Protest at Columbia over Iranian President
 

I swung by. All I have to say is wow.

There are enough morons from all spectrums to make me wish I was a citizen of the conch republic instead.

Highlights include:
1) These catholic guys wearing suits and red sashes, and walking around with flags supporting some fascist ideology of some sort (property, tradition, and family).
2) These crazy people protesting Bush in general. They said yes the Iranian president is bad, but let's focus on Bush. Why not just protest the ozone layer depletion while you're at it since that has just as much relevance to the topic.
3) The crazies who show up wearing military garb that they bought in souvenier stores to support democracy.

I know some folks who were invited to dinner with Ahmenijad but didn't go. None of them were wackos that came to protest either.

-Rudey

Looks like Columbia is doing speeches from world leaders all week. However none as controversial as today. I was in the neighborhood this weekend. Even as early as Saturday night there were news teams doing stories from campus. Columbia ID must be shown to pass thru the gates of campus today. I understand it is a safety concnern but I think that added to people's anger as well. It's not a full public forum if you don't invite the public.

There was a fair amount of anti-Ahmadinejad and anti-Iran posters up on side street buildings. What I hate is just like you said - the morons who show and protest other things that have nothing to do with Iran and Ahmadinejad.

here is my question and this may sound familiar to some...the


Why did a whole bunch of people travel all this distance to Columbia to protest?

What did it prove?

What was the purpose of protesting one isolated person out of all the people in the world that you could protest?

What did you all think would be the end result of this protest would be....?

and I forgot to add...what is the relevance of having a protest if this gentleman lives so far away that what he does is of no relevance to you.


just a thought.

Protests in general are pretty pointless.

They're just wastes of time for (mostly) unemployed people. It must be nice to not have to show up to work/class/whatever right in the middle of the week. Perhaps these peoples' time could best be spent filling out employment applications or doing community service?

We have a peace rally here in OKC at a certain location every evening at 5PM -- the big one is on Fridays. We don't get the colorful types Rudey describes. Mostly a bunch of 60's left-behinds trying to relive their youths. I have a feeling that they see this more as a social event and an opportunity to show off their mad bongo skillz than anything reasonably calculated to accomplish a political objective.

That's just my take though.

I'm glad we agree on this.

Oh I didnt say that we agree kevin...you are indeed mistaken.

Some of those same questions that some people in here posed last week about jena, I just thought i would throw right back and see what i got....see the difference?

The folks at Jena probably mostly fit into the above-described category as well.

A bunch of 60's left-behinds, like Sharpton, Jackson, etc.

Protesting in general is generally pointless.

again kevin unless you know...stop ass u ming....

I got an idea that shouldn't be too hard for you unless you make it hard...why don't u ask some one that actually went...as I recall there are several here that went.....

Your answers:

1) For the most part, nobody did any travelling. It's NY. You get on the subway.
2) Who said they wanted to prove something? They wanted to be heard.
3) They didn't exactly protest one person. Most people protested against the campus. Some protested against the Iranian regime. Some protested against Bush or whomever. For those that protested against Columbia, it was the fact that they gave him a podium and for those that protested against the Iranian regime (not just one person), it ranged from the abuse of women, homosexuals, jews, other minority groups.
4) Again, I didn't see or hear anyone talking about an end result. They wanted to be heard and to let the Iranian president know those actions were unacceptable and they were upset that Columbia had let him speak. Columbia went as far as introducing the president as a tyrant before his speech so perhaps they saw eye to eye in the end.
5) You ask derivations of the same question over and over and I'm getting tired of providing the same answer, but read the previous responses.

If this has to do with your issues over Jena, I don't see how the two are related. I don't think anti-Iranian protestors objected to your anger over Jena. But then again you wouldn't mind my being murdered so I don't know if you have any logic to your thoughts anymore.

-Rudey

hooked...thanks Rudey.....

pay attention....for $500 dollars...hwo is this relevant....heheheheh


do you understand how this works yet?

