Showing posts with label protest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protest. Show all posts

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Images from the Hong Kong Protests

by Nomad


Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets in mass demonstrations against a proposed extradition law that would allow residents to be tried in mainland China.

Monday, October 24, 2016

Tom Hayden- Radical Protest Marching into the Mainstream

by Nomad

Tom Hayden Protest Quote

Famed '60s anti-war activist Tom Hayden died on Sunday after a long illness. 
Once denounced as a traitor and a dangerous radical by his detractors, Hayden went on to serve in the California State Assembly and State Senate. For almost two decades, Hayden was a progressive voice on issues such as the environment, education and animal welfare. 
He once wrote about his days as a protester:
"I didn't want to go from beating to beating, jail to jail... There was an entire generation to arouse, primarily about civil rights but also about the larger issues."
Click here for his complete biography.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Limited Tolerance for Intolerance: Westboro Church Protest in Oregon Ends Abruptly

by Nomad

Westboro Baptist Church is famous for its controversial protests aimed at attracting the maximum amount of attention. In Portland, Oregon, the demonstration didn't turn out quite as they had planned.  


According to the law, Westboro Baptist Church has as much right to free speech- no matter how abhorrent and mean-spirited- as anyone else. However, when members of the extremist Church showed up at a sporting event in Portland Oregon to protest gay marriage, they got a little taste of the free speech of other people. 
Several hundred angry people, actually.

Counter protesters showed little tolerance to the inflammatory Westboro message and a scuffle reportedly broke out between the two groups. After twenty minutes, the Westboro members made a hasty retreat.
The counter-protesters celebrated with dance party "complete with stage lights and speakers." 
A good time was had by (nearly) all.

Elliot Njus, writing for The Oregonian has the full story here.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Pete Seeger: The Passing of a Troubadour with a Conscience

by Nomad

At the age of 94 folk singer Pete Seeger has died. Many younger readers may not know who this man was. During the 1960s, Seeger harnessed the power of music to rally a nation. At that time, the relatively obscure folk music market suddenly became a tool of protest for causes such as  international disarmamentcivil rightscounterculture and environmental causes.

"Where have all the Flowers Gone?" written by Seeger with Joe Hickerson in 1955, is one of my personal favorites. It has been sung by a large number of artists from Vera LynnBobby DarinOlivia Newton-John to U2. Marlene Dietrich recorded her own version, Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind. (It's surprisingly good too!

This anti-war song has been translated in dozens of languages. In Turkish- Söyle Çiçekler nerde? In Russian- Где цветы, дай мне ответ? and even in Hebrew איפה הפרחים כולם

Let's listen to Seeger rendition.


If you are interested in learning more about the man, PBS produced a documentary saluting his life. It's worth your time.