Give Protesters Respect, Not Lies.

by: MeanRachel

Thu Feb 21, 2008 at 04:15 PM CST

The sentiment was echoed repeatedly, as it has been over the course of the years and particularly during this 2008 election season, that while civil rights have progressed in leaps in bounds over the years, even in the days of "Yes we can" and "Si se puede," minority groups are still having to fight for their rights.

Following the wake of the historic march, Larry Joe Doherty issued a press release commending the students of Prairie View and publicly recording his support of their efforts.  Larry Joe Doherty, who has earned the endorsements of the Black Austin Democrats and the Houston Black American Democrats, not only marched the entire seven miles with the scholars but afterwards spent time serving up bar-b-que and talking to the students themselves.  BOR writers also recorded entries on the emotional march, lauding the protesters for their activism.

However, Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex chose to instead focus his efforts on a bizarre attack on Larry Joe Doherty's appearance at the march with a libelous, inaccurate and uninformed blog entry.  

Mr. Leibowitz wrote the following in his blog entry entitled "CD 10: Larry Joe Doherty Is No Civil Rights Leader, Asks If He Can 'Speak Dog' At Prairie View":
 

What's worse, during his campaign appearance yesterday at Prairie View, in front of thousands of people and at the mic, Doherty said, "I guess I should speak 'dog,' right? It's ok to speak 'dog'?"  One has to wonder what in the hell that is supposed to mean.

One does wonder what that means, as Mr. Leibowitz is clearly implying that Doherty was somehow demeaning the students.  One also wonders how someone like Mr. Leibowitz can simultaneously have advertisements for Dan Grant on his blog, and how Dan Grant himself can link to Mr. Leibowitz's blog from his own campaign website, while also offering "fair" assessments on the character of Dan Grant's opponent.

If one had attended the march, one would have known that Doherty, along with his bailiff from the Texas Justice TV show, William Bowers, spent the afternoon serving Slovacek sausage links (sometimes also known as "hot dogs") to the hungry protesters, no doubt hungry food and justice after the seven-mile trek.  The emcee announced that Larry Joe Doherty was there serving Campbell's dogs, saying, "We're talking dogs here" -- at which point Doherty got on the microphone and said, "We're not talking Campbell's, we're talking Slovacek.  But we're still talking dogs."  This is a simple explanation for a serious accusation -- an accusation that was not only unfounded but slanderous.

The change that these students were marching for -- the change that Larry Joe Doherty himself marched for, and the change that Americans will be voting for this election year -- goes beyond voting booths and registration cards.  They were marching for continued civil rights that minorities have been due since the beginning of time and the inception of America, where people are encouraged to speak their minds and allowed an opportunity to live freely.  This change has been hindered by the lies of politicians and the selfishness of those who choose to turn American's attention away from the real issues -- issues that affect lives and human hearts -- to an empty shell of rhetoric that only serves to further one's own political preferences.  CapitolAnnex and Mr. Leibowitz have done voters and protesters a huge injustice in reporting the Prairie View A&M University march.  Mr. Leibowitz should be ashamed for shoving aside something as powerful and important as the march in Prairie View on Tuesday to instead focus on making false allegations and sniping remarks.  This does no service to the core issue that the students were marching for, and it is precisely this sort of smoke and mirrors diversion for one's own selfish gains that continues to hold back the advancement of civil rights.