Day 115: Silent protesters turn backs on Governor at Special Olympics ceremony
Post by Jesse Russell on 6/9/2011 9:06am
The 25th Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run kicked off on the Capitol Square Wednesday amidst touching speeches, joyous Bucky Badger dancing, and a silent protest of Wisconsin's Governor. Wisconsin's involvement with the Special Olympics goes all the way back to 1969 and, according to Wisconsin Special Olympics President Dennis Alldridge, Wisconsinites not only get involved in the state, but also have a reputation for volunteering at Special Olympics events around the country.
Both Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen were on hand for the opening with each having a solid history of supporting the event. Nearly every year Milwaukee County Executive Walker carried the torch for a leg. Van Hollen has been involved with the Special Olympics since he took office and is Honorary Chair of the Law Enforcement Torch Run. He also has the distinction of being the the first person to tackle rappelling the wall of Madison's Hilton in 2010 as part of a fundraiser for the Olympics.
The strong support for the Special Olympics program by Walker is in stark contrast to how it's being addressed by the GOP on the national level. One of the budget proposals by House Republicans was to slash funding for Project UNIFY, an educational program targeted at ending discrimination of disabled citizens.
Walker has been criticized that some of his budget proposals could directly impact the disabled. Those cuts include freezing enrollment into the Family Care program which helps keep people out of nursing homes and instead in the company of loved ones. Additionally, the Governor's proposed cuts to transit aid have some concerned that it could end special services for the elderly and disabled in cash strapped municipalities.
At Wednesday's event there were already a handful of protesters in the audience before the speakers started. Walker spoke last, and through the more than a half dozen speakers before him the protesters in attendance applauded and were respectful.
There was a tense moment when a group of more than 20 students arrived in zombie make-up, fresh from a "die-in" protest on the State Street side of the Capitol. However, the protesters stood to the sides and in the back during the early speakers and it wasn't until Walker took the stage that they made their presence known.
As Walker stepped to the podium the zombie protesters went to the front of the audience and, along with other protesters in the crowd, turned their backs. Some raised their fists in a symbol of "solidarity." They stood silently and allowed Walker to speak and when he finished the zombie protesters walked away, shook the hands of Special Olympic athletes and wished them luck in the games.
According to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal, "Kelly Kloepping, vice-president of communications for Special Olympics Wisconsin, said the protesters were respectful and caused no disruption."
Below is video of Walker speaking followed by the torch run and followed by the other speakers.
Jesse Russell
Co-Editor
Jesse was born and raised in Connecticut, began blogging in 1997, and moved to Madison in 2003. In 2005, he co-founded dane101 along with Kristian Knutson and Shane Wealti. In addition to helping nearly a dozen contributors run this website he's helped launch various events in the city including What's Your Damage?!, the MadPubQuiz of Awesomeness, the Fire Ball Masquerade, Dane101's Freakin' Halloweekend, and more.
Special Olympics and protesters
Submitted by Cyhawk (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 10:31.
Kelly Kloeping: So, what the protesters did to Walker was "respectful"???
Don't ever call me or my family for contributions again. You obviously care more about ideology than the truth or the Special Olympics.
Well, that's petty.
Submitted by Jesse Russell on Thu, 2011-06-09 11:39.
In her defense, it's an awkward and unusual position for a Special Olympics communications person to be in. It also isn't likely something she needs to deal with on a regular basis. It's unfortunate that your decision is to punish an entire organization that does so much good simply because someone chose words with which you disagree. Frankly, that's shallow and petty.
She probably meant respectful
Submitted by Chris D (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 13:11.
She probably meant respectful with respect to the event, not with respect to Walker. The event could have been wrecked for the families and athletes if the protestors had be shouting down the speakers.
Nothing was respectful
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 14:44.
A respectful protest would have been lining the sidewalk that the governor walked to get to and from the event. A respectful protest would have been standing in the background and protesting after the event. A respectful protest is NOT walking in front of the athletes, blocking their view, and taking part of their moment away. This was not YOUR moment, this was theirs. Who cares that you shook hands afterwards.... I hope every single one of those protestors go out and volunteer and donate some money to that cause. SELFISH!!!
"This was not YOUR moment"
Submitted by Chris D (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 16:44.
"This was not YOUR moment" Are you directing that at me? I wasn't even there. Just offering another interpretation of the spokes persons statement. To suddenly decide to stop giving to great movement just because of a comprehension problem is a little bit of an over-reaction IMO.
