Pageant

by alistair

not protest.

pageant
noun
1 an elaborate public spectacle illustrative of the history of a place, institution, or the like, often given in dramatic form or as a procession of colorful floats.
2 a costumed procession, masque, allegorical tableau, or the like forming part of public or social festivities.
3 a show or exhibition, especially one consisting of a succession of participants or events. (e.g. a beauty pageant.)
4 something comparable to a procession in colorful variety, splendor, or grandeur.
5 a pretentious display or show that conceals a lack of real importance or meaning.

Definition 5 is apropos.

Viewed:	30 times
Added:	2 weeks, 5 days ago 25 Jun 2025 04:44 CEST

7 Comments on this Journal

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KevinSnowpaw

2 weeks, 4 days ago

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*raises finger to add or say something then lowers it...*

.... Actually Yes! This is a frighteningly apt description of...several recent "protests" bought and paid for by the kind of people those useful idiots would normally be happy to protest against...but orange man bad and thinking is hard so...

alistair

2 weeks, 4 days ago

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@ KevinSnowpaw

It is generally applicable, I say.  "Pretentious" is a word that has gained a narrow meaning in modern usage, but I see the participants of these pageants as exhibiting a large amount of pretention in their behaviors.

pretention
noun
1. the laying of a claim to something.  (Synonyms: profession, assertion)
2. a claim or title to something.
3. Often "pretensions"; a claim made, especially indirectly or by implication, to some quality, merit, or the like.  (e.g. They laughed at my pretensions to superior judgment.)
4. a claim to dignity, importance, or merit.
5. pretentiousness.  (Synonyms: pretense, airs, affectation)
6. the act of pretending or alleging.
7. an allegation of doubtful veracity.
8. a pretext.  (Synonyms: excuse)

Many people today, in many places, are engaged in conspicuous, pretentious pagentry for this or that cause.  "Pride is Protest!"  No, dears, you're just carrying that idea as a pretention to justify your own shallow, narcissistic and boistrous pagentry.

Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

wollypegger

2 weeks, 3 days ago

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@ KevinSnowpaw

And of course it's government money being used to pay for those protests in addition news reports attempting to make it seem like the criminals are the victims.

ThaPig

2 weeks, 4 days ago

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If you are paid to march, you are not a protester, you're a performer.
( ᐢ (oo) ᐢ )

ThaPig

2 weeks, 4 days ago

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I was involved in politics during the 80s and 90s. I took part in a few protests, both real and fake. In my experience, a gathering of more than a dozen angry guys will break out or turn on itself following the laws of chaos. Every time you see an organized protest, someone is paying for it.

It doesn't always mean every individual protester was handed a paycheck; anger can be as effective as money when it comes to wrangling the masses. But trust me, the affair is never free.

Being the artistic type, I was often in charge of propaganda. I remember once we received a memo stating the signs carried at previous protests didn't look very natural. We were instructed to add some misspellings and vulgar language in the next batch so they looked more like spontaneous expressions of the common folk.

On another occasion, there was a riot. It looked like your average angry mob, kicking around dumpsters and breaking up stuff. Then I suggested trashing a business owned by one of the cause's enemies. A guy next to me said a very authoritative "No!" and then, "We'll do that at night." That was someone whose job was to keep the disorder controlled and ensure that only approved targets were hit, and I'm sure he wasn't alone. There must have been a few more planted around the crowd. Of course, nothing happened that night to that guy's property, and I know he paid for that.

So, are there genuine protests which are not just a paid pantomime? Of course there are... you just will never hear of them. Once there was a really nasty incident where the police used tear gas and then their sticks to beat people into a pulp. Many ended up with bruises and even broken bones. They were particularly vicious, I saw three cops continuing to beat a man who was already lying on the floor. CNN, Fox, and all other news were there, with their vans and cameras. The next day there was a press conference, and the president said, "Nobody was hurt."

Every media outlet repeated: "Nobody was hurt."

I suspect that's the time I witnessed a real, unplanned protest against authority.

alistair

2 weeks, 3 days ago

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@ ThaPig

Indeed. There are protests and protests. Some (most?) protests aren't about accomplishing a direct goal, but instead about weaving a narrative fabric as one arm of a broader strategy. They don't go aggressively kinetic, because the goal isn't to actually accomplish anything concrete with the protest. Thus the coordinators and corrupt political officers.

The "nobody was hurt" protests? Those are beat down and silenced by the powers specifically because they intend to accomplish something real. TPTB get really, really scared by true, kinetic protest.

ThaPig

2 weeks, 3 days ago

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@ alistair

I assume neither of the parties had anything invested in that particular cause, so it was swept under the rug
¯\_( •́ (oo) •̀ )_/¯

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