You make about as much sense as chocolate on a hot dog.

-Rudey

what's distasteful to you may be a delight to others...remember that when you think about using that lame example again

What the heck are you talking about?

I've had enough. You join the list of idiots on my ignore list. You can go on being a violent cretin that makes no sense with other members of GC, but I'm done.

-Rudey

Here's a thought:

Maybe, just maybe, the "relevance" issue is a touch more meta than you've understood so far.

You've taken two disparate situations and related them to make a point - good for you. Perhaps, using poor examples to support your point is part of the problem - if, instead, you focused on good examples, your target audience would be less likely to turn off your message.

OH ALSO - your target audience is NOT your fellow protesters.

Seriously, try not to ejaculate in your rush to compare some pretty different situations - and, even better, the reason why the situations are different should be easily recognizable to you, because it is a POSITIVE for your issue.

That's on them.....right about now Sig...I can care less

I was in no way trying to relate jena to today's protest because if anyone ever bothers to ask, I disagree with his being here...but that's not up for me ot decide.

What I was doing was relaying those same questions to those too dense to understand why we protested in context to what happened today.

Don't ask me why I am doing something and say it's irreleavant if you go right out and do that same thing( not saying this to you directly....saying this to make a point)

WHHHHHAAAAAA??? RUDEY USED THE IGNORE BUTTON???? STOP. PLAYING.


I IRRITATED HIM ENOUGH TO MAKE HIM USE THAT FEATURE!!!????

damn.


Rudey...U keep doing that and most of GC will be on that list.... ;)

If it's on a Friday at 5 p.m. presumably they could have gone to work all day...maybe even somewhere other than their daddy's law firm.

I can see why you would think that standing up for what you believe in is pretty pointless and a waste of time. Were suffragates who protested for equal rights for women in the 20th century wasting their time? Or African-Americans in the 1960's who fought for Civil Rights wasting their time? I think that half the people whom you read about in college and law school would roll over in their graves at some of your comments.

he doesnt nor ever had a reason why he needs to protest...he is one of those idyllic people who never had a freedom taken away except for maybe a reduction of his allowance.

If you never had to struggle for anything then you would never understand what the definition means

Columbia students will protest over anything. I remember once some kids were protesting because the Olsen twins were shooting a movie on campus.

The UN is in session this week, and Columbia's school of Int'l Affairs always sponsors a week of world leader speeches during the first week of the General Assembly. I don't think anyone in recent memory has been this controversial, though.

I don't think you know that.

With only a few notable exceptions, I don't know a lot about family wealth, upbringing, status or anything other than what I read here on GC.

Besides, while I don't agree that all demonstrations are pointless (having viewed the Vietnam era and how the balance of power shifted first hand -- although I guess that could make me a 60's left behind), he is entitled to his opinion and would be whether his last name is Rockefeller or he doesn't have a pot to, uh, urinate in.

So, unless you have inside information, let's not assume what we don't know about our fellow posters.

then Delt you better aim that at him and not at me...it seems that he is a whiole lot more talented and proficient at the assumption game.

Working for my "daddy's law firm," I'll have FAR more effect on the state of the world than any of those folks ever will.

-- but we all like to feel like we contribute to society I suppose.

Any recent protests have nothing to do with the current shift in power.

Or if they do, it's minimal.

and that is what scares me...people who dont have a finger on the pulse of society but find ways to get put into power,,,,

What exactly are you trying to say? What has come out of the Columbia protests or Jena which will result in any societal changes?

Nothing.

Ignoring all the foolish posts in this thread, my favorite remark today by the president of Iran was in regards to treatment of gays, and him basically calling Americans gay. Pretty funny IMO:

Pressed by Dean Coatsworth on the original question about the rights of gay men and lesbians in Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad said: “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that in our country.”

The audience booed and hissed loudly. Some laughed, uncomfortably.

