A few things before I begin this debate. GW does not allow outside groups to protest on campus unless they are invited by a student group. I'd say that this is a good call on GW's part, especially in situation like this. Apparently, the group is going to come as close as possible to campus without actually being on campus (good luck figuring that one out, since GW covers most of Foggy Bottom). I'm guessing WBC is coming to GW because of GW's visibility: we're in the nation's capitol, and GW students are exceptionally politically active. Westboro Baptist Church is a very small group based in Topeka Kansas, which is most famous for their outrageous (and inflammatory) tactics for promoting their message. I feel like counter-protesting a protest that hardly anybody agrees with is counter-intuitive.
Here are 2 reasons why I will not be counter-protesting WBC's protest with the rest of my fellow GW students:
(1) What exactly would I be protesting? The opinions of an extremely small (and mostly uninformed) group?
(2) I left my protest pants back in California
5 reasons why I won't be on the WBC side
(1) They are considered a terrorist organization
(2) They define themselves more by what they hate, rather than what they actually promote
(3) The fact that they hate people at all
(4) They have some...interesting views on anything and everything controversial
(5) I personally think it's better to talk to people and share opinions than to violently (and there is a definite violence aspect to many of the WBC's posters/protests) push your views onto them
(6) I try to keep my crazy factor at a 5 out of 10 every day, and WBC is pushing at least 30
WBC has fewer than 80 members, most of them being members of the same family. I feel like by protesting their presence GW students will simply be stressing themselves out, and drawing more attention to a movement that has already received more attention than it deserves.
Important information about the protest for GW students has been earmarked in The GW Patriot: http://www.gwpatriot.com/2010/11/04/important-info-regarding-gws-westboro-counterprotest/
This wouldn't be GW if I didn't open this up for debate. Whatdoyouthink? Bloggers/Students/Prospective Students/Parents/Internet/Universe? Is counter-protesting the WBC protest counterintuitive?
As of right now there are 1,782 potential participants andddd counting. You can track the student sentiments about the protest here at the GW student facebook group http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=155412791147995.
Questions/Comments/Suggestions: magalae@gmail.com
'Til Next Time
Ekiria
No comments:
Post a Comment