Letters to the Editor
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If Matthews isn't paying attention, it doesn't exist.
Similarly, if he thinks something (anything!) is true, it is.
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!
You mean like the MILLIONS of people WORLDWIDE that came out to protest the upcoming U.S. invasion of Iraq? Why keep up the pretense? There were simply very few regular people in the world who thought this was a even close to a good idea - and they were hoodwinked by pusillanimous "patriots".
I think Matthews has been drinking his own bathwater.
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If "The Hippies" Did Rear Their Heads Again...
...you can bet your ass that the "hardhats" would be standing right beside them. The "Reagan Democrats" have learned a brutal lesson over the last 25 years.
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There have been other successful protests recently as well
Let's also not forget other successful protests like the March for Womens' Lives in 2004 where over a million people marched on the capital to support a woman's right to choose:
http://www.now.org/history/slideshows/march2004/
Protesting is alive and well in the U.S, but you only get serious network time if there is violence associated. Regardless of whether or not the mainstream media deigns to turn their cameras in your direction, I highly recommend everyone do at least one good protest in their lives. Protests are one of the purest forms of democracy in action, and you become an active part of history in the making.
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Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain
"But Matthews and Continetti don't have to reach that far back to see large numbers of anti-war people taking to the streets. I realize that MSNBC was told by their marketing gurus not to make too much of them, but you'd think people would at least recall them when they are complaining about the lackluster Iraq war protests."
With the rolling media blackout about the Iraq War, both foreign and domestic, is it any surprise that many discussions about popular reaction would be muted, if present at all, during Matthews and Continetti's antiseptic bantering? For years after Vietnam, the right-wing blathering about the defeatism of anti-war protesting during Vietnam began to chip away at the legitimacy of any dissent, leading first to news blackouts during the First Gulf War and to the embedded propaganda (with firightenly few exceptions) during the 2nd misadventure in the desert. The process of marginalizing--with a dismissive flick of the hand--millions of protesters in this country and abroad, continues to be the signature methodology of the Bush Administration in particular, and the right wing in general. With the disgusting and shameful collaboration of the MSM, these Beltway pricks can continue to anesthesize to their hearts' content.
The reference to "marketing gurus" is right on point: bread and circuses, bread and circuses.
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Hi Digby
It's good to see you're name here at Salon.
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Oh silly Digby
...Matthews and his friends are total stoners. And the 'dirty hippies' are now in the White House.
What in the world did you think Cheney's 'undisclosed location' was? It's a hot tub. And where do you think Bush got his 'plans' for Iraq? From drinking the bong water, of course.
These guys are NOT straight, square, uptight dudes. They're all blissed out on laughing gas, or something. Or smoking bananas. If they weren't, they'd notice that they're dirty losers sitting in a filthy quagmire. Instead they think they're running the world. They have to be stoned.
Bush in fact looks just like that guy in the movie "Woodstock"--Wavy Gravy. Bush looks out on the great sea of chaos of his own making and he says, "We must be in Heaven, man!" And he has the same stupid look on his face.
And Matthews? He just wants to be impressed, man. He wants to see all the righteous dudes raising their fists and standing up to the 'man.' If he sees regular people in a demonstration, he doesn't care about that. He just wants to see the tie dye shirts and the long hair. So, yeah, he's a stoner. What, did you think he was a journalist? That's for the old folks, man.
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Protesting Is A Great American Tradition!
Protesting with parades and rallies is great fun and follows a tradition going back to the Boston Tea Party, which helped start the American Revolution. I'm a long-time protester, beginning as in college as an organizer for one of the anti-Vietnam war "moratorium" parades in the early '70s and going on through an anti-Iraq occupation parade in San Francisco last January and local demonstration in April. The circus-like atmosphere is a morale booster and reading all the signs, looking at the caricatures of our stuffed-shirt leaders, chanting slogans, etc. is a kick!
However, I harbor no illusions about their effectiveness. For one thing, the mainstream media has, over the years, decreased coverage to almost nothing. Apparently 10,000 or more people taking time away from their business and recreation to try redirecting serious public policy issues by organizing to rally together is not as newsworthy as planting trees in a park or an increased litter problem downtown.
If you really want to influence public policy 1) write a letter to your legislator, 2) write a letter to your local newspaper, and 3) circulate a petition on an issue of interest. If you've done all of these things and still haven't got any favorable response, go ahead with carrying a sign in a parade, but don't expect any miracles.
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Nixon's ghost
Matthews' blockheaded comments reveal his Nixonian affinity...
rather than hundreds of thousands of hard hats going up against lefty college students.
There weren't that many "hardhats," even in Nixon's day -- I think it was maybe 200, so wishful thinking, Hardballer Matthews...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Hat_riot
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Seems about right
Hi Digby, I think you have it about right, we like the highlights, but we also like the story, and it seems to me you've hit the right balance...
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Chris Matthews is a fast talking-headded ego maniac.
Show biz man, show biz. He's like my Italian grandmother who talks-over everything I say and listens to none of it. When I first tuned-in to his program I thought, hey maybe...but forget it. It's homogenized and patently ego-centric. Olbermann is about the only one who lets people finish their thoughts and asks questions that are pertinent to the discourse.
Welcome aboard Digby. Tim has some compo now...
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What About That Draft?
How 'bout it? I don't care about all the gossip and how much of an asshole Chris Matthews is- we know this- but what about the actual policy discussion here? The draft is the most effective deterrent to warfare. It would put the fear of war that every Military Parent has into the homes and neighborhoods of the Rich & Powerful.
The real difference Matthews is commenting on is one of motivation- a motivation for every citizen to be involved in their government. There is not enough incentive built into our comfortable, modern democracy, for the common citizen to care about politics, or policy, or even War. So the reason that there aren't any Riot Police is because modern protests aren't riots- they're just protests. Carnivals, parades, easily ignored by the media; how many people really care about the Thanksgiving Day Parade? How many more stood up and payed attention to the LA Riots? This is the difference: Struggle. Conflict. Violence . In our country, that is the difference between what is considered 'newsworthy' and what is treated as little more than a human-interest story. Struggle gives motivation, conflict forces resolution. It is no wonder that people oppose the draft- it is a burden to them- it causes struggle- which is also why it is a necessity.