“In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon,” Mr. Ahmadinejad continued, undeterred. “I do not know who has told you that we have it.

-Rudey

dude...why are your jaws still flapping...you indicated that you don't care...we all get it.

Is the pissing contest done yet, or are you guys still dribbling on each others shoes?

Back on the topic of Ahmadinejad...

Rudey,
I thought by far that was the funniest comment he made. Though I've heard it echoed from others I know in the region. A woman I was in my grad program with (who was from Jordan) and a gentleman from Morocco were both of the same mindset. It was kind of odd to hear an educated adult say, "There are no gay people in my country. It just doesn't happen there."

It was an odd comment, but I would presume that over "there", homosexuals are probably trying to hide it since it's "less acceptable" than in western culture...not that all kinds of people in this country accept it, I think we might just be a little more aware of it.

I don't think Kevin is going to be able to wield all that much power from a family law firm in Oklahoma.

Back on topic somewhat, I wish I had taken advantage more of my college experience to see speakers, controversial and not. I am glad that I did not spend any of my college time being a crazy protester at everything that reeked even slightly of controversy.

I know you think that all of the protestors are unemployed liberals--but come on, Kevin. Some of the people there really are the type who didn't want to see the 60s go, but the majority are well-educated and affluent college students. Columbia costs something like 45K a year to attend, and only about half of the roughly seven thousand undergrads qualify for any assistance. Do the math.

A lot of those Columbia students may not fit your idea of what a successful person is (hell, during my time there they annoyed me), but after college, a good chunk of these kids will actually go to some of the best law schools (as opposed to a TTTT like yourself) and go on to prestigious clerkships or top law firms, where they will indeed wield far, far more power than you ever will in Oklahoma.

Just so you know, and you'll stop talking out of your ass...

Most of those Columbia grads would probably trade places with me. I could have transferred to a T-2 after my first year (was #5 in my section), decided not to. I turned down law review as well.

Family law brings in the bucks as divorce/custody cases are very common. It's definitely not the only thing we do, however. Big law is highly overrated.

I'll have 99% of those Columbia grads beat in terms of both influence and salary. Sure it's Oklahoma, but it's a great place to live. I guess you can look down your nose at flyover states, but I'm pretty happy here.

did anyone else have a hard time following the speech?

i don't know if it was a case of many things truly being lost in the translation, or just rambling thoughts. i had a similar experience understanding(or not) and following the speech of a muslim cleric who had been invited to speak at my church several years ago.

the main thing i took away from his speech(the iranian president) was that no matter what he was saying, it always circled back to him-he seems to be the center of his universe; he is an academic, he is interested in further research concerning the Holocaust, he has been insulted.

I don't see how any person of even moderate intelligence can deny the holocaust happened.

But then again, he thinks there are no gays in his country of 63 million.

I think it was good of Columbia to invite him to speak. People like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad need to be exposed for what they are.

It was shocking to me that people who attended actually applauded him. Aside from those crazies, however, I think most of us benefited by seeing what we're up against in the middle east. I bona fide psychopath.

too easy......I will be nice today

You don't think the holocaust happened?

Yes or no.

don't be a boob kevin...that's not what I was addressing.

Holocaust....

Which one do you want to discuss?

The one with a museum.

Kevin


Trust me when I say that you aren't sharp enough to have this conversation with me....back off while you still have time.


PS....there are MANY museums dedicated to the holocausts pertaining to the victims of all that have occured since this country has been established.

Don't be an idiot. You know which holocaust I'm referring to. Unless you think Mahmud was denying the existence of American slavery, you're just trying to steer the thread back to your little struggle. You then pepper your ramblings with idiotic comments about my intelligence. Grow up.

No I didn't but I wasn't the dumb schmuck that actually had the audacity to ask someone HERE if the holocaust actually existed.

"You don't think the holocaust happened?
yes or no"



Man please....how exactly did you think I was going to answer?

And I am not the only adding flavor about your lack of intellectual capacity.