Sunday, April 17, 2011

Losing the Plot in Mad City

Sarah Palin and the Tea Party came to Madison on Saturday for a Tax Day rally at the Capitol. Not surprisingly, the ever-present Madison rent-a-mob was there, too, with their vuvezulas, cowbells, drums and their upraised middle fingers, trying to shout down the presenters.

You can see plenty o' video, pix and more at Althouse. The beauty post is the one about the 14-year old girl who gets booed as she addresses the crowd.

There's two ways to look at what happened. The first, which would be more charitable to the protesters, is that they have fought a hard fight and are still coming to grips with their loss. It must be galling to see Sarah Palin come to the place where many of them had taken up temporary residence and watch her spike the football in their faces.

The other way to look at thing is this way:  these are a bunch of spoiled children who have been participating in a tantrum for well over 2 months now. Their arguments have been made, heard and rejected. And instead of going home and thinking about better ways to make their argument the next time, they instead decided to throw turds in the punchbowl.

Not surprisingly, I think the latter argument is more compelling. It's clear that a lot of the protesters have lost sight of the bigger picture. No matter what you think of the propriety of putting a adolescent girl on the stage at a Tea Party rally, trying to boo her off the stage is behavior I'd expect out of pre-adolescents. The British have a useful term for such madness -- they call it "losing the plot." That seems to be what's happened to a lot of people in Madison these days.

My brother and my sister-in-law were there yesterday and my sister-in-law wrote the following on her Facebook page:

This was an experience for me. I have never attended a political rally. I must ...say, I was taken aback with the amount disruption of the "protestors" banging on drums, yelling profanities at the speakers, fliipping off the speakers, and yelling through bullhorns at the speakers. I was pleasantly surprised that they did stop drumming half way through the national anthem, when they figured out it was being sung. We taught our children at a young age what it means to be a "good audience member" I also know they were taught this in Kindergarten. I left the rally feeling good that I went, but also scratching my head in bewilderment, wondering how these people were raised, and why on earth they would think it is ok to behave in such a way?
One would hope, for the sake of my sister-in-law and everyone else, that those questions aren't merely rhetorical. My sister-in-law and everyone else in Wisconsin deserve an honest answer.

9 comments:

Gino said...

the left in this case, is just continuing the war that the have not lost.
its not over for them. it never will be.

meanwhile, the standard, not-usually active populace will eventually move on the the things in life that matter most to them: family, football, time toegther with the honey... after having been worn down by the opposition who never quits, and knows no other priority upon which to spend a saturday afternoon.

the wars not over. 'they' know it. you dont.

Mr. D said...

Gino,

I do know it, actually. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. The difference is that more people are awakening to what's happening.

Yes, I agree, people will want to go back to their normal lives. Having said that, there's evidence, at least among people I know back home, that more people now understand that the fight is never over. This has been scorched earth in Wisconsin and the unions have bared their teeth in a way that people are not going to forget any time soon.

Gino said...

oh, and that wasnt a personal as in 'you, mr D'.

sorry to leave that impression.
it was a you and in 'your team'.

thats why i gave up on the whole process. i got tired of an army that disbanded after every battle feild victory only to wake up one day to find the huns were sitting in the emporer's office.

tis the nature of the right, i guess.

Anonymous said...

I've lived in Wisconsin my entire life ... 48 years. I've lived in Madison the past 8 years. I vote Republican, but tell nobody. Seriously, you could lose friends over how you vote in this city. Sad, sad state of affairs. Teachers in their mid 50s are now retiring at the end of the year due to "Walker's budget." Kind of makes you wonder why they were teaching in the first place.

ATWPaulie said...

Gino, you are correct. I find it interesting that while I (a Republican and I suppose, a Tea Partier of sorts) would not think of behaving in the way I saw people behave at the rally in Madison, (I am the brother Mr D mentions) the opposition clearly did behave like petulant brats.
We on the right have disbanded periodically because to us this is not a war but rather part of our lives that should be allowed to be parked for a few months during the cycle. The thugs and Huns you recognize never put it away. They never stop.
I've come to that realization and I have decided that I must do something to counter their madness. I only wish I knew what exactly I could do. I'm a fifteen year veteran of the army and I do know what it means to prepare for and fight an enemy. But in this context I never thought I'd actually have to use those same skills. Has it come to that? It's a rhetorical question whose answer I might not want to know.
I do wish that the noisemakers, thugs, and barbarians in my beloved capitol city would put it away rather than make it appear that an actual battle is the next logical step. Alas, that is the feeling I was left with Saturday which makes me sad. But at least I'm trained for it.

Gino said...

Paulie: it goes beyond what takes place on the streets, the ballot booth, or the courts.

the left has found its way into policy making positions at every level of govt.

you cant fight them there. it is they who set the policy, or choose not to act on it, when it becomes convenient for them to do so (or not.)

the left has a saying: personel IS policy.
you saw it in action when the unionized police reacted as unionized labor instead of cops.

more to come, its only the beginning, but usually we dont see it. it happens in the undercover.

Anonymous said...

The fist must be met with the fist. Our country is at stake. To resign yourself and simply be cynical and say "See I was right" doesn't help. Paul get involrtantlyved more deeply in the Teaa Party movement, or more imprtantly run for a local office like the school Exphaose the left for what they are at every opportunity.

Gino, what neesds to happen to get you back. YOur thoughts are pure, but your conviction has been broken.

This is it, and the time is now. I'm talking about a revolution

Gino said...

my conviction is fine. i'm just not at the point where i want to kill people over it.

i'd much rather watch football, see a movie, make love to my wife, call my kids...

Mr. D said...

Anon,

I understand your passion, but I'm not sure if the fist is needed. I'll keep my powder dry, so to speak.

Gino, I hear ya.