Self-Marginalizing Anti-War Protestors

Via Eminent Domain, a particularly unappealing bunch of photographs of an anti-Iraq War protest held in San Francisco on Saturday.

Steve of Eminent Domain offers some good advice to the protestors, including:

Dress for Success: While the combination of the Moscow Hockey League Tee and the print shirt that appears to be from the Cosmo Kramer collection is unique, I don’t think it presents a good image. Do not wear anything with Che Guevara’s mug on it. Do not wear anything that has the words “fuck” and “Bush.” Do not wear anything that is dirty. Do not wear any kind of “costume.” This protest is supposed to be serious business about an important political issue, right? Then don’t dress like you’re at Fantasy Fest. Wear something neat and clean.

Ditch the cliches: No bongos. No drumming of any kind. Absolutely no dancing, especially you white people. I was at a protest at UWM a few years ago that included all these elements. Most of the “dancing” could’ve easily been mistaken for a grand mal seizure. Again, this is supposed to be a serious political event, not a chance to shake your ass to a bad drum beat. This city is full of clubs where you can do that if that’s what you want. No “hey, hey, ho, ho” chants. No chants period. They all sound the same, and they are rarely clever. They are usually shrill, annoying, and likely to piss off anyone in earshot. Stick with non-vulgar, legible signs and a serious attitude.

The glory days of 60s political protest ain’t comin’ back.