Apparently, anti-capitalism protests in 2009 are like Halloween in 2008: full of douchebags dressed like the farking Joker.

That's because there is no unified "G20 Protest Organization." The people there run the gamut from anarchists to tourists looking for a good time. Most of them, if stopped on the street and asked, probably couldn't even describe what "G20" means.

(the latter is probably true for the majority of people who will post in here, too, although Wikipedia makes it easy to fake otherwise)

It looks like most of these protesters are anarchists by day, waiters by night and actors by wishing.

hah... the caption for the dead canary: "No it is not just resting. Protesters carried what they said was..."

He's pining for the fjords!

They must have some really bad coal mines in London.

The capitalists killed Tweety!

Wait. They expect anarchists to be organized?

Barring attention they'll settle for tension.

well before this year, they could focus their well-deserved hate on Bush, who did practically everything wrong. Barack is so far trying to do well. While his performance is debatable (I think he's doing a stunning job considering), you can't deny he is at the very worst TRYING to act in the best interest of the general public.

What!

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Eyewitness reports have enabled police to produce this artist's conceptual drawing of the suspect:



=Smidge=

TFA: "Protesters Fail to Bring Down Global Capitalism With Costumes, Puppets

Well, if "Seasame Street" couldn't pull it off, no one can.

Something tells me that the NY Times would have had no problem figuring out what the protesters were about had ol' Georgie Boy still be in office.

Now? Not so much.

Ask around, and they'll tell you...

I'm about as left as they come...

And I phuquing HATE anarchists!

FIRE BAD!

Pink disco stormtrooper made me LOL

"You BAD ol' putty-tat!"

I take back what I said about England's protesters earlier. They were not the cohesive anti-capitalist protests I thought I saw earlier, but again a motley mishmash of climate change, banker hate, nanny state hate, lets smoke a bunch of pot and see the protest protests.

Of course, the whole G series of meetings and WTO ones as well always attract the anarchists.

//Living in a place that exports anarchists, at least according to Nova (or was it Frontline)

Isn't G20 a bingo call?

Anarchist. Or people trying to stop the NEW WORLD ORDER from occuring. This shiat is scary.

"What do readers think, is the media to blame for focusing so much on what is most visually arresting, or are the protesters at fault for spending too much energy attracting attention and not enough articulating practical steps that might actually change the system?"

If the media could clearly articulate the problem, maybe practical steps to change might be beneficial, but that's not the case.

The media keeps repeating the tired old "unregulated markets" baloney - ignoring that the industries that are at the center of this crisis have been the most regulated industries in the national economy - so any "practical" steps to change "the system" would break down to "keep up the good work."

And these protesters are just silly. I neither understood how they have the time, nor what they hope to accomplish. In interviews, they sound about as mature and intelligent as the tools who opposed Obama because he's black, or believe he's a secret Muslim terrorist.

I'd suggest they get jobs, but given their assumptions, I suggest they get an education first, preferably from an institution that teaches people to think, not to recite propaganda.

Cup_O_Jo: Anarchist. Or people trying to stop the NEW WORLD ORDER from occuring. This shiat is scary.

Just think..little Feudal systems all over the place.

/Back to work, Peasant!

I think people go to these because they can't afford tickets to rock shows anymore. The experience looks very similar... I bet you can even buy memorobilia.

SynthLord: I'd suggest they get jobs, but given their assumptions, I suggest they get an education first, preferably from an institution that teaches people to think, not to recite propaganda.

They're likely already wasting their parents money getting a philosophy degree. That also explains why they can skip out on class for a week and not fall behind.

GaryPDX: Cup_O_Jo: Anarchist. Or people trying to stop the NEW WORLD ORDER from occuring. This shiat is scary.

Just think..little Feudal systems all over the place.

/Back to work, Peasant!

That's anarcho-syndicalist commune, thank you very much.

vernonFL: Pink disco stormtrooper made me LOL

I think that's just Jarvis Cocker in a mask.

That, or one of the guys from Daft Punk on his day off.

I've said it before: protest rallies do not and cannot change anything.

Not institutional racism and war in the 1960s; not gay rights and the economy in the 2000s.

Cup_O_Jo: Anarchist. Or people trying to stop the NEW WORLD ORDER from occuring. This shiat is scary.

What scares me is that the protesters seem to be a group made up of anti-Capitalist far-Lefties and Libertarians like Gary, and that's a dangerously stupid mixture when you get it together.

The reason none of you take us protesters seriously is because the propaganda machine of the Capitalist system has made you all so brainwashed with American Gladiators and monster truck rallies that you have grown complacent to the TRUTH.

I'm sure you might be thinking that the reason no one takes seriously is because the only time our narratives ever reach anything close to something cohesive, it turns out that our goals are to transform the world into a terrifying, unrealistically utopian earth. Or you might be thinking that hysterical, histrionic protests is an ineffective and confusing way to bring about change, but you are wrong on both counts, because you are idiots.
True change for the force of good comes in the form of angry, irrational mob mentality.

And that is why you are all idiots...now, please take us seriously and give in to our unrealistic demands.

poot_rootbeer: I've said it before: protest rallies do not and cannot change anything.

