Protesting the protest

I searched long and hard for the right template to use with this blog. When I saw “revolt”, I knew it was the one. The top default image of the designer, a Serbian genius, could easily be filled with wonderful headcheese. His geek pun of using a head for the “header” and feet for the “footer” is the pinnacle of PHP-code art. He has even started a community of revolted protesters.

Every time I see a protest, no matter what it’s for, I’ve always felt uncomfortable. I might agree completely with what the protest is about but for some reason they always make me feel like I’m on the far side of an “in-group” / “out-group” fence. The first protest I witnessed was against the invasion of Iraq, from a balcony on Decatur street while eating a burger and drinking a beer with my landlord. I noticed the stylish factors of the revolted more than any of their signs. It seemed like the protest was almost an extension of their hipster stylings. A couple years later I watched another Iraq protest pass in front of my art display on Pirates Alley: pictured above. I missed the connection of bringing the troops home and fighting racism and poverty although I hate all three of those things.

Last week I was set up on Jackson Square and a group of Israeli protesters invaded my work space. I’m no fan of the people who believe they are the chosen people or the biased support the United States gives to Israel, but all the protest made me want to do was lick the decals off of those ḥijāb babies. Oh human, I could really go on a global lick fest… yamakas, crucifixes, dollar signs / sickles, swastikas, red dots…. they’re all the same to me.

The oil spill is in full force down here in the big greasy. A frustrated local thought it would be a great idea to have a second line: “Krewe of dead pelicans”. Mayer writes, “out of anger, fear and frustration as this problem has morphed beyond belief in order to reach a Crital Mass of Persons tired of nothing happening in the wake of this massive mestasizing oil leak which we have so far had underdescribed to us in an effort to keep us from reacting negatively and organizing to do something about it.” To me the parade seemed a mockery to the ecological tragedy, to party for the dead birds. There’s something wrong dressing in costumes that are oil based products to protest something for there is no good answer.