Small correction
Submitted by Jesse Russell on Thu, 2011-06-09 17:05.
I need to correct part of your statement: "A respectful protest is NOT walking in front of the athletes, blocking their view, and taking part of their moment away."
They weren't standing in front of the athletes. The athletes were all wearing green and were to the left of Walker while the protesters were mostly standing center and to the right. I don't know if they did that intentionally and I'm not saying it didn't take away from their moment, but I just want to make sure everyone is debating on the facts.
Another correction
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 18:09.
I was there. The athletes were in the audience and then after the protestors disrupted their view, they were invited onto the stage. Check it all out on youtube - at about 35 seconds in you see Walker at the podium byhimself and the zombies walking infront of the athletes, blocking their view. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcuqM1LEi5c
Check the facts.
FAIL
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Thu, 2011-06-09 20:59.
No sane person would consider the MacIver Institute an impartial or objective news source, let alone a source of facts.
Try again.
Video doesn't lie
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 23:50.
Turn off the sound and watch the video. It clearly shows the zombies walking on front of the athletes in the green shirts, and walker on stage by himself. Check your eyes!
Straw Man Fallacy
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Fri, 2011-06-10 00:46.
Your post does not address the fact that your citation at 18:09 referenced an extremely biased organization with right-wing ties called the MacIver Institute, and that your post based its entire validity upon a flawed source.
Try again.
Not believable
Submitted by RYD (not verified) on Fri, 2011-06-10 09:44.
You probably do not give contributions to the Special Olympics anyway. You are the idealogue. Protestors have right to protest the God awful creature that somehow slipped into office. His time is short. He will be recalled. Thank GOD!
Soft
Submitted by Scott (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 13:13.
"More than twenty protesters walked infront of the crowd, dressed like zombies, and they caused no disruptions." My guess is that either Kloepping is actually blind, or your polictal views against Walker, have kept you from stating the obvious.
This was not the time or the place for this type of demonstration. Everyone has the right to their own political views, and freedom of speach. The key thing here is having the class to know when you should and should not do things to promote your own cause. This took away from the Special Olympians, so that a few people could get their moment of fame for their cause. No better than the group that protests at military funerals.
Disrupt
Submitted by Jesse Russell on Thu, 2011-06-09 13:37.
I take issue with the word "disrupt" that's been thrown around by some folks. It literally means to "attempt to create disorder" and I didn't see an attempt to "create disorder." You are within your right to disagree with the dictionary, but I take it as gospel.
From Websters Online Dictionary
Submitted by Scott (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 14:07.
Definition of DISRUPT
transitive verb
1a : to break apart : rupture b : to throw into disorder
2: to interrupt the normal course or unity of
"Over twenty zombie protesters walked in front of Walker and the crowd"
They must have been lost, and all wondered to the same spot
They could not see, they had blood in their eyes
Really, you want to stick with your statement that they were not trying to "disrupt" anything?
I didn't see disorder. The
Submitted by Jesse Russell on Thu, 2011-06-09 15:55.
I didn't see disorder. The event wasn't broken apart. The normal course was for Walker to be allowed to speak. After he spoke people applauded, no one booed. If the Governor had been shouted down or not allowed to speak I'd agree there was a disruption. However, we're getting into serious semantics here and we'll simply need to agree to disagree on that point.
For what it's worth, I did think it was inappropriate to show up at this event dressed as zombies.
no disrubtion
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 18:19.
So, if a bunch of people dressed up like zombies showed up to your families wedding that was outdoors in a public place, walked up in front of your guests and stood silenty, that would be just fine and dandy! What about at a military funeral. Why can't protestors show up to those if you don't like the war. If they're silent it's fine!?
Come on, grow up. No, there was no disorder. But it was disruptive and not appropriate for these athletes to have their moment overshadowed by your stunt.
spelling error
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 18:20.
Sorry for the spelling error. I type fast when I'm pissed!
There's only one word I would
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Thu, 2011-06-09 21:04.
There's only one word I would have if a bunch of zombies showed up at my wedding:
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If it was my military funeral, and I was looking down from Heaven to see a bunch of zombie protesters surrounding my casket, well, I'm afraid I would have a few more words to say:
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I was there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wisconsin's definition of
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Fri, 2011-06-10 00:49.
Wisconsin's definition of disrupt:
1) To end the slow, deliberative process of discussing and negotiating legislation that the Founding Fathers built and turn it into a slash & burn, no-compromise, my way or the highway style of fast tracking legislation while taking every attempt to marginalize the minority party.
