2012-09-16
Protests Galore
This week at Friday prayers the theory being promoted was that the US government was behind some anti-Islamic video. It is amazing what the Islamic world will react to. This is a video created by American citizens, in America, where their freedom of speech is protected by American law. Why does the Islamic world complain about America interfering in "Muslim lands" when Muslims seem to have no problem with Muslims interfering in American lands, such as the embassy? And it's altogether insane, as there are far worse things than that video out there. I've seen photos of a Koran shoved in a dead pig's mouth, Mohammed with a hard-on for a little girl etc. I watched the video too and it is TAME compared to what freedom-loving Americans (and others) will do to emphasize the point that they are free to say whatever they damn well please, and have spent an enormous amount of effort to ensure those rights are protected by the deadliest military alliance to have ever existed.
Anyway, I was wearing my "I love Syria" (in Arabic) headband again, but still no-one chose to contact me. They might be shy like me too, but my website is written on there as well, so they can quietly contact me online. But still no contact! Anyway, on the way back to work I saw a member of the Navy, and I thanked him for putting his life on the line for freedom.
Given the somewhat success of the Auburn protests (I clearly touched hearts even though they didn't contact me), I decided to try again elsewhere in Auburn. I was under the impression that there were meant to be lots of Arabs in Auburn, but on Saturday, where I stood, opposite the train station, it was mostly Chinese. So I switched my headband around so that the Chinese symbols for "democracy" were at the front. Regrettably it was only later that I had the idea to (have a friend) write "Tiananmen Square is in my heart" in Chinese on the sign too.
Anyway, on Saturday one guy came up and shook my hand and said that we need more people like me in the world, which was certainly nice, but he didn't provide contact details so that I actually have an ally in this fight. Another said he didn't understand, so I explained, and he said I had got the wrong message. Another guy told me that I would get bashed here (Auburn) for doing that. I said that I thought most people here would be against Assad, but regardless, I was willing to take that risk. I only managed to last a couple of hours, and also managed to get sunburnt.
On Sunday I had the idea of going to Lakemba. That's where the Lakemba mosque is, that people seem to complain about. I didn't go to the mosque though, I went to what looked like the main street. An advantage of it being Sunday was that there was a shop I could stand in front of, because it was closed. The place was pretty desolate though. The only negative comment I got was from an Egyptian who said he was neutral, because Syria would end up like Egypt with one dictator being replaced by another dictator. I wouldn't classify Egypt as a dictatorship though. He also said that he would defend my right to free speech to the death. When I was talking to the Egyptian another guy came up and apparently spoke to me in Arabic. I didn't realise that had even happened. How cool is that? :-) The Egyptian told him that I didn't speak Arabic so he switched to English, and complained why were the Australian forces in Afghanistan and Iraq where they weren't wanted, instead of Syria where they are? I didn't tell him that I disagreed they weren't wanted in Afghanistan and Iraq, but instead just said that I would indeed pull the troops out and send them to Syria instead. That's just a matter of free world strategy though. Australians are replacable by other members of the free world, so we should be in a place where we have no replacement (for whatever reason outside of our control).
One lady with kids saw what I expect was the only thing she understood - the Arabic - and apparently asked her kids whether I supported Assad or not. I pointed to the "rebels" on my sign, but he didn't seem to understand that, so I said "Free Syrian Army". I'm still not sure he understood that, but they moved on, and a few seconds later the kid came back offering me $3. I told him thank you very much, but I'm not after money. That's one thing I can control. If I ever become successful, the left-wing ratbags will likely be saying that I'm a puppet of and that I'm only doing it for money. To avoid the charge of being a puppet, I can say that I was out there first, protesting AGAINST the Australian government with a policy that the US *doesn't* have. And I am after hearts, not money, so if people wish to donate, they can channel it directly to the causes I support, instead of to me. More on the causes later.
I got some thumbs up from motorists. But the best contact I had was from someone who walked by, then turned around and came back, to ask me if I was wanting to bomb the rebels. I was horrified at that suggestion, and explained my position. He said that he was talking about his friends about what could be done too, so I explained that I was starting a political party to try to get hold of the RAAF, and that I was also going to be touching base with the Australian Syrian Association. He said he had lots of friends and would put my website on his facebook wall. I asked him to make contact with me, and that I had several other people contact me at a previous protest, but they didn't contact me online. He wouldn't give me his phone number so that I could assure contact, but he did write down mine and said he would make contact.
But that actually reminds me of a quote from someone who I met protesting outside the Chinese consulate. She said:
"Thank you for writing so soon usually people say they will-but never do."
Maybe this is part of human nature - part of the puzzle that needs to be cracked. People will say something in real life, but there is some innate barrier preventing them from continuing online. Or maybe they're just all being assassinated by Jews, who the hell knows.
