A brand new perspective... not really

Looking back on my first blog, I actually wouldn’t really change much on my definition of a protest. Not saying I thought my original answer was entirely right, but it is more along the lines that I left it pretty ambiguous to include just about anything. My main definition of a protest was that it went against some sort of establishment ( a belief, law or whatever) that they disagree with. This definitely still holds true but on a much larger scale than I originally thought. Furthermore, I still believe protests can range from an enormous one, like critical mass, to even just one person, such as malachi ritscher. I also still agree that the size of the protest makes a difference. The larger the protest the greater and impact you can have. In the case of Ritscher, him on his own couldn’t really do much.

However, what I didn’t realize was that the variety of protest methods was enormous and that protests exist everywhere. Throughout the year we saw everything from people dressing up in gorilla suits to starving a dog and impregnating themselves and performing a homemade abortion. Also, some other things I never really thought about in regards to protest is how careful you have to be when making your protest. There are so many things to consider regarding how a protest will be run, and how effective it will be. It is surprising how much a protest’s impact can be swayed in numerous directions, based on what you’re wearing, how you say things, or what you are doing. For example, Ann Coulter may have some legitimate arguments, but acting like a bitch to people countering your argument doesn’t quite help.

Overall, again I’d say I still stick with my original assessment. But I do have more respect for people who come up with wacky ideas that make some protests really interesting. If you’re one of those creative types, kudos.

Protest Song

For my protest song I chose WAR by Edwin Starr. In the song he protests War, specifically the Vietnam War, and says how it is good for absolutely nothing. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear this song is either Rush Hour or Boy Meets World. Despite the fact that I didn’t know it was related to the Vietnam War. I think it’s a good protest song because it has lasted all these years and has even been sung by other people, like Bruce Springsteen. It is a very catchy song and makes powerful statements in the lyrics. Also, since it doesn’t specifically reference the Vietnam War it can be used for numerous different protests against war.

I think protest songs can be effective, but it all depends on the cause and the song. I feel that it needs to be catchy so that people will remember it easily. I also think that the song needs to be relatively simple as well. If the lyrics get too complex I feel like the message might get lost in the noise. I know certain pop songs that sound really upbeat actually have some pretty dark lyrics, third eye blind’s semi-charmed life for example. Overall, I think protests are effective in rallying people together around the cause. It is also great for spreading the protest message on a large scale because people all around the world can have access to it.

Coulter and Moore

I would have to say that both Coulter and Moore are protestors. Coulter is a protestor because she argues against liberalism through her books and public appearances. Since I haven’t read any of her books I can’t really speak to how effective she is, but based on her interviews, she doesn’t seem like she can defend her arguments very well and is a pretty crappy protestor. In my opinion, her rhetoric is the kind where she beats you over the head with her ideas and if that doesn’t work she’ll call you stupid. What makes her attractive to audiences is that she is very entertaining. She is very outspoken about her beliefs, some of which can be outrageous. Because of this, even people that don’t agree with her would be willing to buy her books to see what crazy thing she’ll come up with.

Moore is also a protestor. He argues against numerous different topics and has a liberal agenda. His protests occur through his documentaries(movies). What makes him a decent protestor is that his movies are easily accessible. Instead of reading a book all you do have to watch. The American public can easily support him because he puts his arguments in a form of media that can reach many people. This is often extremely effective because people who aren’t very well informed will believe everything in his movies, because his arguments, with the use of music and pictures, can be very persuasive to the untrained eye/ear.

Overall, both and Coulter and Moore are probably a lot more popular than they should be because their rhetoric techniques aren’t very solid. They’ve managed to capture people willing to jump onto any bandwagon that catches their attention.

Ann Coulter...Seriously?

So i had no idea who Ann Coulter was before having to watch these videos. But Wow, watching those video clips was an ordeal. It wasn't so much that I was bothered by her actual arguments, but rather the way she defended them, or rather the way she didn't defend them. Her responses were in an aggressive tone and it reminded me a lot like the guy in middle school who was too slow to come up with a good comeback that they just ended up repeating something, or arguing with a little kid. Some things i noticed was her use of the straw man and personal attack in her hardball interview. EE was calling her out for making personal attacks instead of actually talking about politics. Coulter's response then distorted EE's request to keep it clean and twisted it around to make it sound like EE was trying to get Coulter to stop writing completely. Also in the clip Ann Coulter is losing it, she wouldn't let the guy get a word in edge wise. I guess people can see her as persuasive if they had the same beliefs as her or if they easily believe arguments with little or no evidence. She relies too much on personal attacks to make her points and when defending herself she often begs the question and ends up going in a circle. I don't even recall her answering half the questions she was asked in any of the clips. For someone who is apparently a big whig with a bunch of best sellers, i would have thought she would be able to defend her arguments a little better. Again, i'm not bashing conservative beliefs, im just bashing Ann Coulter for doing an awful job of arguing her points. Just a side note, In a different Youtube clip i saw on the side, Adam Corrola hangs up on Ann Coulter which i thought was hilarious.