2) To eradicate or cut so severely the many, many laws like subsidized health care and environmental legislation that caused former US presidents to praise Wisconsin and that made it the envy of all the other states.
3) To turn citizens against each other (really, just to turn the ignorant, overly emotional (it's all they seem to know) misquided citizens against the ones being attacked) in order to transfer all of the state's public wealth and assets into the hands of the richest 1% (and the people who support Walker, who will also suffer from his policies and have things taken from them, continue to support him).
It's ironic, really. They're foaming at the mouth because they think the state is broke and unions are unfair (why? Because Walker told them so), but they can't see how Walker is using public funds to pay off his campaign contributors, like over $400 million in highway construction when gas is permanently near $4 a gallon, or hiring the drunken, unqualified son of a lobbyist at something like $80K a year.
Soft, You really have no
Submitted by Pro-protest (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 13:38.
Soft,
You really have no clue. Walker and the GOP's plans include slashing programs that will directly affect the Special Olympians once the event is over.
Blindness to politics is what's affecting YOUR biased views.
Shaking the hands of the Olympians by the protesters was a very classy thing to do.
Walker obviously only came out from hiding thinking that the protesters would be a lot more vocal. As usual - he was wrong.
Bravo to all of the Special Olympians! It's a shame that Walker is trying to cut out aid while spending a token amount of time claiming he's for those with special needs.
Please Pay More Attention
Submitted by Scott (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 13:47.
You, like the protesters, are trying to turn this Special Olympic event into a polictal statement. What Walker is planning to do or not do has nothing to do with my post. This has to do with people taking advantage of a situation to get infront of the cameras for their own political cause. What their cause is other than they don't like walker, we really don't know.
My point was, this is not the forum to do this. This was about the Special Olympians, not about someones political cause. Take off your blinders, and think, I did not say that I supported Walked, only this was in bad taste.
Your post has nothing to do with reality
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Fri, 2011-06-10 01:09.
What Walker is trying to do with the budget has everything to do with the Special Olympians, and because the budget is concerned it is inherently political. Walker is trying to deeply cut the programs which helps special needs families, and the protest was designed to illustrate that...the protesters turned their back on Walker like he is turning his back on the Special Olympians.
Your posts are doing more to turn the event into a political statement than the original event itself. Don't forget to email Vitriol Vicki McKan'tStandSh*t about it.
What Walker says, and what he does, appears to be two entirely different things. Like slashing education by $840 million and calling it "giving schools the tools they need to succeed." Try living with a penny in your pocket and see how well you do.
Here we go again:
"I did not say that I supported Walked, only this was in bad taste."
How many times has somebody gone out of their way to appear politically unaffiliated or neutral, while inundating this forum with increasingly partisan posts?
Seriously, this has got to be a record. It would not be surprising if it was the same person, or if they were trained by the same people (AFP).
I have lost all RESPECT for
Submitted by Joe P (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 14:18.
I have lost all RESPECT for the union protesters. Anyone who would act like this at a Special Olympics event has a special place waiting for them in hell. I will never vote for a democrat again. My party has been taken over by a bunch of kooks.
Although I do not agree with
Submitted by God is Love (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 14:51.
Although I do not agree with what was done, the zombies were not union protestors. They were students who were protesting cuts to education. I am sure there were union protestors there but they were not the ones that walked to the front. I feel saddened that you want anyone to go to Hell. Hell will be a terible place for those who do not accept Christ. If you are a Christian, you are not doing what Christ wants you to do and that is to spread the Gospel so that nobody has to endure Hell. The Great Commission is to save people from Hell by spreading the Gospel message of Christ's love for all sinners. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God!!
Another fake
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Thu, 2011-06-09 20:01.
Joe P, really? Your party, yeah, uh, sure.
Why do the trolls always make such obvious attempts to fake their political affiliation? Was this something they learned in a Koch brothers-sponsored class? Is it written on the pay-per-post paychecks AFP sends them? You're doing absolutely nothing that will change anyone's perspective, regardless of their political affiliation. Your argument is simply too weak.
Besides that, the bottom line is, Democrats and Progressives don't think or speak like you.
SHAME
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 14:33.
That was shameful. How dare you use someone else's event to protest. This event had nothing to do with politics. You should be ashamed of yourself for being so childish and selfish. Those athletes work very hard. This is not any different than protestors showing up to military funerals. You should be ashamed of your actions and I hope when you grow up and enter the real world, you will realize how selfish you were and make a donation or volunteer your time to work with the Special Olympics!