I then got a call from my Filipino contact. I'm trying to reform Christianity. She is setting up a new denomination of Christianity based on science/secular humanism. I am leveraging the price difference of the 1st world versus the 3rd world, by funding a church there. She needed some money for a tent so I sent it over using Western Union. Unfortunately I left my protest sign at the newsagency, then the newsagency closed. I was waiting at a barber to get a haircut (I get number 2 all over so it's very quick) when I realized. At the Arabic barber a Chinese guy came in looking for $3 from the barbers, who refused (quite rightly - they have to work hard for their money). But I decided to call him over and give him the requested $3 and asked him to read my website. He said he didn't have a computer, so I left it at that and he left. Then he came back and asked for my contact details, which I gave him. I have my contact details on a printout for exactly this purpose.
I decided to try some "Lebanese pizza" before heading home. It was "interesting". And the guy in the shop liked the Arabic rap I played for him too.
On the way home I got confused with the trains and complained to someone that the trains were confusing (two platforms going in the same direction). She asked me what I was doing here, and I said I was protesting, but I lost my protest sign. She said she wasn't aware of any protest, and I said it was a one-man protest. I asked her if she knew Arabic and she confirmed that she was Lebanese. I showed her my headband (I had taken off my headband before going into private enterprises, and not put it back on), and asked her if she knew what it said, and she got it right. I love to get independent confirmation like that. When I was protesting at the NSW state elections (for Libya), there were some terrible people there from another party, and they said that my headband said something very insulting in Arabic. I only put it back on when the Labor party representative (a Korean) asked an Arabic speaker in the Labor party to confirm the translation was what I had requested (ie "I love Libya"). Anyway, I gave the girl my website and asked her to contact me, and she said she would check it out.
I'm not sure if I will continue protesting. The loss of the sign looks like a sign from God. But more important than unverifiable religious speculation is the damning quote "usually people say they will-but never do". I'm an online guy. I made a decision a long time ago that anyone without a computer and modem wasn't worth knowing, to simplify my life. And indeed, that decision allowed me to make massive efficient progress. But given what I am trying to do now, I might need to revise that decision. Mainly this facet of human nature being enthusiastic in real life, but disappearing like a vampire when getting home, makes me think I need to adjust strategy. Maybe not pin people down and beat a phone number out of them, but something. Or perhaps I should stick with online people until I know enough to meet them in real life? The big problem I have is that I don't meet many Australians online, and when I do, they're normally left-wing ratbags, so I don't have any easy way to access the 50% of Australians who supported the Iraq war (according to polls). Perhaps the church is the right way forward. It seems that there is a different culture there that allows an audience to form. In Australia, the churches are virtually empty. Which is a good thing since they're just money-making ventures.
One thing I should note - I would never have gotten out of the house to explore these different suburbs if I didn't have protesting as a reason. I'm not very adventurous like that. Just getting on the train and going to Lakemba was a major outing for an online guy like me.
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Anyway, I was wearing my "I love Syria" (in Arabic) headband again, but still no-one chose to contact me. They might be shy like me too, but my website is written on there as well, so they can quietly contact me online. But still no contact! Anyway, on the way back to work I saw a member of the Navy, and I thanked him for putting his life on the line for freedom.
Given the somewhat success of the Auburn protests (I clearly touched hearts even though they didn't contact me), I decided to try again elsewhere in Auburn. I was under the impression that there were meant to be lots of Arabs in Auburn, but on Saturday, where I stood, opposite the train station, it was mostly Chinese. So I switched my headband around so that the Chinese symbols for "democracy" were at the front. Regrettably it was only later that I had the idea to (have a friend) write "Tiananmen Square is in my heart" in Chinese on the sign too.
Anyway, on Saturday one guy came up and shook my hand and said that we need more people like me in the world, which was certainly nice, but he didn't provide contact details so that I actually have an ally in this fight. Another said he didn't understand, so I explained, and he said I had got the wrong message. Another guy told me that I would get bashed here (Auburn) for doing that. I said that I thought most people here would be against Assad, but regardless, I was willing to take that risk. I only managed to last a couple of hours, and also managed to get sunburnt.
On Sunday I had the idea of going to Lakemba. That's where the Lakemba mosque is, that people seem to complain about. I didn't go to the mosque though, I went to what looked like the main street. An advantage of it being Sunday was that there was a shop I could stand in front of, because it was closed. The place was pretty desolate though. The only negative comment I got was from an Egyptian who said he was neutral, because Syria would end up like Egypt with one dictator being replaced by another dictator. I wouldn't classify Egypt as a dictatorship though. He also said that he would defend my right to free speech to the death. When I was talking to the Egyptian another guy came up and apparently spoke to me in Arabic. I didn't realise that had even happened. How cool is that? :-) The Egyptian told him that I didn't speak Arabic so he switched to English, and complained why were the Australian forces in Afghanistan and Iraq where they weren't wanted, instead of Syria where they are? I didn't tell him that I disagreed they weren't wanted in Afghanistan and Iraq, but instead just said that I would indeed pull the troops out and send them to Syria instead. That's just a matter of free world strategy though. Australians are replacable by other members of the free world, so we should be in a place where we have no replacement (for whatever reason outside of our control).