Camp Jesus

After watching the first half of the movie I was under the impression that the documentary was making the argument that these evangelicals might be too aggressive. Its great for someone to be really involved in their religions but drawing comparisons to training young kids in the middle east, was to me, a negative connection. I understand that they want their followers to be extremely devoted, but making that comparison almost made it sound like they were a cult with some sort of hidden agenda.

While I’m not sure if they intended to do so, the people who made the movie definitely portrayed the adults and kids in a negative light. Some of the statements they were making only seemed a little bit out there, but they were accompanied by eerie/creepy background music and editing. As a result, I feel like I reacted in a more surprised manner to some of their statements than I would have if no music was present. My overall reaction however, is disinterest. They weren’t doing anything wrong or illegal so I don’t have any problems with that. Whatever floats your boat. As long as they don’t become some sort of militant religious faction that goes crazy, they’re ok with me.

The Writing Process

The first thing I do when writing a paper is to carefully read the prompt a few times so that I know what specific things the paper needs to address. Next I brainstorm and write down examples that I can use in the paper this can take anywhere from half an hour to a day or so. Using these examples I try and come up with a few main points that I can use for my thesis. Coming up with a thesis is usually the hardest part of the writing process for me because without a strong thesis I can’t finish writing the paper. This is because the entire paper hinges off the thesis for me. Without it, I can’t write a proper introduction nor write the body paragraphs because I am not as confident in the arguments I am making. Once I have a thesis I am satisfied with, the rest of the paper isn’t too bad because the introduction can lead into the thesis nicely, and I already have specific examples that I can use in my body paragraphs from when I brainstormed. Finally, after finishing the paper I proofread for grammar mistakes briefly then put the paper aside for a day or so. This helps revision because your ideas aren’t as fresh in your mind and areas where the paper isn’t clear are exposed. The time it takes for me to write a paper usually varies, but I find putting it off till the last minute works alright, because it forces you to finish the paper right away(because you have to).

As for the environment that I write in, it needs to be reasonably quiet and have an outlet for my laptop. I don’t mind listening to music or being in a place with a little noise as long as no one is constantly talking to me. I actually like an environment that has some movement going on because I get too bored sitting in a cubicle or in a place that is absolutely quiet.

Yes Men and Punk

The Yes Men and the punk movement both used their appearances as means of expressing there opinions. In the case of the Yes Men, Andy and Mike use a very professional appearance to convince people that they are in fact representatives of the World Trade Organization. After doing so, they use the ethos they built up using their professional looking website and the beginnings of their presentations, to express their beliefs against the WTO. Using ridiculous outfits, such as the leisure suit, and by presenting ideas that are absolutely ridiculous in a totally serious manner they give the WTO a reputation of putting money over people, a reputation that they claim is entirely truthful. However, other than their presentation in Australia, I didn’t see much evidence that the WTO is the organization they portray it to be. This is definitely understandable in their presentation of the WTO, but I would think the documentary itself would have more evidence. Finally, what is most impressive is how they were able to pull all of this off. All the travelling and time they put into it must have cost a lot of money. Sure they were asked to do this by some organizations but it still is pretty unbelievable.

As for the punk movement, I definitely agree that appearance is a means of expression. However, sometimes it goes a little too far. One example of this is how they mentioned that some punks would wear swastikas for their shock value not as a symbol of their beliefs. I think this is inappropriate, even if it does protest against the societal norms of being proper, which is their goal. However, it does hurt their ethos as people will focus more on thinking that they are anti-Semitic instead of thinking that they are challenging societal norms. Also, as with most trends in fashion, once it gains popularity you end up getting a lot of posers who simply dress like it because they are popular. I think these two things hurt their overall hurt their overall cause, as their message is never really clearly stated or understood.