Spring Break
Protesters just want attention
Issue date: 3/22/07 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
Nothing brightens my morning like a stroll through Tate Plaza whilst I enjoy all the pretentious music my iPod has to offer and bask in the impending satisfaction only a Bulldog Café cappuccino can offer me.
Nothing can taint this for me - not even posters of bloody unborn children reaching higher into the sky than a rim-clanked Steve Newman 3-pointer.
However, I think I'm in the minority, perhaps because of the dozens of people gathered around the display or the way each professor in the Student Learning Center decided to start off their lectures Wednesday with bad commentary about the supposed hoopla.
Most people find it unsettling or, my personal favorite, "over the top."
To this, someone else inevitably replies, "that's the point" and the argument continues from there. It's as predictable as the current R&B debate about the Confederate flag and Confederate History Month. I don't even have to read about it to know exactly how each step of the argument will happen. I enjoy reading it solely to confirm this theory.
There's something alluring about displays like the pro-life signs. They represent something distinct about our society, perhaps even our University. "Over the top" is incredibly effective!
So many of us love to rant and rave about the Tate Preacher (capitalized because that's probably what it says on his birth certificate), the anti-abortion displays and those who proclaim virtually everyone is going to hell on game days, but if anything, we're acknowledging their success.
This column, in itself, is proof. Great success!
Very few of us stop and think about what's occurring, but we should. How can I comfortably sip on my cappuccino whilst looking at some of the most horrific images ever captured on film? It's because I get their angle! And you should, too.
If the Tate Preacher pisses you off, it's because you're taking his bait. Sometimes, as in the pro-life display, it's good that you take the bait. Sometimes, not so much.
The important thing is to think for yourself. Think about what they're trying to do. The Tate Preacher wants you to pay more attention to Jesus' teachings; the abortion people simply want you to be aware of their side. Of course, they could do this in the simpler textbook manner by distributing literature and whatnot, but is this really effective? Displays like these practically prove they're not.
Getting sucked in can be fun. Some people love going 12 rounds with Tate Preacher, and a few of them keep their dignity in the process. It can be done, but it's really quite rare.
We're a dumb society, even in an upper-level academic institution. If you've seen "Thank You For Smoking," you know exactly what I've been trying to argue.
It moggles my bind that so many idiots can't put themselves outside the situation in terms of television, media, entertainment and Tate Plaza displays. This skill should be a graduation requirement, shouldn't it?
- Paul Rehm is a columnist for The Red & Black. He knows the angle with which this column was written, and he therefore doesn't buy it.
Nothing can taint this for me - not even posters of bloody unborn children reaching higher into the sky than a rim-clanked Steve Newman 3-pointer.
However, I think I'm in the minority, perhaps because of the dozens of people gathered around the display or the way each professor in the Student Learning Center decided to start off their lectures Wednesday with bad commentary about the supposed hoopla.
Most people find it unsettling or, my personal favorite, "over the top."
To this, someone else inevitably replies, "that's the point" and the argument continues from there. It's as predictable as the current R&B debate about the Confederate flag and Confederate History Month. I don't even have to read about it to know exactly how each step of the argument will happen. I enjoy reading it solely to confirm this theory.
There's something alluring about displays like the pro-life signs. They represent something distinct about our society, perhaps even our University. "Over the top" is incredibly effective!
So many of us love to rant and rave about the Tate Preacher (capitalized because that's probably what it says on his birth certificate), the anti-abortion displays and those who proclaim virtually everyone is going to hell on game days, but if anything, we're acknowledging their success.
This column, in itself, is proof. Great success!
Very few of us stop and think about what's occurring, but we should. How can I comfortably sip on my cappuccino whilst looking at some of the most horrific images ever captured on film? It's because I get their angle! And you should, too.
If the Tate Preacher pisses you off, it's because you're taking his bait. Sometimes, as in the pro-life display, it's good that you take the bait. Sometimes, not so much.
The important thing is to think for yourself. Think about what they're trying to do. The Tate Preacher wants you to pay more attention to Jesus' teachings; the abortion people simply want you to be aware of their side. Of course, they could do this in the simpler textbook manner by distributing literature and whatnot, but is this really effective? Displays like these practically prove they're not.
Getting sucked in can be fun. Some people love going 12 rounds with Tate Preacher, and a few of them keep their dignity in the process. It can be done, but it's really quite rare.
We're a dumb society, even in an upper-level academic institution. If you've seen "Thank You For Smoking," you know exactly what I've been trying to argue.
It moggles my bind that so many idiots can't put themselves outside the situation in terms of television, media, entertainment and Tate Plaza displays. This skill should be a graduation requirement, shouldn't it?
- Paul Rehm is a columnist for The Red & Black. He knows the angle with which this column was written, and he therefore doesn't buy it.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Charles R
posted 3/22/07 @ 5:43 PM EST
There's always a Gorgias and a Socrates to rabble up the crowds, a Plato and an Aristotle to try and think it all systematically and dialectically, and an Epicurus who'd much rather find the good life within to live it than write about it. (Continued…)
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