Another example of alienating
Submitted by Ninja (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 15:10.
Another example of alienating the sympathizers and giving the opposition more ammunition. Not a good look, but it's all the kids seem to be capable of these days.
Being that: 1) Walker and
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Thu, 2011-06-09 15:39.
Being that:
1) Walker and the Republicans are trying to gut education to the tune of $840 million (and that most likely includes programs that serve those with special needs), and that
2) Walker and the Republicans are trying to gut several types of publicly-subsidized health care programs for low income families (some of whom may have a son or daughter as an athlete),
I don't think the athletes or their families were nearly as outraged as the trolls anonymously leaving comments here and on youtube. The only reason it gives the opposition (which Ninja is obviously a part of despite the constant effort to appear non-partisan) any "ammunition" is because they fully support Walker no matter what, and they attack anyone who does not agree with them. So whether they are right or not, it gives them something to scream about.
I watched a clip of the protest that I found through facebook. The people who criticized the protest used vile, derogatory language, a copious amount of profanity, and they took every chance they could to insult the protesters (ironically, nearly all of the three pages of negative comments described the protesters as union members, which shows you how well informed Walker's supporters are). Those speaking positively about the protesters did so with tact, reason, and courtesy.
I thought the very best comment was by someone in the latter group:
"To the negative commenters here, who have only come to insult the protesters, shame on you. Your actions are no better than what you accuse the protesters of. At least the protesters respected the athletes by saying NOTHING."
Thanks for illustrating my
Submitted by Ninja (not verified) on Fri, 2011-06-10 09:44.
Thanks for illustrating my point Joe.
A ninja that can't see.......
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Fri, 2011-06-10 11:51.
Actually, you proved my point. For someone who calls themselves a ninja, you certainly can't tell when you're stabbing yourself in the back.
Your perspective on "giving the opposition more ammunition" was that the protesters were wrong.
Mine was a critique of right-wingers. They'll scream about anything if they thinks it helps them win, even if they know they are wrong. They'll complain and harass even if they really don't care about the subject, and even if the subject goes against their self-interests. That's exactly what you've done here, albeit from a stance of feigned bipartisanship.
You don't have to be wrong to
Submitted by Ninja (not verified) on Fri, 2011-06-10 13:48.
You don't have to be wrong to give your opposition ammunition. You just have to be stupid.
I'm trying very hard to be gentle with you because I get the feeling that you're not very old, but you need to check that attitude and reconsider my original point. Do you really think you're doing anyone on your "side" any favors by lashing out at strangers, pushing conspiracy theories and assigning all kinds of ulterior motives to people who express even the slightest reservations about your tactics? Not smart, in my opinion.
But I do have a question for you. One that you must have somehow overlooked in our last little exchange on the Sumi ruling. How does an honest, objective champion of sunshine and open government suggest we deal with the 2009 budget? Conference call went out at 3:31pm on 6/24/09. By midnight on 6/26/09 the full Senate was voting on the amendment. They weren't even in special session so I don't see how they could have possible observed the open meetings requirements for the conference committee vote in such a short period of time. And this was Dems refusing to compromise with other Dems over Healthy Wisconsin, not some partisan showdown. Do we sue now to void thousands of pages of law from two years ago? How can you sleep at night knowing that such a grave injustice has taken place? If you really care so deeply about open government and a committee vote is vitally important to that goal then what's your solution to the 2009 budget?
Yeah, you're not a
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Fri, 2011-06-10 23:49.
Yeah, you're not a right-winger at all............
Seriously, this is like playing chess with a bowling pin.
I attended this event and saw
Submitted by ian (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 17:18.
I attended this event and saw an athelete go up to a protester and read her sign...then he gave her a "thumbs up". I am sure that many of the atheletes attending realize that the Walker budget includes large cuts to the services that they need.
Not the time
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 18:12.
This was a celebration of their accomplishments, not a political statement! Protests like this do nothing to change anyone's opinion or any of the lawmakers decisions to pass or not pass laws. It just gives stupid college students 5 seconds of fame.
You want to make a difference. Do it in a respectful way and maybe donating your time to the Special Olympics would help them out better than this idiotic stunt!
Shannon, if Walker is allowed
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Thu, 2011-06-09 19:42.
If Walker is allowed to cut the funding for the athlete's education and health care, there may not be any accomplishments to celebrate. Furthermore, given the many other options protesters had at their disposal, all of which would have been very legal, this was indeed a respectful manner of protest.
