I am writing in response to Skeet Surrency's letter to the editor, "Protesters' actions were merited." I was there when the protesters began their theatrics. I felt like I was watching a 16-car pileup on the Turnpike. Before the students so courageously began protesting in front of a sympathetic audience, nearly everyone in the room laughed at former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He would pay lip service to human rights and the U.S. Constitution, and everyone would be in stitches.
Then the activists began somehow alienating an audience that was in total agreement with them. I saw diehard activists - many had worked for change far longer than these radicals - ask ushers to remove these heckling prima donnas.
What was worse was seeing these radicals led by older adults who clearly were not aware of the damage they caused in the 1960s. Their egotistical attention-whoring in Chicago in 1968 gave the presidency to Richard Nixon. It did nothing to advance their cause.
Protests should be about the issues, not about the protesters. The activists could have given the press the photos of the protests without being arrested. But in this world of ego-driven protests, it appears an arrest gives you street cred.
There is nothing better for the Republican Party and the Bush administration than having events of their surrogates crashed by these far-left loonies. If they can alienate a partisan like me, then I can't imagine what they would do to a moderate. The protesters should realize that in 2008, votes count - not arrest records.
