Jay Nordlinger at NRO asks:
How come there aren’t right-wing protesters at Democratic conventions? Are there? The street, it seems to me, runs only one way. Odd.
Not odd at all. Assuming he’s right, lots of plausible explanations come to mind. Here are two (or even 2.5) that I instantly thought of. Feel free to add your own in the comments.
One reason could be that right-wingers have a higher opportunity cost – or better appreciate that concept and apply it in their lives.
A second could be that right-wingers better understand that protests at conventions are relatively meaningless gestures and probably as much a consumption good as a useful political weapon – and they don’t value the consumption aspects as much as left-wingers.
This is an uproarious, feel-good piece. It made me want to stand up and cheer.
Right-wingers better appreciate opportunity costs than left-wingers. Absolutely, because Serious People don’t believe that gathering in protest at major political conventions serves any purpose. There is certainly no intrinsic value in bringing people together for a grass roots cause. There is definitely no value [except consumption value!] to people putting in time to decry myriad injustices. This is what I tell my son all the time:
“Son, are you going to go protest the decade long war down by the RNC/DNC?”
“Nah, pops, I don’t think there’s going to be that many people to show up anyways, so I might as well stay home and play videogames.”
“That’s right son; protesting is only about making yourself feel good anyways!”
Just vote for either of the two major political parties, this is the extent of what your involvement in the democratic process should be. Either that or donate money to one of the major super pacs. That’s all that matters.
I agree absolutely that protests are utterly, completely meaningless, especially since the major corporate news outlets won’t be interested in covering the protests anyways, or the massive militarization of the police in response to these protests. lololol
“The street, it seems to me, runs only one way. Odd.”
And it’s definitely only LEFT-WINGERs who are protesting. Only a left-winger would protest the gross cronyism between the government and the major financial institutions, or the endless wars and massive infringements on civil liberties.
PS:
The entire Nat Review article you posted is hilarious through and through:
“For the first couple of days in Tampa, a lot of us griped about the security: too much of it; unrepublican; un-American. Frankly, I adjusted. I learned how to navigate the security, basically fuss-free.”
No shit! The security is there to clamp down on smelly, hippy protesters not people like him! [The hilarity of easily adjusting to the levels of Orwellian security is a stroke of literary genius. This is like when I first protested the Patriot Act and the Warrantless NSA wiretaps, but then I realized, Hey, this doesn't feel so bad, I hardly notice these things at all! [[Also I learned about opportunity costs!
]]]
The piece just goes on this way, with many illuminating and insightful “tidbits.”