We just love to protest in this society. And, believe me, I am all for that. I have always been one to praise free speech in this country, regardless of whether or not I agree with the speaker.
But there are times when we protest something so inane that I can’t help but shake my head and wonder what is wrong with people.
A couple of recent protests perplex me:
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I Lost on Jeopardy (Credit: Weird Al Yankovic)
A 12-year-old boy lost on Jeopardy when he misspelled his “Final Jeopardy” answer. People protested up and down social media. I have two issues with this situation:
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1) The boy was wrong. He misspelled the answer, which means the answer is wrong. End of story.
2) He still ended up in second place (by a good distance), which is where he would have ended up had he not misspelled the answer. So, in the end, he got the same prize either way.
I suppose that people are up in arms because Alex Trebek made the boy cry on national television, but Mr. Trebek didn’t actually make the boy cry. It’s not like Mr. Trebek stood there and taunted the boy or anything.
Also, the episode in question was taped months ago, so what will the social media protest really do for the boy? If people want to show him support, that is one thing. But to go on a rant about how Jeopardy is evil because it makes people provide correct answers seems silly to me.
The Cover Up Scandal
According to the ABC 2 News site, a bunch of women will be gathering at the American Airlines area at BWI on Wednesday morning to breastfeed their children in protest. Apparently, a woman on a recent flight was breastfeeding her child when a flight attendant asked the woman to cover up during the feeding. According to the story, the flight attendant was concerned about a 12-year-old girl in the same aisle witnessing the feeding. I am not sure why that was a concern, but the protest perplexes me for one reason.
American Airlines never told the woman that she couldn’t breastfeed. The woman was simply asked to cover herself during the feeding. She was not removed from the flight, banished from flying, arrested, or anything else.
So why protest? What will be accomplished? The airline already issued an apology, and it clearly has a policy that states that a breastfeeding woman does not have to cover up during the feeding if she does not want to do so.
So exactly what will be protest do? Will the protesters be breastfeeding without covering themselves? If that is the case, will they get offended if people stop and stare?
It all boggles the shallow mind, folks.
Believe me, I like the fact that we can protest freely in this country. I even support those people that say the things that make other people regret the fact that we can protest freely. But I would like to ask those that protest to do so for something that will make a difference in society. Bandwagons are easy to jump on, but maybe that isn’t such a good thing.