Originally Posted by JRA
Wow, Chipcom-Man, what a load of horse manure!
As much as I hate the prospect of debunking one of my heroes, it's gotta be done. Such a gigantic pile of cow patties can not be allowed to stand. (plus, I have a reputation as a pedantic twit to maintain).
Where to begin? Where to begin? Maybe with some definitions taken from the nearest Webster's Unabridged (if you're gonna be pedantic, ya gotta quote from Webster's
).
politician - a person engaged in politics:
frequently used in a derogatory sense (ouch!).
Only a politician would attempt to claim that what Rosa Parks did was not political (and I bet Chipcom-Man even typed that nonsense with a straight face). C-Man truly must be a politician (or, at least, a former one).
C-Man, it's hard to argue with your definition POLITICS: "the process and method of making decisions for groups. Although it is generally applied to governments..."
But ya messed up, dude. The question was not, "Is advocacy politics?" The question was, "Is advocacy political?" Do ya see a difference?
Yep, I do, which is why I posted a definition of POLITICS and spoke up concerning where I made a statement that 'advocacy is not politics' in response to HH's 'Well, some people (who are not defending their positions here), have asserted that advocacy is not political'. I never said it wasn't political, I said it wasn't politics - and there is a difference as we both have pointed out.
Originally Posted by JRA
political - of or concerned with government, the state or politics.
Attempting to change laws, or draw attention to unjust laws (civil disobedience is one way), is political (although not necessarily politics). Attempting to change roads (the maintenance of which is generally a function of government) is political (although not necessarily politics). To the extent that they involve action by an organized group or the government, all of the following are political: changing society, saving the world, saving the environment, etc.
Huh? Chipcom-Man talks in riddles. If it does not affect others, what makes something "the right thing to do?" What are these mythical non-political aspects of advocacy to which you refer?
I can 'advocate' riding a bike to work by riding a bike to work - the act of doing so simply being a personal example of what I think is the right thing to do - having nothing to do with organized groups, government, laws, public policy or anything political. Setting a personal example can be advocacy but not necessarily politics. Now if you prefer all of your personal actions to be considered politically motivated, that's your cross to bear, not mine.
BTW, we disagree on Rosa Parks and civil disobedience - I don't consider standing up for our basic human rights to be a political act, even if the desire is to exact a political solution. I consider standing up for our basic human rights to be our duty.
Also consider that if disobeying the law is a political act, our prisons are full of political prisoners. The only thing that makes Rosa Parks a hero, rather than a convict or worse, is the fact that the time was right and enough people agreed with the cause of racial equality to take action. If that bus had been a coach 200 years ago, the only debate would have involved finding the appropriate lynching tree. Indeed, if I took a stand today for my right to grow a freakin plant, would I be considered a dope dealer or a civil rights hero?
You've only scratched the tip of the BS iceberg I can shovel, my friend.
