3 ms·

Living in Ann Arbor, it is rather odd to hear about a protest getting violent in an otherwise open minded community that is as liberal and far left as San Franc

by kochb 12y ago

Living in Ann Arbor, it is rather odd to hear about a protest getting violent in an otherwise open minded community that is as liberal and far left as San Francisco. Mob mentality. Not the same context as the article, but as an example the protests can get rather fervent and loud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3orPtIGyUw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3orPtIGyUw

vinay427 12y ago
Also in Ann Arbor, can confirm that this is definitely very odd. The blanket hate on GMOs stemming from Monsanto is disappointing, though, given their importance in reducing famine in many areas (among other uses). This does explain the "Stop Monsanto" scribbled on a stop sign near where I live, though.
- mtinkerhess 12y ago
  I grew up in Ann Arbor and remember when this rally happened. I wasn't at the event but I remember a lot of people being really angry that the Klan was speaking. I also remember there was a group of people that took non-violence training and attended the rally with the intention of preventing violence. If I'm remembering right my parents took my and my brothers to a counter-protest about a mile from the main protest downtown. At the time the Klan was mostly a historical organization that you learned about along with the civil rights era in school -- they weren't an especially powerful organization in 1996. But that was 19 years ago, and so the history was 19 years more recent than it is today. And there were rumors of KKK activity happening in nearby Howell, so the protest wasn't purely symbolic -- it felt closer to home than that. Ann Arbor has a habit of taking to the streets. When we went to war with Iraq in 2003 almost my entire high school skipped class to protest downtown. When I visited over Thanksgiving I caught this one going down the street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2MN6G0m8is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2MN6G0m8is
- pacifist 12y ago
  "given their importance in reducing famine" Turns out to be a myth: [1]"New Report Debunks 'Myth' That GMOs are Key to Feeding the World - Study upholds value of traditional methods 'shown to actually increase food supplies and reduce the environmental impact of production'" [1] http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/01/new-report-debunks-myth-gmos-are-key-feeding-world http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/01/new-report-debun...
2muchcoffeeman 12y ago
Being liberal and 'open minded' does not mean one is more intelligent, or less violent or whatever. It just means that they are 'liberal and open minded' in some context.
reitanqild 12y ago
> it is rather odd to hear about a protest getting violent in an otherwise open minded community that is as liberal and far left as San Francisco. Far left has been nothing but equally bad or worse than "far right"[0]. [0]: Why Nazis (short hand for National s o s i a l i s m or something) is described as far right is beyond me. Yes, I'm very well aware that people name things in interesting ways but the Nazis are more known for their collective efforts than their focus on personal liberties and free markets. Edit: added quote. And while I don't mind your voting (-2 at the moment) I'd be interested to know if I am wrong/disrespectful/etc or if you just don't like my comment :-)

by kochb 12y ago

vinay427 12y ago

Also in Ann Arbor, can confirm that this is definitely very odd. The blanket hate on GMOs stemming from Monsanto is disappointing, though, given their importance in reducing famine in many areas (among other uses). This does explain the "Stop Monsanto" scribbled on a stop sign near where I live, though.

mtinkerhess 12y ago
I grew up in Ann Arbor and remember when this rally happened. I wasn't at the event but I remember a lot of people being really angry that the Klan was speaking. I also remember there was a group of people that took non-violence training and attended the rally with the intention of preventing violence. If I'm remembering right my parents took my and my brothers to a counter-protest about a mile from the main protest downtown. At the time the Klan was mostly a historical organization that you learned about along with the civil rights era in school -- they weren't an especially powerful organization in 1996. But that was 19 years ago, and so the history was 19 years more recent than it is today. And there were rumors of KKK activity happening in nearby Howell, so the protest wasn't purely symbolic -- it felt closer to home than that. Ann Arbor has a habit of taking to the streets. When we went to war with Iraq in 2003 almost my entire high school skipped class to protest downtown. When I visited over Thanksgiving I caught this one going down the street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2MN6G0m8is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2MN6G0m8is
pacifist 12y ago
"given their importance in reducing famine" Turns out to be a myth: [1]"New Report Debunks 'Myth' That GMOs are Key to Feeding the World - Study upholds value of traditional methods 'shown to actually increase food supplies and reduce the environmental impact of production'" [1] http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/01/new-report-debunks-myth-gmos-are-key-feeding-world http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/01/new-report-debun...

2muchcoffeeman 12y ago

Being liberal and 'open minded' does not mean one is more intelligent, or less violent or whatever. It just means that they are 'liberal and open minded' in some context.

reitanqild 12y ago

> it is rather odd to hear about a protest getting violent in an otherwise open minded community that is as liberal and far left as San Francisco. Far left has been nothing but equally bad or worse than "far right"[0]. [0]: Why Nazis (short hand for National s o s i a l i s m or something) is described as far right is beyond me. Yes, I'm very well aware that people name things in interesting ways but the Nazis are more known for their collective efforts than their focus on personal liberties and free markets. Edit: added quote. And while I don't mind your voting (-2 at the moment) I'd be interested to know if I am wrong/disrespectful/etc or if you just don't like my comment :-)