Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Volume 31, No. 25. October 8, 1968

Protest

Protest

Sir-"The Green Berets" was a stupid and pathetic film, but I think I would almost prefer the inanities of John Wayne's sickening patriotism to the ill considered and equally pathetic attempt of some students to register their protest against it.

The argument against the American, and New Zealand Government's action in Vietnam is overwhelming on legal, moral, and even military grounds. Action should be taken against anything that can be associated with it. But in this case "action" consisted of foot stamping, with obscenities and other remarks being yelled at the screen. The yelling was not even in appropriate places, the German-speaking American soldiers at the beginning, for example, not causing the Obvious comparison. This type of activity can only react to the disadvantage of the anti-war movement in general, and students in particular.

I would venture to suggest a reasonable protest in this case could have consisted of a small demonstration outside the theatre at the Friday 8pm session, with possibly a petition to the manager asking him to stop screening it. Perhaps this is not very exciting, but it would make the point without evincing the hostility of others -as this behaviour did. If some person had felt really bad about the matter they could have attempted a sit-in the foyer, and no doubt have demonstrated to the general public that our police are every bit as efficient as these in Chicago.

David Cropp.