SFist: VIDEO OVERLOAD: 9/11 Memorial At SF State Goes Awry

guest

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:44:18 -0800

i love that quote above " Republicans were victims" oh my pity the poor Republicans, martyrs for their cause. Maybe you square heads shoulda had your nice patriotic memorial in an airport restroom stall with yer buddy Larry "not guilty anymore" Craig... would be much more discreet... or better yet in Schwarzenegger's Sacramento smoking tent... get over yourselves...

guest

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 02:01:33 -0800

to randomness: We film everything we do at SFSU, from tabling to 9/11 memorials. The school has tried to railroad us in the past using a lack of evidence as proof of wrongdoing. The video helps us clear up any possible discrepancies in testimony. I know its tough to realize that maybe, just maybe, Republicans were victims. But search your soul and you'll see it's possible, that is, if you have a soul to begin with.

randomness

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:04:59 -0800

To "guest" 25&26: Yes, I do find it unreasonable to bring a video camera to what was suppose to be a memorial/remembrance event. The most sincere forms of remembrance, charity and do-gooding are those which do not seek to be noticed, nor are they used to advance an agenda. This event was nothing more than agenda pushing on the part of all parties involved - Republicans, Democrats, and those that interrupted the event. Posting an inflammatory video to YouTube is in poor taste, and also does prove that you welcomed their presence as it has allowed you greater visiblity.

Akit

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:37:44 -0800

Our campus has gone crazy... that's why when I see these types of things happen, or people pushing to support their cause, I just walk away and not make eye contact with them. Think of it this way, when election day comes near, I throw out all the mail that says "vote for joe X" and quickly hang-up on political telemarketing calls. Leave me alone, I'm trying to _____ (fill in the blank) in peace!!

guest

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:11:33 -0800

by the way, the dems were just as pissed as the repubs were and got off the stage and told the protesters to leave, imagine that, a bi-partisan effort against crazy leftists!

guest

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:10:03 -0800

Because you asked....Can you really say it's unreasonable to bring a video camera to tape an event in the quad at SFSU? For the record, that second "angle" came from another student who just happened to be in the quad. After things got crazy i asked him if i could dub his footage, he obliged. Some of you guys are really desperate to defend the people who trashed the memorial and make it seem like this action was invited by our groups. Why would we want some crazies to trash a non partisan 9/11 memorial? It's very telling that the only place people are going after the Dems and Repubs is here in SF. Why is that?

Able Dart

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:06:04 -0800

One wonders. The College Republicans basically decided to stage a memorial as a demonstration. Dubious, but certainly within their free speech rights. I wonder how many Dems stuck around when they saw the speeches become so facile. Meanwhile the cynical trolling hooked members of the RCP. When I was at SFSU the left groups were more numerous and just as obnoxious, but back then CARP (the right-wing Moonie group) was the cult, and the left groups like the Spartacist Youth League were fads. Is the RCP what's left? They're a cult and they're loony even for commies. They're like the LaRouchies of the left. Is Bob Avakian still in prison?

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:29:57 -0800

A sad day, anyone who has ever gone to San Francisco State University knows just what these College Republicans were up to. They had their cameras out and ready (with multiple angles, as smartly noted by another) for the provocation. Oh, those crafty, crafty College Republicans -- how clever of them to force leftists to act like jackasses by trying to put on a peaceful nonpartisan memorial! - Alex

Mathias

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:54:35 -0800

Maybe I'm a stickler for detail, but shouldn't it be "remember those WHO died," not "THAT died?" I think this mistake reveals something, let's call it a lack of respect for the actual poor souls who lost their lives on this day; who have been cynically exploited, and continue to be cynically exploited, by everyone from these doofuses to our Doofus in Chief, for their own respective agendas. A sad day, anyone who has ever gone to San Francisco State University knows just what these College Republicans were up to. They had their cameras out and ready (with multiple angles, as smartly noted by another) for the provocation. Well they got it AND some, you can practically see the glee in their eyes as the rabble-rousers predictably homed in with their slogans and torn up flags. Ugly and terrible, it all just leaves such a bad taste in your mouth, doesn't it?

SFist_Dan

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:40:38 -0800

I'm late to the party here, but I was there when this was going on yesterday. I walked through while the lefties were doing their thing, and I had a visceral reaction in my gut. You go to SF State and you get used to protesters, and you ignore them because they're a dime a dozen, mostly kids with pet causes who'll forget all about their idealism when they graduate. (Yes, I'm stereotyping. Deal with it) Those guys crossed the line. To those of us who were older than twelve when September 11 happened, had friends in New York and the Pentagon and spent agonizing hours wondering if they survived, it was the wrong time for that. Memorializing that day is about that day. Not about things that came before. Not about the travesties that came after. Nearly three thousand people went to work that day and didn't come home. They're worth remembering, and injecting other things into their remembrance trivializes their lives and makes us forget that, above all else, those people did not deserve to die that day.

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:59:09 -0800

Someone please do tell - what was the "Illegal Immigration Bake Sale"? It sounds hilarious. I never heard of that; I did hear about the "Affirmative Action" bake sale, where people were charged different prices for baked goods depending on their race (to illustrate different races being held to different academic standards in college admissions), but I thought that was done someplace else, like UCLA. SF State is an embarrassment to the City and to the state educational system. It's like the fictional campus depicted in the movie PCU, but with even dumber and more thuggish cause-heads, and professors that are not as violent as the students but every bit as idiotic. - Alex

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:37:27 -0800

The "Gator GOP" are run by the biggest douche bags I've ever met. There's a time and a place for inflammatory politics, but obviously it's a style that's mutually exclusive with any manner of intelligent or rational discourse. SFSU is just... eh. Oversaturated with people pushing their own pet causes (and people being paid to push other causes). Nothing to see here, move on. Seriously.