As far as influencing the local politicians, it told all political parties that the protest is being peaceful and respectful.
It told the Republicans that nobody has forgotten about what they are trying to do.
It told the Democrats to not give up the fight under the dome.
And most importantly, it told the athletes and their families that they are not alone in their fight.
That's the one thing all of the trolls leaving negative comments in here fail to understand. The protesters were representing the athletes and their families, and the athletes and families wanted support, because they know what Walker & the Republicans are trying to do and the families and athletes, already in a vulnerable position, will be harmed by it.
Not under the dome
Submitted by Lara M (not verified) on Fri, 2011-06-10 01:41.
Actually the Dems do not fight under the Dome. They run away and whine in Illinois.
The protesters are not "representing" anything or anybody other than themselves.
Under the dome
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Sat, 2011-06-11 00:31.
The dome was a metaphor, but thanks for the completely uncalled for insult because now we know the intellectual capacity of who is writing your posts.
The protesters represented the Special Olympian's interests by turning their back on Walker the same way Walker's excessive cuts turned the backs to the lives of special needs groups and their families, another metaphor.
Can someone give the people leaving negative comments a tape recorder with all of the previous replies so hopefully, after hearing it for the 100th time, they'll understand, rather than just re-post feigned outrage on the same subject which has been effectively disputed? This channel could be used for enlightenment......
Are you all done with the excuses now?
Submitted by Ken (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 18:12.
Are you? Because reality is this: IT WAS WRONG!
No amount of excuses can make up for the fact that the event was planned to help disabled people not feel so disabled. The point that you selfish people are missing is that it was selfish. If you feel that your political and economic situation is so drastic that you cant wait for the group trying to help the disabled people finish what they were doing, your a fool. Take to heart that others are worse off and your life can and should be beautiful without taking the glow out of an event like this.
To those arguing this wasn't disrespectful or disruptive, your lack of empathy is disgusting. Of course it was. The speaker was taking to the audience, it was about the audiences achievements. Walking in front of a speaker is a disruption, walking in front of a speaker dressed as a zombie then stopping in front of him or her and standing in protest silently is a HUGE SELFISH DISRUPTION. If you had any empathy you could ignore your emotions over the speakers political nature and see that the event is not political and for people that absolutely deserve it. But you cant, because you don't have that empathy, which is sad (as well as the aforementioned disgusting).
I am in college, funded by FAFSA and hard labor. I have over 30k in debt so far and am the first to agree that education should be first priority for government (make sure we are educated and we will take care of the GNP rising you idiots!). But if I had seen this protest I may have for the first time in my life punched a zombie.
Selfish? You were unable to
Submitted by Daniel (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 18:32.
Selfish? You were unable to write a response without bringing your personal life into it. What does your personal life have to do with whether or not this is disrespectful or not? Did you even know the Special Olympics were kicking off yesterday? And are you the spokesperson for the Special Olympics? Because the official spokesperson for the Special Olympics said it they were respectful and not disruptive. You don't have any credentials to speak for Special Olympics are far as I can tell. Listen to the representative from the Special Olympics at the 4 minute point in this clip.
Ken's logic, as well as the
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Thu, 2011-06-09 20:52.
Ken's logic, as well as the others speaking out negatively has many flaws:
He calls the protesters selfish, when if he had actually made the effort to speak to one in person, or discuss the matter rationally online (but it's all emotion and twisted, compartmentalized thinking with those folks), he would know that the protesters are there because they think the budget repair bill & Walker are bad for all people in Wisconsin, even the people like Ken who support Walker's agenda. This also completely destroys Ken's complaint that the protesters had no empathy. Ken sure as heck wasn't down there shaking hands with the athletes, was he?
Walker is an elected official. He is supposed to represent all people of Wisconsin, and yet he has refused to meet with them, let alone many Democrat Assemblymen and Senators, and he has repeatedly refused to speak to the Chief of Police. If the only place Walker is accessible to see or hear what he as Governor is obligated to see and hear, is a public event, on public space, the people have every right to congregate and express their First Amendment rights. I thought the protesters at this event did so respectfully.
And Ken, punch a zombie? There's no need for threats of violence, but if you can't understand the zombie protesters' silent, non-violent, expression of Free Speech, then you can't understand these concepts or the fact that the athletes and their families may have supported the protest.
