Protest Politics

by digby

I haven’t been able to keep up with all the protests outside the convention, but here are a couple of posts, about them, the second with footage. I haven’t seen any pepper spray action, but I can attest to the fact that the anti-abortion forces are all over the place and that the police don’t seem to be as concerned by them as they are other protesters.

There are trucks with pictures of fetuses on them driving around and lots of middle aged men holding up photos of bloody masses while screaming about how we shouldn’t even be allowed to vote. They are ubiquitous.

I wonder what would happen if a bunch of anti-war protestors showed up in Minneapolis with huge posters of dead and maimed Iraqi children? Do you think the police and the crowds would be as tolerant? How about pictures of dead children whose parents didn’t have health care or dead children who died of diseases for which stem cell research may have a cure?

Somehow I doubt it. Graphically showing the death of fully formed humans if they are outside the womb is considered in bad taste and unnecessarily provocative. They would probably consider it disturbing the peace.

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