Participation Trophy: Protest Edition

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

Students at Yale are on a hunger strike.  Except when they’re not.

This is the epitome of Liberalism in action: claiming the intention is as good as the deed and deserves just as much credit.

The Senate had a rule that any member may filibuster a bill and until the filibuster was ended (by the member or by a super-majority voting to end discussion on the bill), no other business could take place.  Jimmy Stewart talks for hours in the famous movie about a filibuster.

Except that’s hard work.  And we can’t get anything else done.  So the new method is members file a “notice of intent to filibuster” and that’s sufficient to take the bill out of consideration.  It’s simply tabled while the Senate moves on to other business.  More efficient, you see.  Better for members’ health.  Safer.

Yes, but the point of the filibuster was to actually halt the business of the Senate until they address one member’s objection.  If it’s a big enough deal that a member is willing to stand there all day solely to bring the business of government to a complete halt, then it’s a big enough deal to receive serious consideration by the rest of the members.

These students aren’t having a ‘hunger strike,’ they’ve filed a ‘notice of intent to strike’ believing the word is the same as the act and carries the same moral weight.  Can’t imagine where they got that idea.

Joe Doakes

It’s a logical extension of the way millennials have been raised to see life.

They got participation trophies for looking like they were playing basketball.

Why should “protest” be any different?

2 thoughts on “Participation Trophy: Protest Edition

  1. It was pretty funny that the Yale Chapter of the College Republicans held a barbecue right next to the strike. Classic!

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