War Protesting

I really don't understand the mentality behind most war protests in the Bay Area.

So you're a war protester (or whatever) and you live in the Bay Area. One could argue that you're probably surrounded by a number of people who are politically sympathetic. It's the Bay Area. It's noted for being a bit on the liberal side.

So what do you do? You gather a bunch of your louder friends, you go into downtown San Francisco, and you tie up traffic as you shout out your issues in hope of getting a little TV attention.

So what comes out of this?

- Your otherwise sympathetic friends get caught in a traffic backup and start to think you're a jackass. Your otherwise sympathetic friends may entertain beating you. Kind of depends on the person.
- You get a little time on TV, from a distance, but you're looked at as either amusing looneys or crazed rabble-rousing looneys.
- You have absolutely no impact on the decision makers regarding war who live and work on the other end of the goddamn country!!!

Net result, you don't do much to help your cause. You want to fly in the face of your political opponents, fly out to Ohio or Texas or somewhere and block their streets. DC is probably your best bet if you're looking for attention from higher in the food chain.

'Cause it's pretty likely that if they're paying any attention to your protest, they're probably watching it on the television and thinking: "Yep. Crazy hippies in San Francisco. Glad those commies are all out there." or some similar crap.