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:25:49 -0800

I don't see how you can lump in the leftist professors with the reactionaries based on him speaking with them. To say those dudes in orange represent anyone besides themselves is a leap of logic. Actually, that one dude was from Los Gatos, so this video is all about Los Gatos leftists, those madmen!

randomness

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:56:16 -0800

Why does this all seem like a bad performance art piece? Multiple camera angles for a simple remembrance event? Geez. Anyone else get the feeling that these oppossing groups actually call each other up the night before and say "You heard about our event tomorrow, right? You gonna be there? Cuz nobody cares about this stuff unless there's some sort of conflict. Beers afterwards? Cool, see you there."?

The Painted Ground of San Jose Avenue

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:15:22 -0800

SF State's political groups were always too in-your-face for me. It came to a point where their ubiquitousness caused me to stop caring about politics in general. I cite their presence as the main factor in my feeling numb about any major (or minor, for that matter) political happenings around the world. I, too, considered myself pretty liberal until going to school at State. By the time I graduated, I didn't want to free Palestine; I didn't care about the preferential treatment that the U.S. has towards Israel; I didn't feel sorry for Mumia Abu Jamal, Stan "Tookie" Williams, or any other considered wrongfully imprisoned individuals; and I sure as hell had no reasons in my mind as to why I "should" join the Socialist party. A year later, I still fill a bit indifferent. As for the Tweedledee and Tweedledum that interrupted the 9/11 memorial: These guys really need a reality check. There's a time and place for everything. Unfortunately, they picked the wrong time.

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:13:26 -0800

Ahhhh, I miss SF State. It is funny that the whole city gets painted with a broad brush here -- I'm certain that 99 percent of the students aren't paying attention.

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:27:21 -0800

Someone please do tell - what was the "Illegal Immigration Bake Sale"? It sounds hilarious.

MalcoveMagnesia

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:02:46 -0800

Akit, there are good ways to get a point across (e.g. humor; whether one finds it funny or offensive is a different thing) and there are really bad, very counterproductive ways (screaming, shouting people down, trying to squelch any dissenting opinions). And the only point that was trying to be made on 9/11 was a non-partisan memorial, shared & sponsored by normally competitive groups.

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:00:32 -0800

Both parties seem to be exploiting the dead/ Ive had enough.

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:58:56 -0800

The GOP on campus is just inviting trouble. The best way to show respect for the dead is to quietly memorialize them if that's the TRUE feeling they have, which, Im guessing they dont. I think both groups are phonies, exploiting the dead victims for their political points. Really tacky. That person screaming his head off though is the worst, with the bad ponytail and the wireframe glasses is really pathethic.

Ciaran

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:51:34 -0800

Being assholes at a memorial is pretty dumb. But "9/11 is sacred"? Please...

omar

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:38:34 -0800

"Why are you in America?" LULZ. Its always a battle of stupid between campus GOP and whoever.

Akit

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:21:07 -0800

Some of us are fed up with the campus GOP. They have done some really terrible things (example: "The Illegal Immigration Bake Sale") that just makes a lot of people upset, yet at the same time, they are also exercising their first amendment rights.

gba

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:13:02 -0800

personally i would've dressed up as augusto pinochet for my 9/11-day celebration, but that's just me. -g

MalcoveMagnesia

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:10:48 -0800

When it comes to politics, I've learned to keep my mouth shut (especially in real life interactions & conversations) within San Francisco. Inflammatory and angry protests like this shameful display are what stifles free and open debate, so nobody can learn or listen to each other. What's worse is, if these clowns protesting got their way, we'd lose our (somewhat flawed, not totally representative) government where it'd be replaced by something immeasurably more repressive and dictatorial. p.s. FourMajor: last I looked at worldwide (non US) media, the consensus seems pretty well agreed that Muslim on Muslim violence is the leading killer of Iraqis over there. Our government's overall motivations for being in Iraq are dubious (it's the oil, obviously), but if the warring factions and sects (Sunni vs. Shiite/Kurds) would just keep the peace, getting out would be a hell of a lot easier.

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:05:40 -0800

Same as it ever was at SF State. Every day walking from the Muni stop to class I was bombarded with fliers, petitions, and random people soliciting donations. Don't even get me started about those wacky LaRouche supporters. With so much shouting, and no actual dialog SF State political events degenerate into screaming matches in a matter of seconds. I support neither the college republicans or democrats, and no, I'm not a socialist/communist/anarchist etc. Protest, debate and discussion are good, not being able to come together for a moment of reflection is pathetic.

joe

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:58:30 -0800

SFSU's political groups deserve to be smeared. in my four years there it was ridiculous the way every protest was carried out. there is no room for rational discussion, its always opposing sides yelling in the face of another group. i always thought myself to be very liberal until i went there, no room is left for any opposting viewpoints both inside and outside of the classroom.

HappyChandler

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:44:17 -0800

Way to use two loud people to smear a city and a university.

guest

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:41:59 -0800

Who cares.

FourMajor

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:06:30 -0800

Well they are right in that the United States government is responsible for many, many more deaths in Iraq than what happened on 9/11. But they are completely wrong to interrupt the ceremony to tell this message. They could have easily held a different demonstration on a different part of campus to tell the other side of the story.