Redefining Protesters: How dare they be “disrespectful” and so “despicable?” Get out the Assault Rifles…

Boy times have changed since the turbulent 60’s war protests.

The Republican Party has always opposed dissenters, always claiming they represented only a small minority of people. Meaning they should be ignored. 

Gov. Scott Walker successfully discredit them, by “marketing” them to his fearful base of voters as out-of-staters, who have no business meddling in our political affairs. Forget all that corporate money. 

Keep in mind that while the protests over Act 10 at the Capitol were nothing but peaceful, Republicans still portrayed them as violent, instigated by union thugs who caused millions of dollars in damage. Since none of that was true, peaceful protests can and will be re-imagined as something more horrific to the base, who'll buy it hook-line-and-sinker. My conservative friend in Milwaukee is convinced.

   

Which brings me to this frighteningly naïve but very conservative editorial in the Racine Journal Times.

An appalling video made its way across the Internet this month showing protesters last month with covered faces, yelling profanity and threatening workers on June 11 at the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine in northern Wisconsin. The workers are not the despicable ones — the protesters are. Watching that video, it almost makes you sick to see how disrespectful those protesters were.

Maybe the Times missed the documentary “The War at Home.”

It’s no wonder that after the incident the mining company, Gogebic Taconite, hired security armed with assault rifles to protect workers.

See, Gogebic acted normally under Walker Authority rules.  

In a letter to Gogebic Taconite’s president, state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, and state Rep. Janet Bewley, D-Ashland, called the images of the mining company’s security “appalling” and compared it to security forces common in Third World countries.

Here's Jauch's comments edited together in his debate with corporate lackey Rep. Mark Honadel, from Upfront with Mike Gousha (Goo-shay):

Here's Honadel's comment edited together to show you how totally sold out Republicans are to big business:

Reminiscent of media in more dictatorial regimes around the world, the Journal Times sees nothing wrong with military force as a way to rein in social unrest. Being a private company, who are we to tell them what to do:

But when you have even one incident where opponents threaten the lives of workers, that more than crosses the line. As a private company … Gogebic Taconite should be able to determine how best to protect workers.

Uh oh, here come the armed citizens. Maybe that needs to be "adjusted" sometime in the future:

Hopefully … both mine supporters and opponents can agree to respectfully disagree. Then there will not be a need for armed guards who could be put at risk during hunting season.