The 15 best signs from the Rally To Restore Sanity
By Brian FairbanksOctober 31st, 2010, 12:15 pmComments (26)
Several of your favorite Hooksexup writers (including yours truly) were are at the Rally To Restore Sanity (And Keep Fear Alive) in D.C. yesterday. I saw all manner of political insults, stupidity and hilarity, often within the same sign.
Here are my favorites from a media roundup:
One sign to rule all signs
CAPSLOCK IS NOT PERSUASIVE
I Was A Teabagger Before It Was Cool
That's No Moon
I was told there'd be cookies.
Can't we all just get a bong?
Kitlers Against Hitler Analogies
Don't tread on anyone
A little kid with a sign that said "It's a democracy, not an auction"
A 20-something woman with a sign that said "I masturbate to Christine O'Donnell"
Don't Stomp On My Head, Bro
Another favorite was the pair of girls with signs that read, respectively, "My sister is a Republican" and "My sister is a Democrat"
I Heart Beck's Album Mellow Gold
I like tea (and you're kind of ruining it)
End Glee theme nights
And this one:
Commentarium (26 Comments)
I love those signs. Now get out and vote.
Anyone else feel disgusted by children holding politically themed signs?
@Me. No. Ought they to sit at home lest anything controversial influence them and rob them of their freedom of will?
Of course controversial things will influence them. I take issue with their parents forcing political views on them at a very malleable age. I agree with the signs the kids were holding, for the most part, but there's no way that the seven year old in the picture above thought of that sign herself.
Actually, there's a good chance the kid might understand that one, since to her, a tea party is supposed to be a fun thing you do with your friends and/or stuffed animals, so she's probably kind of annoyed about hearing it used to describe a bunch of angry people on the news. I know my ten-year-old picks up on stuff like that.
When i was little, even that age, I always begged my mom to let me go to stuff like that. She said she would take me when I was sixteen (which she did) but just because a child has a certain view doesnt mean that it is force fed by their parents. I would encourage the youth of American to be exposed to politics because it seems like so many do not care anymore, and I welcome the influence of my generation to finally be heard.
I'm sure some of the kids there have their own political viewpoints, but I'm guessing the vast majority were dragged their and handed a sign by their parents. Parents who do that disgust me. Not only are they forcing their political views onto their own children, they're objectifying their kids and using them as props to make a point.
I love the Beck sign. I would have have given that sign holder a hand shake.
I also love the Beck sign. I would have have given that sign holder a ham steak. Which are delicious.
Gimme a break...I share my religious views, my moral views, my feelings about sex, drugs, and rock and roll with my kids...why on earth wouldn't I expose my child to my political viewpoints? Its not like the kids in the pictures are waving dead fetus signs! As for me, I'm proudly raising three open-minded democrats thank you very much!
Best signs I saw were "Is this the line for Justin Bieber tickets?" and "I was saving this cardboard for something special".
Sharing your political views with your children is leagues away from taking them to a rally to use them as a sign of protest. I think it's great that you tell your children what you think about politics. They'll never have a better role model. But taking them to a rally for political purposes is using them, and it's not good parenting.
@me I went to my first and only political protest when I was 2. A corporation was tearing down my local swimming pool (at the Hilton, but it was open to the public), and I was left without a public pool to swim in (my parents met on their college swim team ... I could swim before I could walk). I'm still proud of wearing a shirt that said "Tearing down the Shamrock would be like tearing down the Alamo!" (this was in Houston) when I was that young. Years later, I found a shirt from that protest, and I still wear it from time to time.
@me, blah, blah, blah... You sound like a repressed teabagger who wants freedom of your speech and everyone else needs to shut the fuck up. Kudos to those of you out there raising kids to think. Maybe those kids can undo the mess made between 2001 and 2008...
As a parent, I have to say that we can't help but expose our kids to what we believe. You simply can't live close to a being with the kind of amazing minds as children without them picking up on everything around them! Before you respond about the difference between them picking up on something passively and being forced to go to a rally, etc., I took my child to church long before she was 16. Finally, being exposed to what your parents are passionate about does not mean that a child will be passionate about the same thing (or even agree regarding the issues) that her parents exposed her to. in fact, children are their own persons pretty much from birth, and most develop their own identities before they hit voting age, regardless of what damage their parents do.
Sounds like you all had good experiences being taken to rallies. I think it's something like being a child star. Some of them think it's a great experience and become well adjusted adults. Others hate it and resent their parents forever. You all are Joseph Gordon-Levitts. I know several Olsen twins.
I'm not trying to say that you shouldn't expose your children to your views. That would be impossible. But taking your kids to a rally is usually going to be objectifying them. There is a way to expose your children to politics that doesn't take the form of active political protest when most kids are too young to understand politics (talking about issues at the dinner table, for example).
I'm also guessing that if most of you saw a child holding a pro-Tea Party sign, you would agree with me. But because you agree with what these kids' parents had them say, you don't.
I think you all should just shut the fuck up.
I think exposing your children to politics in a healthy way (letting them see all the sides) and being able to carry on a conversation about not only politics but also many other things in life that require the ability to think, make decisions and be able to reason why a person comes to the conclusions they do - aside from being told to make that decision - is a healthy and responsible way of parenting.
Obviously, not having known the people at the rally, nobody will know whether those attending were "dragging" their children there or if the children were enjoying themselves and eagerly participating.
As for my children, they are each different so it would depend on which one and at what age but I agree this rally was not something with a bunch of protestors and negativity nor was it Woodstock.
Many things are about communication.
@tracysolomon
I think it was a perfect place to take your children, but I wouldn't take my kids to see Mr. Beck's "Rally 'till ya Puke-fest" Maybe it's just me......
Better to leave the kids at home with the abusive, drug-addled babysitter? This doesn't look to me as "objectifying" but more like a child enjoying a nice afternoon out with her parents. Very likely she asked to hold the sign, never had any kids? Good grief people, get a life.
"Anyone else feel disgusted by children holding politically themed signs?"
It's less disgusting than kids sitting in a church getting their heads filled with nonsense. Indoctrination much?
Also: "I shaved my balls for this?" and "I masturbate and I vote!"
Best signs I saw in portland - I Heart Sweet Tea, Corporations are NOT people. Soylent Green is People, Teabags are Testicles Too, and a dog with a sign that read "I Lick Ike".
as someone who was AT the rally, it was really not like most political rallies. most of the people were joking around, taking pictures of funny signs, and if you weren't close to the stage you couldn't even hear what was being said. mostly it was just a ton of people with funny signs. I'm not saying that there were no parents using their kids as props or that no one saw it as a political rally but it was still definitely part comedy festival. My main issue with the kids there was that there were parents with small children who were too small to be in the middle of a crowd that large down in a stroller or standing where they could easily be run into and possibly hurt. but seriously, if you were there, it was obvious that it was mostly comedy.
Don't feed the trolls.
Don't feed the trolls.