Not institutional racism and war in the 1960s; not gay rights and the economy in the 2000s.

But we love to watch them get a snoot full of pepper spray. That's entertainment. Bring back the Games! More Bread! More Circus!

GaryPDX: But we love to watch them get a snoot full of pepper spray. That's entertainment. Bring back the Games! More Bread! More Circus!

We should send some RCMP riot squads there to help things out. Their pepper spray comes in fire extinguisher bottles and they hate asking questions.

GaryPDX: But we love to watch them get a snoot full of pepper spray. That's entertainment. Bring back the Games! More Bread! More Circus!

GARY:

Dwight_Yeast: GaryPDX: But we love to watch them get a snoot full of pepper spray. That's entertainment. Bring back the Games! More Bread! More Circus!

GARY:

I ain't fat..lol..you ain't talking to me.

Sounds like the World Bank protesters up here. Dressed in Banana Republic and headed to the bars after the "protest". Then it's back to college afforded by their parents' involvement in the "capitalist machine".

Dwight_Yeast: Libertarians like Gary

Except that Libertarians don't hate capitalism. Most of them want full blown, unregulated capitalism.

BobtheFascist: Except that Libertarians don't hate capitalism. Most of them want full blown, unregulated capitalism.

Arrrhhh...there's still booty to liberate.

BobtheFascist: Most of them want full blown, unregulated capitalism.

Capitalism isn't perfect and it does require some regulation. Much of that is criminal law. However, capitalism is the best system for dealing with human nature in an ultimately peaceful way as possible. It does suck to be a loser in a system where there are winners and losers. But that's been going on since the beginning of time.

/just an opinion

AlwaysRightBoy: They must have some really bad big coal mines in London.

ftfy

BobtheFascist: Except that Libertarians don't hate capitalism. Most of them want full blown, unregulated capitalism.

That's my point: stupid anti-capitalists + stupid Randian Capitalists = ...well, it's like matter and antimatter\; it just don't mix.

GaryPDX: I ain't fat..lol..you ain't talking to me.

Right. I'm sure that, like every other man on Fark, you're 6' 4" and built like a Greek God.

Dwight_Yeast: Right. I'm sure that, like every other man on Fark, you're 6' 4" and built like a Greek God.

lol..okay. I have a very fat 32" waist.

/frlz

Hideously Gigantic Smurf: Ask around, and they'll tell you...

I'm about as left as they come...

And I phuquing HATE anarchists!

Why? I thought if anybody would enjoy a good round of merry prankstering, it would be you...:)

GaryPDX: lol..okay. I have a very fat 32" waist.

When you're only 5' 2", that means you're FAAAAAT!

whidbey: Why? I thought if anybody would enjoy a good round of merry prankstering, it would be you...:)

R.K. Milholland said it best.

Anarchy is the strong dominating the weak. Imagine your junior high-school locker room, everywhere, all the time.

99.99% of these "hep, young anarchists" wouldn't last a week under true anarchy.

Tr0mBoNe: Wait. They expect anarchists to be organized?

As someone who was there I can tell you that sadly, yes, the Anarchists were the best organized (they even managed to get a flag up on a flag pole for about a half hour). This was more a hippy party then a protest. The problem with any liberal demonstration is that there's no sense of purpose, everyone is there with their pet project and more often then not, only about half the people are there to get high. I would say that about 5% of the people there were really engaged and cared deeply, 10% were there to start a riot, 35% were there because they thought they were "fighting man", and the other 50 just wanted to watch. Sad really. There was no coherent argument being made. It seemed like London just wanted a good rally.

And no, I wasn't actually there to protest. As a student in London, I was part of the 50% looking to watch (poser I know).

I was waving money out the window at the protestors.

I used to think I was liberal, like really liberal.

Now I look at some of these people and hear them talk. Not thinking the same thing so much now.

cops are all, "lolwut?"

Lunchlady: Tr0mBoNe: Wait. They expect anarchists to be organized?

As someone who was there I can tell you that sadly, yes, the Anarchists were the best organized (they even managed to get a flag up on a flag pole for about a half hour). This was more a hippy party then a protest. The problem with any liberal demonstration is that there's no sense of purpose, everyone is there with their pet project and more often then not, only about half the people are there to get high. I would say that about 5% of the people there were really engaged and cared deeply, 10% were there to start a riot, 35% were there because they thought they were "fighting man", and the other 50 just wanted to watch. Sad really. There was no coherent argument being made. It seemed like London just wanted a good rally.

And no, I wasn't actually there to protest. As a student in London, I was part of the 50% looking to watch (poser I know).

I mean really, what better way to shut down a protest than by flooding it by non-sensical fun?
/Like culture-jamming only backwards.
//I want a pink disco stormtrooper canary protest...
///You say protest, I say surreal street party.

Hideously Gigantic Smurf: Anarchy is the strong dominating the weak. Imagine your junior high-school locker room, everywhere, all the time.

Imagine not. I take it you've heard of anarcho-syndicalism?

The smart anarchy.