Intelligent Discontent

• Written by: Bob FunkApril 28th, 2008
• Comments:4 Comments
• Category:Right-wing Blogs, Social Issues, Those Wacky Republicans
• Rating:
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I love it when right-wingers quote liberals in an attempt to undermine other liberals. They do this through sheer spin and twisted, self-inflicted ignorance.

BS Cairn essentially asserts that the U of M students who took part in a sit-in to fight for worker’s rights (something I’m sure Gandhi would have opposed) are a disgrace to the legacy of MLK because they are unwilling to accept their punishment. His claim is that people that take part in sit-ins should be willing to accept their punishment and that’s where the analysis ends.

Yes, the students should be willing to be suspended for their cause, but to claim that they should accept their sentence without criticism, a fight, or a public outcry of displeasure is simply ridiculous. Using the BS Cairn’s analysis, those that took part in sit-ins in restaurants during the civil rights movement should have expected to be arrested, been arrested, accepted their arrest and called it good. What?

The merit behind the blog’s argument is that civil disobedience should be used as a means to start negotiation and that the U of M students failed. First, it is up for debate if the students have failed: they DID get a meeting with the president (albeit a short one), they have gained the attention of a larger segment of the public and media, they continue to demand discourse, and their not down with their efforts to change U of M policy for the better.

Even if you do believe that the U of M students that participated in the sit-in failed, that doesn’t mean that they betrayed a legacy. Simply because a act of civil disobedience fails doesn’t mean its intentions were not where they should have been. If you buy the BS Cairn’s analysis, only successful protests deserve to be equated to the teachings of MLK and Gandhi.

The BS Cairn’s analysis is so flimsy and erroneous that it is almost laughable. In a rather silly attempt to give the left a “gotcha,” the BS Cairn only succeeded in demonstrating it’s weakness for critical analysis. The post, which I encourage you too read (just to get a better idea of what I’m talking about, if nothing else), is so shallow, twisted, and confused that it hurts.