So are these G8 protests just a way to get a day off?

[Jimmy Higgins]

G8 Protests (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070606/ts_nm/g8_summit_protests_dc_5)... there are always protests. They always have these multilateral meetings and these protests always exists. Sometimes violent, other times, violent.... usually some sort of violence.

I ponder a few things, do these people have jobs? If they do, is this just a way to get a day off? I mean what exactly is their beef? Or are they just protesting to protest because they like that sort of stuff. Protesting is supposed to mean something, but whenever I hear of the G8 protests, I just turn it off. They aren't getting a message out obviously.

As a post placement note, I put this in PE&ST because it's more of a question about the general motives of these protests, not any particular one occurring in real time.

[Nitrousoxide]

Well, there aren't some 10,000 people in Germany who oppose the G8.

These people get flown in from a bunch of other nations to make up those numbers.

They're probably professional protesters.

[DougP]

The general "beef" is that the countries that are in the G8 are making very important descisions about countries that arent there to have any say. Its basically a consolidation of western power that ignores much of the rest of the world.

[von_rick]

The people there aren't all working 8-5 jobs. Some are students, some are self employed, some ask others to cover for them, some compensate by working on weekends, etc.

The message is meant for people who 'know' what kind of decisions G8 makes - those who don't would be watching American Idol or something equivalent anyway. The coverage is not limited to TV broadcasts alone. It gets picked up on radio shows, online news papers, etc. Again, it depends on what kind of media you tend to follow.

[Hooboy !!]

I have never been able to understand the opposition to the G8. On one hand they bitch about global poverty and on the other, they bitch about globalization, which results in the economic development of poor countries.

The best I can figure is that they believe that the rich of the world owe the poor handouts.

It makes me wonder how much money is wasted on flying people all over the world to participate in these protests.

[Preno]

Yes. Also, their participants are terrorists.

[cjack]

Professional protestors flown in just to protest? Ten thousand of 'em?

Leaving aside for a moment the fact that I've got to run to the store and buy up some tin foil before it runs out, can I get a job like that?

Free airfare to Germany? Sounds great! A week or so of free food and complimentary protest signs? Bail money? Expensive, but if I'm not paying for it...and if I'm actually getting paid as well...who cares?

Now the really appealing thing is that, in order to fly in ten thousand people for the protest and not have it look like the Berlin Airlift, I figure they'd have to do it in stages, which of course means I'd get put up in a nice hotel for at least a week before and after the protest. Sweet!

Actually, the more that I think about this, the G8 protests are actually a boon to Germany's economy! In order to fly in ten thousand protestors, feed them, house them, pay 'em wages and expenses, I figure the folks hiring the protestors would have to pump a bare minimum of 10-15 million into the venture, and a lot of that would go to local businesses.

Is there any way we can get the next G8 meeting held in Flint, Michigan?

:rolleyes:

[Jimmy Higgins]

Professional protestors flown in just to protest? Ten thousand of 'em?

Leaving aside for a moment the fact that I've got to run to the store and buy up some tin foil before it runs out, can I get a job like that?Work for the Republicans? It's what they did to stage a "public" rally (that stormed the Palm Beach offices) against the recounting in Palm Beach back in 2000.

[Llyricist]

Professional protestors flown in just to protest? Ten thousand of 'em?

Leaving aside for a moment the fact that I've got to run to the store and buy up some tin foil before it runs out, can I get a job like that?Work for the Republicans? It's what they did to stage a "public" rally (that stormed the Palm Beach offices) against the recounting in Palm Beach back in 2000.
The number of people for that occasion was lower by 2 orders of magnitude. And those are the people that might actually have the money to afford an order or two of magnitude more.

ETA: nevermind, I missed the point on the first read.... yeah he could get that job from them....

[cjack]

Work for the Republicans? It's what they did to stage a "public" rally (that stormed the Palm Beach offices) against the recounting in Palm Beach back in 2000.

:banghead:

But were they "professional protestors" flown in from "all over the world" just to protest, or just people who happened to work for/volunteer with the Republicans?

The former is what I apparently failed to poke fun at...

[Hooboy !!]

Yes. Also, their participants are terrorists.
Absolutely. Once you cross the line from peaceful protest to violence then you no longer are able to claim the moral high ground. You no longer can claim a rational advantage. At that point, people are free to respond with violence completely absolved of any guilt. Violence should be met with overwhelming violence.

If they want to "win" their argument, then I would suggest doing so using peaceful means.

[Plognark]

Yes. Also, their participants are terrorists.
Absolutely. Once you cross the line from peaceful protest to violence then you no longer are able to claim the moral high ground. You no longer can claim a rational advantage. At that point, people are free to respond with violence completely absolved of any guilt. Violence should be met with overwhelming violence.

If they want to "win" their argument, then I would suggest doing so using peaceful means.

Soooo....what, the revolutionaries were terrorists then?

[Hooboy !!]

Soooo....what, the revolutionaries were terrorists then?
I had a whole thread dedicated to discussing the legitimacy of violent insurrection, which would include violent protest.

[Th1nk3r]

G8 protesting looks like fun:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/media/photo/2007-06/30238561.jpg

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/06/03/mn_germany_g8_protest_3.jpg

http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,880090,00.jpg

http://media.de.indymedia.org/images/2007/05/179051.jpg

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43002000/jpg/_43002069_ap416behind.jpg

[Nitrousoxide]

The general "beef" is that the countries that are in the G8 are making very important descisions about countries that arent there to have any say. Its basically a consolidation of western power that ignores much of the rest of the world.

Those 8 countries also make up some 65% of the world's economy.

[Jimmy Higgins]

Soooo....what, the revolutionaries were terrorists then?
I had a whole thread dedicated to discussing the legitimacy of violent insurrection, which would include violent protest.
I don't know... isn't it even legit to call the G8 stuff a "protest"? I'm still not sure what the heck their purpose is. Other than protesting to protest.

[Hooboy !!]

I don't know... isn't it even legit to call the G8 stuff a "protest"? I'm still not sure what the heck their purpose is. Other than protesting to protest.
Oh, I think they have a legitimate complaint. In global terms, there is not equal representation in either political or economic terms. The UN Security Council, G8, and World Bank basically control global politics and economics. The protestors definately have a legitimate point, if not a little naive and/or nihilistic. But, their tactics are not. I suppose it is a matter of perspective. From the national perspective, they clearly are not legitimate, because each of the industrialized nations in the G8 (with at least one exception) is a democratic constitutionalist nation. However, on a global scale, it is definatley not democratic or constitutionalist.

[Bonniedundee]

From the national perspective, they clearly are not legitimate, because each of the industrialized nations in the G8 (with at least one exception) is a democratic constitutionalist nation.None of them are democratic to any real degree. Representative "democracy" doesn't effectively represent real rule of the people and just rubber stamps an oligarchical ruling class.

[EricK]

So are these G8 protests just a way to get a day off?
I think they are a way of pointing out that without protests the leaders of the G8 nations would achieve just as much if they had every day off.