Look at the people marching for racism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism and other hate-filled ideas. Listen to their statements and think back to the days when you were in elementary and middle school. Think about the bullies and the loud mouthed brats that tried to dominate the social life of the school. What is it that they have in common with the marchers? They all want ATTENTION.
Attention seekers believe the adage that there is no bad publicity. They want to provoke a response to get more air time on TV and space in the newspapers and blog space on the internet. How many hours have people on Daily Kos spent with criticism of these adult children. The solution:
DO NOT GIVE THEM THE ATTENTION THEY WANT!
Many of you are too young to remember the saying “Suppose they gave a war and nobody came.”
The problem in Charlottesville was that they got the audience they wanted, provoked responses they wanted, got the police involved, killed a wonderful woman and got more publicity than they had in years.
IS A PARADE A PARADE WHEN NO ONE WATCHES? It takes two elements to make a parade, marchers and watchers. The audience is critical to the success of the parade. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade would be nothing if no one came to watch. If people stopped watching, TV would stop showing and the parade would die from lack of interest. It is only successful when someone watches. Remember that a big part of the publicity following a parade consists of estimates of the crowd. President Trump had a brief skirmish with the media over the size of the crowd at the inauguration. It’s the same with the Alt-right and the KKK. They depend on the Antifa response. Yes, we find their positions ugly and disgusting. Their language is abhorrent. Their attitudes are outdated and dangerous. But like children they thrive on attention. Children will change their behavior if they can get attention. That’s why we praise them when they are successful or behave in an appropriate manner. We tell them “good job” when they are polite and thoughtful.
I remember reading a story about a woman with small children. The two year old was prone to temper tantrums and anyone who has been a parent can empathize with a parent with a two year old. Her reaction to the tantrums that were part of the routine at the grocery store was to have a sign reading “Tantrum in progress. Please laugh.” When she and the others laughed at the tantrums, the tantrums stopped. Think about this. Are the marches of the KKK and others not much more than tantrums of little boys who don’t get their way? WHY DO WE GIVE IN TO THEIR TANTRUMS BY GIVING THEM THE ATTENTION THEY SEEK?