One lady with kids saw what I expect was the only thing she understood - the Arabic - and apparently asked her kids whether I supported Assad or not. I pointed to the "rebels" on my sign, but he didn't seem to understand that, so I said "Free Syrian Army". I'm still not sure he understood that, but they moved on, and a few seconds later the kid came back offering me $3. I told him thank you very much, but I'm not after money. That's one thing I can control. If I ever become successful, the left-wing ratbags will likely be saying that I'm a puppet of
I got some thumbs up from motorists. But the best contact I had was from someone who walked by, then turned around and came back, to ask me if I was wanting to bomb the rebels. I was horrified at that suggestion, and explained my position. He said that he was talking about his friends about what could be done too, so I explained that I was starting a political party to try to get hold of the RAAF, and that I was also going to be touching base with the Australian Syrian Association. He said he had lots of friends and would put my website on his facebook wall. I asked him to make contact with me, and that I had several other people contact me at a previous protest, but they didn't contact me online. He wouldn't give me his phone number so that I could assure contact, but he did write down mine and said he would make contact.
But that actually reminds me of a quote from someone who I met protesting outside the Chinese consulate. She said:
"Thank you for writing so soon usually people say they will-but never do."
Maybe this is part of human nature - part of the puzzle that needs to be cracked. People will say something in real life, but there is some innate barrier preventing them from continuing online. Or maybe they're just all being assassinated by Jews, who the hell knows.
I then got a call from my Filipino contact. I'm trying to reform Christianity. She is setting up a new denomination of Christianity based on science/secular humanism. I am leveraging the price difference of the 1st world versus the 3rd world, by funding a church there. She needed some money for a tent so I sent it over using Western Union. Unfortunately I left my protest sign at the newsagency, then the newsagency closed. I was waiting at a barber to get a haircut (I get number 2 all over so it's very quick) when I realized. At the Arabic barber a Chinese guy came in looking for $3 from the barbers, who refused (quite rightly - they have to work hard for their money). But I decided to call him over and give him the requested $3 and asked him to read my website. He said he didn't have a computer, so I left it at that and he left. Then he came back and asked for my contact details, which I gave him. I have my contact details on a printout for exactly this purpose.
I decided to try some "Lebanese pizza" before heading home. It was "interesting". And the guy in the shop liked the Arabic rap I played for him too.
On the way home I got confused with the trains and complained to someone that the trains were confusing (two platforms going in the same direction). She asked me what I was doing here, and I said I was protesting, but I lost my protest sign. She said she wasn't aware of any protest, and I said it was a one-man protest. I asked her if she knew Arabic and she confirmed that she was Lebanese. I showed her my headband (I had taken off my headband before going into private enterprises, and not put it back on), and asked her if she knew what it said, and she got it right. I love to get independent confirmation like that. When I was protesting at the NSW state elections (for Libya), there were some terrible people there from another party, and they said that my headband said something very insulting in Arabic. I only put it back on when the Labor party representative (a Korean) asked an Arabic speaker in the Labor party to confirm the translation was what I had requested (ie "I love Libya"). Anyway, I gave the girl my website and asked her to contact me, and she said she would check it out.
I'm not sure if I will continue protesting. The loss of the sign looks like a sign from God. But more important than unverifiable religious speculation is the damning quote "usually people say they will-but never do". I'm an online guy. I made a decision a long time ago that anyone without a computer and modem wasn't worth knowing, to simplify my life. And indeed, that decision allowed me to make massive efficient progress. But given what I am trying to do now, I might need to revise that decision. Mainly this facet of human nature being enthusiastic in real life, but disappearing like a vampire when getting home, makes me think I need to adjust strategy. Maybe not pin people down and beat a phone number out of them, but something. Or perhaps I should stick with online people until I know enough to meet them in real life? The big problem I have is that I don't meet many Australians online, and when I do, they're normally left-wing ratbags, so I don't have any easy way to access the 50% of Australians who supported the Iraq war (according to polls). Perhaps the church is the right way forward. It seems that there is a different culture there that allows an audience to form. In Australia, the churches are virtually empty. Which is a good thing since they're just money-making ventures.
One thing I should note - I would never have gotten out of the house to explore these different suburbs if I didn't have protesting as a reason. I'm not very adventurous like that. Just getting on the train and going to Lakemba was a major outing for an online guy like me.
# posted by Paul Edwards @ 17:57 
