title “Death to Israel.” It doesn’t need to be on your signs, it’s on your permit!

2ND PROTESTER (to Breeze): You signed us up as “Death To Israel?”

BREEZE (LIKE THE WIND): Look, if I said “Death to Whales,” would you take that to mean I want to kill whales?

D. Sirmize: Uh, yeah.

This lady says she herself is a Jew. Interesting.

I found it amazing that all the local news agencies reported on a “Death to Israel” rally so matter-of-factly. Other than over at Michelle Malkin’s place, no detectable outrage anywhere. When exactly did anti-semitism become culturally acceptable?

Below are some of Tyler’s shots of the main anti-Bush demonstration (not affiliated with the Death to Israel rally):

Notice the nazi thunder/lightening bolts in ‘Bush’

Rocky Anderson: The man of the hour

???

Holy Bucket Brigades

Guys have uteri? I need a checkup!

Just in case you forgot your protest sign

This guy has spoken his peace and he’s blowing this joint.

D. Sirmize

Boy, it’s been a while since my last blog entry.  But not as long as my last “official” personal journal entry.  I pulled out the ‘ol journal today after an inspiring lesson in Elder’s Quorum and discovered that it had been 5 years since I last wrote.  I missed writing about my son’s birth, my graduation from college, a couple job changes, a new house and the list goes on and on.  A far cry from my journal writing hey-days from the time I was 16 to 21 where I kept a daily journal without missing a single day!  I guess I may have burned myself out.

But as Brother Cross (a man who reminds me of President Hinkley) said today in Sacrament Meeting, today is a new day and each hour is a new hour.  So I’ve recommitted myself to writing daily in my journal.  I won’t make such promises as far as this blog is concerned, but hopefully I don’t let things go for a couple of weeks like I’ve done this time.

I’ve posted some pictures of my family that were taken when we went on a nice scenic drive on Mirror Lake Highway through the Uintah’s.  I have a sweet family and I love them a lot!

Maybe I was in a bad mood when I read Jody Genessy’s opinion column in the Deseret News this evening, or maybe I’m just fat and taking offense, but I think he went a little far in his attempts to be funny today. To his credit, he took a stab at himself on that very point when he listed “You spend way more time trying to be funny in a weight-loss column than you do exercising” as a way to know if you’re obese.

From the looks of his picture included with the column, Jody, like a lot of people these days, is a bit on the heavy side. So the article is obviously meant to be funny in the self-deprecating sense of the word. I’m a big fan of self-deprecating humor; if you can’t laugh at yourself, then who can you laugh at? But “self” is the keyword. He took it too far today by laboriously running down the list of all-too-common fat jokes. If he would have stuck to just a few, I wouldn’t be as critical (uptight) as I’m being. The ones I liked were was:

You won’t put a nickel in a slot machine because gambling is a vice, but you will put eight quarters in a vending machine at work for a bag of Doritos, a Snickers bar and a Diet Dr. Pepper.

That says quite a bit about the way a lot of us (including myself) take some commandments to heart, but completely ignore (or justify) breaking others. The Word of Wisdom is often focused on for the list of “don’ts”, but there are also many “dos” that are too often ignored.

I dream of one day being back to the best shape I’ve ever been in. One of the biggest things I can do to help myself out is to start eating right.

I donated blood tonight and one of the recommendations is that you drink a lot of water (and it specifically excludes pop), and I’ve yet to drink a single glass. But I have had a couple cans of pop.

I’m an idiot, no doubt about it. (How’s that for self-deprecating?)

WHY? That’s the question I have. It’s ironic really. You go to a biannual meeting to receive counsel from the Stake Presidency and to feel the Spirit, but when you add kids into the mix, it becomes nearly impossible! What’s even more ironic is the counsel we received today was that we put emphasis on reverence. Stake Conference meetings are anything but reverent, what with all the kids trying to endure a two hour meeting on seats that make noise when you kick them. Ooh, cool! How fun! These seats make noise when I pound my toys on them, too!

Heather and I went to the Temple night and the Adult Session and really enjoyed that. When it came to going to the Sunday session, we discussed not going but we decided to “do the right thing” and go. I came home from the meeting more stressed than before I left. I took Griffin out of the meeting once and Heather took him out at least twice. All the while the speakers’ main subject matter is “reverence”.

On the way out of the meeting, Heather had to stop by the primary room to get something out of the closet. I took Griffin and Sami to the car, but upon Heather’s departure from us Griffin started to scream and cry. He’s been doing that lately, I suppose it’s just a phase, but it added to the stress of the day.

One good thing that came of the meeting was the wonderful song that was sung by a mother and daughter. The daughter did so well! I was really impressed with her voice and pitch. It was only when her mother sang along that the daughter’s pitch was forced flat. But I really enjoyed the song and I was taken by the voice of the little girl. They sang “Mother, Tell Me the Story” from the Children’s Song Book.