Do they really have to go that far?

[Gan]

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (CNN) -- Protesters set a building on fire and threw objects at police in the streets of this resort city as the leaders of 34 nations met at the fourth Summit of the Americas.

The summit wraps up Saturday afternoon after two additional working sessions, with trade, jobs and combating poverty on the agenda.

THE REST OF THE STORY (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/11/05/bush.summit/index.html)
_________________________________

I understand the desire to protest to have your opinion heard. I understand the need and the passion that can drive people to take time out of their busy lives and organize a demonstration.

What I dont understand is why people see the need to destroy property and injure other people while doing said protesting. In my opinion, this not only negates the voice you are trying to get out but works in the opposite direction with the matter of gaining public opinion and support for your cause. If I were part of that protest and all of a sudden realised that my fellow protestors were setting fire to a bank I'd be pretty pissed off that those idiots were not only jeopardizing my life by becoming violent, but that they also wasted my time by totally ruining any impact that event might have had.

Way to go folks. :clap:

[radamanthys]

Yea, well, the ultra-left radicals don't have much sense anyway.

[Gan]

Well what do you know. Guess who spoke before the march on Friday???


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Why am I not suprised. I wonder if he had his supporters provide the molitive cocktails for the bank buildings should the group start to lose momentum? True colors, true colors.

[radamanthys]

That guy is a crackpot.

My girlfriend spent a couple months in venez. and saw all sorts of his crap. So I guess I have a pretty damned good second-hand account.

[Warriorbird]

totally ruining any impact

Curiously enough...I doubt you were the target audience.

[Gan]

And the burning of a bank buliding would appeal to what target audience?

Enlighten me if you know.

[Warriorbird]

South American radicals.

[Gan]

And these are the people that the news highlights as the foreign opinion base of Bush?

I'm kind of glad that these kinds of folks hate Bush... and America for that matter. They can stay where they are and burn as much as they want.

[DeV]

Originally posted by radamanthys
Yea, well, the ultra-left radicals don't have much sense anyway. Find me an ultra radical for or against anything and you'll notice they aren't operating with a full deck.

[radamanthys]

I think that was Ganalon's point :-)

[Gan]

DeV and I are on the same wavelength this morning, only neither of us (until now) are willing to admit it.

With that said, I'm going to lunch and see if I can snap out of it.

:whistle:

[DeV]

Originally posted by radamanthys
I think that was Ganalon's point :-) I got his, that's why I singled out yours.

[xtc]

Originally posted by Ganalon
And the burning of a bank buliding would appeal to what target audience?

Enlighten me if you know.

I don't approve but HSBC Bank in South America has hired former members of death squads who have used heavy handed tactics in dealing with bank security. This was exposed in a Canadian television show called The Passionate Eye. HSBC first defended their security employees then the next day when shown videotaped evidence of their security blowing up a car of a reporter of The Passionate Eye they fired him. Local Police were also videotaped blowing up the car.

I am not defending the violent actions of the protesters but you can't see it through American eyes.



[Edited on 11-5-2005 by xtc]

[Back]

Nobody likes an anarchist but they sometimes show up at these things, especially World Trade/Bank events. They are nothing but knuckleheads intent on destruction for destructions sake.

[Skirmisher]

Bush or more likely his handlers, since he doesn't watch or read the news according to him, were idiots if they could not have predicted an extremely negative response to his visit to South America.

I may think Chavez is a bombastic charlatan of a socialist, but I still am aware that he is far better respected than the shrub is at present. There has been a signifigant shift to the left in political atmosphere of South America over the last 5-10 years and Chavez is simply the most visible and vocal of the left leaning leaders at present.

I was laughing last week when i heard some Republican spin doctor saying how it might be good for Bush to be able to get out of the US and help bring some headlines away from Katrina and Wilma and Iraq. Now I may not be the most well read or politcally astute of our posters but even my family and I last week were wondering what was wrong with the administration to want to make this trip.

That he was even considering going to this meeting personally was yet another in a long line of huge miscalculations.