Florida Chapters Discussions

[Fearless Flyers]

Hey All,

I started this thread because I notice the Profile Page sometimes gets filled up with personal comments not always relevant to Free Republic activities in Florida. This makes it more time consuming and difficult to find events in our local area.

Like any family we don’t always share the same views and we have our disagreements. I thought if we started a thread like this, we would have a place to vent our frustrations and address individual members making it easier for us to get to know each other on a personal level. Hopefully this will help us gain a better understanding and respect for each other.

I was thinking if we have issues with something about the people or subjects on the Florida Profile page we could post them on this thread and bump the relevant people. Though it would proably still be better to use the freep mail. This will keep the Profile page easier to navigate and keep important activities from getting bumped to the bottom of the page.

I have a few more things I could add here but I’m busy in photoshop right now editing the Hollywood counter protest, so I kind of rushed through this post.

Some of you may not know I am one of the few registered Democrats in the Florida Chapter, but most of you probably know I don’t tow the line of either political parties agenda.

Thanks for considering this idea,

Sincerely Matthew

[smalltowns]

Hey FF,
This thread is a good idea but I deleted my comments before coming to your thread here so wont try to repeat them. The subject was to what extent the Support Our Troops rallies should be organized as politicized events- with agendas that promote domestic issues like gun-control, foreign relation issues like Castro, and other peripheral threads which create an environment that is not inviting to lots of people who would otherwise like to join in.

That's why I think our rally in Stuart is a great model since there is no agenda beyond demonstrating in own way- support for the troops, their mission and the president. No one is in charge, no sponsors and constant excitement and gratification as the demonstrators and drive-by traffic get to interact and reinforce that common theme. The result is
an inclusive, grassroots, high-energy event that truly expresses the overwhelming support and thanks our community sends to the troops and our allies via local media and a website that has galleries of pictures families can email to the deployed- http://www.artfightingterror.org

In contrast, I watched the first half of the April 12 "Rally For America" in D.C. and as an independent who has thoroughly supported Operation Iraqi Freedom and am activist against the "Peace" and "anti-war" movement I was still put off by the degree to which the program was politicized to promote far right-wing agendas. I mean- was it helpful for G. Gorden Liddy, refering to America's war on terrorism, to instruct the audience that- "this IS a crusade against militant Islam"- reviving a word the administration has since tried to forget in it's foreign policy rhetoric. This- just preceeding an Iraqi dissidant
presumably a Moslem, thanking America for bringing down the Saddam regime and freeing his people and expressing the hope that Americans and Iraqis can be friends.

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[Fearless Flyers]

Hey Small Towns,

I think I understand your feelings and have many times found myself attending rallies that were misrepresented by the announcements that advertise them.

I’m not sure if the D.C. events are a fair representation of your concerns, only because I have always considered the District one of the most partisan communities in our Nation. From what I understood about the rally you refer to, G. Gordon Liddy was one of chief sponsors, he is a nationally syndicated radio host who has never failed to make his opinions clear, so people should have known what to expect of the event before they arrived. If they were surprised by his views then they received a much needed education on the importance of being an informed individual when taking a stand for their positions.

I think it is important when we announce the rallies we are as informative as possible about the sponsors, this helps to prevent participants from being alienated when they arrive.

I find that when I attend events with honesty and sincerity and present my views with respect for others who have opposing agendas, I’m treated with respect and people at least listen to my thoughts.

As our Nation tries to unite in support of our troops and the war on terror, many people feel their interpretation of the Constitution is a relevant issue and believe a faulty interpretation of the Constitution is what has forced our Nation into the position it is in today. Not surprisingly you will see that Foreign Policy, the 2nd amendment and opposition to the U.N. in favor of National Sovereignty take a strong position at these events.

[NonValueAdded]

Hello, I'll move my reply into this thread as well, reducing the "clutter" on the announcement board. HOWEVER, whenever or wherever I see a post with something I think is incorrect or objectionable, especially in keeping with the focus of FR, I will respond in situ. I should also point out that smalltowns has revised and extended his/her original post as presented above in this thread. I'll conjecture that it was in small part due to my criticism, to illustrate my point about replies in context.

Here is my original post from the Florida forum, unaltered:

Smalltowns, I don't follow your point. Where does the message about Ocala say it is "exclusively Republican"? Yes, a speaker is from FFYR, but that hardly makes it "exclusive". Why don't you contact the FFYD and ask them to propose a speaker, if you are so concerned? Some of the agenda items could be considered Republican but I do recall seeing mention of them in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Feel free to attend and carry a sign stating your objections, celebrating Amendment #1 instead of #2 if you want. I'll bet you would be safer doing that at an "exclusively Republican" gathering than at a Democratic one. Those peaceniks would rip you apart!

[smalltowns]

And I remember the part of my reply to your post saying-
yeah you're right that I'd be chopped liver at a FFYD and that's why I'm hanging out with the FReeps at least until the duration.