August Column Winner

When protests meant something

By David Stringer, The Lawton Constitution

Remember when protests meant something?

We seem to have lost all sense of scale when it comes to protests. Protests used to mean something. Now, it seems any kind of microaggression will warrant someone taking to social media to try and organize a protest. And while some of those may generate some notoriety, few effect any meaningful change.

I have some recollection of a time when protests were things of note, rather than just a passing fad. Living in California in general, and specifically in San Francisco in the late '60s and early '70s, I was in close proximity to events taking on civil rights, the Vietnam War and other challenges of the day. They were often big. They were generally loud. And they called attention to things that a segment of society felt needed to be addressed differently than they were at the time.

Sometimes, people were arrested. It could have been for impeding traffic, or related to pushing and shoving members of law enforcement who were trying to break up or contain the rallies.

These days, throwing a sandwich leads to an arrest for felony assault. I mean, I guess if it was more than the soft, white sandwich break, and not one of those crusty sourdough rolls filled with hard salami, the kind used in military combat, I could see it (yes, that’s sarcasm), but “assault by sandwich”? Seriously? And it was probably a Club Sandwich or similar. You know, a high capacity as-sault lunchable.

Then you have the folks offended because Cracker Barrel changed its logo. When they changed the formula for Coke in 1985, I was among those who thought it was a big step backward. But it didn’t drive me to try and start a movement to boycott the brand, or burn the CEO in effigy. I just quit buying it and drank more Dr. Pepper. When the company reversed itself and started producing “Coke Classic” it was a response to consumer backlash over a product. And I can see it when you’re talking about a product you like. But I seldom think less of a product because the label or packaging changed.

No, if this kind of thing is a demonstration of anything, it’s that we lack the ability to prioritize. How about Oklahoma’s education ranking? How about the national debt? How about a voting public that’s so disengaged only a select few members of the electorate make decisions on our officials, how much we’re taxed and how it’s spent? How about officials who blatantly ignore the opinion of their constituents and serve the party first?

If a company wants to change its brand, go for it. If I don’t like it, you won’t see me wasting my time at a keyboard rally about how it offends me. And if you don’t want your sandwich, just hand it to me. I’d hate for it to go to waste and, if I’m not hungry, I’ll be happy to get it to someone who is.

Maybe it’s time to protest a lack of common sense? That’s something I could get behind. But I need to make a sandwich first.