Ken, I made it through college (taking honors and advanced classes) and grad school totally debt free, without having to borrow a single penny, and I likewise had nobody like my parents give me any money. I planned accordingly, worked two jobs before and during college, and graduated with a 3.95 cumulative GPA. If you were smarter you wouldn't have to complain about $30K in debt, and you certainly wouldn't be holding the position you have in here.
Good pr
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 23:12.
The spokesperson is playing it safe. Was it hugely disruptive- no? Was it classless, disrespectful and selfish- yes. I give the athletes, families and special olympc reps credit for having the dignity and class to allow the students to have their stunt, and be on there way.
These sanctimonious martyrs
Submitted by Ninja (not verified) on Fri, 2011-06-10 09:56.
These sanctimonious martyrs will never see themselves the way the rest of us see them. Everybody needs to be eternally grateful for their obnoxious, disruptive protests because they’re doing it for us, whether we like it or not. Disagree even slightly and you’re off the team.
That’s something that I’ve noticed about “liberals” in Madison in general. Incredibly closed-minded. If you’re not in complete and total lockstep with the local dogma you’re prone to attack. Sound like conservatives to me, but what do I know about the contemporary meaning of these stupid, self-assigned labels.
You must know a lot about
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Fri, 2011-06-10 11:30.
You must know a lot about labels because you assign them to people all of the time:
sanctimonious martyrs
obnoxious
disruptive
“liberals”
closed-minded
prone to attack
conservatives
stupid
And that's just from two short paragraphs. You also might want to quit faking your political view, it really is incredibly obvious which side you're on.
I don't have a side Joe. I
Submitted by Ninja (not verified) on Fri, 2011-06-10 13:29.
I don't have a side Joe. I don't agree with the collective bargaining changes in Act 10, but I would rather pul out my own fingernails than be associated with the petty, childish, egomaniacal bullies protesting it.
You're a tea partier to me. Different music but the same dance as all the other irrational screamers. There's a lot of money to be made manipulating people like you into a rage, and it's done in such a way that you welcome it. It gives you a group to belong to. It makes it feel like you're involved in something important. Like you're standing up to a great evil. Like you've been victimized. Really you're just being hustled to bring profit and power to larger interests, but you enjoy it so you don't question it. That's true whehter you live in Walkerville or your call yourself a Tea Partier.
Strange times we live in.
It doesn't matter what Ninja says
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Sat, 2011-06-11 00:32.
It doesn't matter what you say about me. The fact is you ONLY appear when there is an "outrage" event, you ALWAYS say, one way or another, just how middle-of-the-road and bipartisan you are.........
...and then you completely blast and insult those on the left and by default support Walker's agenda.
Everyone sees it. Everyone knows it.
Everyone but you.
Other opportunity
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 19:27.
I heard a comment from one of the protestors that they have no beef with the special Olympics, but this was the only opportunity to get in front of the governor. Bull! Governor Walker walked from the Capitol entrance to the event, in full view of everyone. He stopped and spent 10 minutes with 4th graders that were eating lunch on a field trip. There was the perfect time and place for the zombies to be seen and heard by the governor, without intruding on another event. Oh, but the camera weren't there, so I guess that really was the point!!!
oh wow
Submitted by Anonymous steph (not verified) on Thu, 2011-06-09 20:11.
K Shannon, are you done yet? In front of fourth graders would be better? Somehow I bet you would be flaming about that as well and probably with better cause. I am very much involved and can tell u what Walker is doing to those athletes is much worse than that. My relative was glad he wanted to spit on him but thought that was good enough and said "right on" Get a grip woman or are you getting paid by the post? Oh and most of the time time somebody has a camera that really isnt an issue.
extra money
Submitted by Shannon (not verified) on Fri, 2011-06-10 10:44.
Boy, everyone keeps talking about getting paid to post. I could use some extra money, please tell me how to get that job.
There are a lot of conspiracy
Submitted by Ninja (not verified) on Fri, 2011-06-10 13:30.
There are a lot of conspiracy theories propping up this house of outrage.
Beware the feeble minded
Submitted by a_guy_named_joe on Sat, 2011-06-11 00:49.
The house of outrage is a house of cards, which ultimately will fall.
I hesitate to post the link because the speaker uses neuro-linquistic programming very well (like he was trained to do so), and he practices an element of it called time distortion (something that some elements of American society might respond to disproportionately). The total effect may be to flip the switch of those who are easily susceptible and unable of critical thinking:
Now that I think about it, I will not post the link. If you wish to do so, put the following phrase in your search engine of choice: youtube internet guerrilla tactics
If you search that, it is of your own accord. I make no claim as to the validity of the source.
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