A Million Muslims vs. Two Million Bikers

Sounds like a post-apocalyptic straight-to-DVD movie, doesn't it?  The Muslims against The Bikers?  ["When you're a Jet you're a Jet all the way"... and all that]  But it really happened yesterday.  Sort of.  The “Million Muslim March” (MMM), recently renamed “Million Americans Against Fear”, faced off against the “Two Million Bikers To D.C. Ride” (TMB).  How did the Muslims and Bikers fare?  Let’s look.  

The MMM organizers got a DC march permit for 9-11-2013.  The TMB folks were denied one on very questionable grounds.  Those issues were finally resolved.  Give the Muslims a point for better lobbyists.  How else did they compare?

According to NBCWashington there were about 25 attendees at the Muslim rally.  No, not 25 mil or thou or even 25 hundred, just... 25.  That included Dr. Cornell West, an activist professor who craves the media spotlight, no matter how goofy the cause.  The Cornell West of Democratic Socialists of America, Christian at a Muslim rally (try that in Tahrir Square!), lion of hip hop, song and acting and other things that don't require a sweat investment.  But this isn't about him, so I'll go on.  

So fine, 25 people exercising their rights to peaceable assembly and free speech.  I'm sure I could make common cause with some of them.  Not a bad way at all to spend a nice September day in DC.  Good for them and good for West. 

That's the MMM speakers above.  Seven of them.  That means there were around 18 non-speaker attendees.  A small polite group that meant no harm and did none.  Probably more cops than marchers.

One other thing.  There were a buncha (perhaps unrelated and just cashing in on somebody else's event, to be fair) 9/11 Truthers at the MMM rally, like this one:

 

Yeah, Cheney.  Way to think it through, darlin'.  Effective sign, too.  Don't have to spend any money on sign stock that way.  "See you guys at the Muslim thing, OK?"

Nice day for a ride, too.  No permit (at first) but the bikers went on anyway, those scoff-laws.  How dare they ride on streets they paid for?  Here are a couple of 'em:

Time.com noted "... thousands of bikes overflowing out of rest stops and parking lots on their way to the event."  That's a whole lotta bikers.  The Washington Times noted about "... a third of a mile" of bikes. 

Go ahead, count the bikes if you wish.  You can stop when you get to 26.

An insignificant Muslim rally where nothing much was said by the mostly non-Muslim attendees.  A bunch of bikers huffing about their delusional self-important patriotism.  Why did this puddle of nothing get national attention?  Why did it get my attention?  Was there a statement to be made or a conclusion to be drawn?  I don't think so.  Most commenters and talking heads were jabbering just because that's what they do, make news instead of reporting it. 

My internet friend Dr. Russell Burgos, adjunct professor at a couple of big SoCal schools, and who is welcome to contribute a column here any time, wrote this:

"Two-Thousand Teabagger Ride commemorates 9/11 by pissing off tens of thousands of Washington DC-area residents trying to get to work or the grocery store. "Bikers with the group 'Two Million Bikers to D.C.' are snarling traffic on the Beltway."

I like reading Russell's comments and I miss his blogs.  He often makes me reconsider the things I believe or advocate for.  Derisive commentary is his forte and he's darn good at it.  If you're not paying close attention you're liable to just say "Wow, cool!" and nod your head.  So pay close attention.

"Two-Thousand" to diminish the number of TMB participants while overlooking the 25 MMM attendees.  "Teabagger" to make you think this was somehow a conservative political biker event.  (Is there such a thing?)  "Pissing off tens of thousands of Washington DC residents..."   OK, I'll have to concede that possibility but the same would have been true had anyone bothered to show up at the MMM.  They didn't, of course. 

There's gotta be a point here somewhere, doesn't there?  It's a warm late summer.  Baseball is winding up and fans are dwindling at most parks.  Football is on but it doesn't play well in the heat.  It's not a warm-weather game.  Sorry, that's just a personal peeve.

We're bored and we're scared at the same time.  War is on the horizon despite the prez's Nobel.  Poison gas attacks have been going on for months and we're just now offended by them and combat deaths in general.  

The Cabinet Departments are incestuous cesspools where failure is the norm.  Politicians repeat their crimes and hope we won't notice... again.  Gross incompetence and malfeasance are spun as achievement.

We need something to take our minds off our confused misery.  How about

The Muslims versus The Bikers!

Kinda makes you forget what 9/11 is really about, doesn't it?

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BTW, I could get more than 25 people to a lawn event with a few packages of hot dogs, buns and condiments.  "Hey!  Getcher free conservative hot dogs!  Over here!"  Maybe I could be an organizer for next year's MMM rally.

Conservative Hot Dog?  Not a bad name for a blog.  Hmmm.