If you are against picketing, how do you show it?

Question

credit for this quesion goes to the late great Mitch Hedburg

Ooooo? Is that you Oprah????

Answer 1

It depends on what it is about picketing that you object to. I live in Paris, the picketing capital of Earth and I've come across two different forms of objection to picketing. Picketing, or "manifestation" as it's known here, is as common as the weather. This is no exaggeration, in fact, Le Monde and La Liberation, which are the two biggest selling newspapers in the country, actually include a "picketing forecast" next to the weather forecast in the newspaper - it basically tells you which areas to avoid in your car if driving through Paris, as the streets will be full of angry teachers/doctors/nurses/train drivers and, yesterday, casino workers.

I once lived right next to Place de la Bastille, which, due to its revolutionary implications in French history, is the focal point and often the finish line, of French strikes. I objected vehemently to the fact that these people would swarm around my front door in their thousands shouting about communism or whatever it was they were supporting (usually communism in some form or other) and dropping their rubbish on the pavement in front of my house. The noise was unbearable at times, particularly at the time of the CPE educational reform riots when I had over one million people walk past my front door screaming their heads off and I, myself, was hosed by the CRS riot police with a water cannon when I went out to buy some smokes.

I am against picketing and I used to show it, before I moved away from this area to a much cooler part of Paris, by dropping flower bombs and eggs on the 'manifestants' from my fifth floor appartment.

Another game I would play to entertain myself while people polluted the air in my apartment with their commie chants was to call the police and report rioting and car burning (common practice in France), when the people in front of my building were in fact just a small bunch of disgruntled middle aged state teachers looking for a pay-rise. The French riot police don't hang around so it was always great watching modest trade unionists, often with their mini-mao kids in tow, despairingly flee these baton wielding, testosterone fuelled armed response units... until I had to close the windows as the CRS tend to be trigger happy with the tear gas.

A second example of the peaceful manifestation of anger against those who peacefully manifest their anger was a couple of years ago when the RATP (the Paris metro/underground) went on strike for a month in the summer. This made it impossible for anyone to get to work and people had to rollerblade, cycle, get a cab etc. which got on everyone's nerves and also made usually normal people look very gay (the rollerblades, I mean). After a number of marches comprising hundreds of state rail and metro workers the people of Paris got together and tens of thousands of them turned out to make it clear that the demands of these workers should not be met by the government. The top of the Champs Elysees was packed and Nicolas Sarkozy (France's answer to Margaret Thatcher and their next president) turned up to clap and generally congratulate the sweaty mob of white collar skaters before promptly returning to place Beaveau where he drew up a bill that effectively made every union leader redundant or at least powerless... brilliant!

Still, to answer your question, if you are against picketing how do you show it? I prefer the traditional approach of deploying troops and using tear gas.

Answer 2

Picket

Answer 3

Aside from not participating in it I don't know. Great question though.

I suppose you could try getting some kind of law passed in your community that makes it extremely difficult for picketing to be legal, but that would have First Amendment issues to overcome.

Hope someone has a real answer, cause now you have me wondering.

Answer 4

If you find picketing as a form of protest to be offensive, put your concerns in writing and send a letter to your local newspaper. Be sure to explain the reasons for your objection.

Answer 5

Whats wrong with picketing?

Answer 6

Just cross the picket lines. If everyone crossed them and ignored them they would go away.

Answer 7

With really big signs,A bunch of people who share your views and alert all the media.

Answer 8

Install cyclone fencing!

Answer 9

I guess you do whatever it is they are picketing AGAINST, if its something you want to do.

Answer 10

Send an email.