Bravo To An Unknown Protester
Normally, I’m against those who cause trouble at the IMF/World Bank annual meetings. While I’m somewhat sympathetic to their cause, the idea of a worldview gained entirely from Rage Against The Machine CDs bought with Daddy’s AMEX is laughably naive.
Also, their behavior at their rallies is a far cry from the dignity shown by those who marched against the Vietnam War and for civil rights. Sorry, guys. When you smash the windows of a Gap or Starbucks, you’re hurting the low-wage workers you claim to support more than the corporation, who are insured against damages.
But Kim pointed me to this paragraph in today’s Washington Post about the latest trouble:
In previous years, demonstrations had focused on the institutions’ headquarters just west of the White House. But Rusty Shakkleford, 18, said protesters went to Georgetown, in addition to the traditional sites, because it was where the delegates dined and stayed. “We’re just here to tell them the American people will not let them exploit the Third World community,” Shakkleford said.
As every lover of King Of The Hill knows, Rusty Shakkleford (sic) is the alias used by bug-killing, chain-smoking, anti-government conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble.
A reporter I used to work with went to the scene of something, a shooting in York or something like that. She interviewed some kids and one told them his name was Keyser Soze. She then proceeded to lecture him on the importance of picking a fake name that was a little more obscure than that and how she wasn’t completely out of touch with pop culture just because she was over 40. They didn’t know what to say after that.
Maybe she should write for the Washington Post, then…