[Jen]

Members of ProtestWarrior.com

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Unbelievable. But not surprising.

Security personnel=gang

[chicagolady]

Wish I was there!

Kudos to the wonderful, active, Washington D.C. Freepers!

Taxman are you all right?

[diotima]

Ping!

[concentric circles]

Pregame warmup:

LETS PLAY TWO!!! D.C. CHAPTER Vs. ANSWER DOUBLEHEADER, OCT. 25 IN D.C.

[Pyro7480]

Here's your eyewitness report. I was with the Protest Warriors when they left the FR rally, right at the end of Bob Dornan's speech. They actually started out later than they had planned. We marched all the way to the other side of the Washington Monument, to the area near the ANSWER stage, close to Constitution Avenue. The main body of the PW group arrived together, while some who walked more slowly arrived soon afterwards. In the "wave" I was part of, there was a spur-of-the-moment singing of "God Bless of America," just to counter the shouting we were getting.

When we got there, things soon got out of hand. Many of the "peace marchers" talked peacefully with us, but when the "security volunteers" arrived in their florescent vests, they began to use a yellow-colored rope (not a tape) to start to rope us off. When more of them tricked into our area, some of the other protesters must have began to felt "safe," so they began to harrass us. One of "security volunteers" actually tried to grab one person's sign, and when that proved unsuccessful, he ripped a large portion of the poster on the sign. The pregnant woman mentioned was shoved, but not really injured.

When enough of their security showed up, they locked their arms together and started driving us towards Constitution Avenue. By this time, I had had enough, and I started giving the "security guards" a Nazi salute, because in reality, they were acting like Brownshirts. One Park Police officer had already arrived and was talking to both sides. Then many more officers arrived on foot and from nearby vehicles and forced us out to the other side of Constitution Avenue. Officers on motorcycles showed up and formed a barrier between us and the "peace" marchers. We formed a line behind the officers so that they could see our signs. We left around 3:30, and walked to the Mall area so that Alan and Kfir could collect the signs, and then proceeded to walk to the Hard Rock Cafe for an early dinner.

[FreedomCalls]

"...there was one unconfirmed report of a pregnant female counter-protester being injured in the fracas."

My fracas hurts just thinking about it.

[Incorrigible]

Bump!

[RightOnline]

I guarantee some of their "security personnel" would be spitting teeth and blood. I wouldn't put up with this shit for two seconds.

[Valin]

The counter-protesters stood quietly holding their signs aloft.

Well there you go! I mean how much abuse can A.N.S.W.E.R be expected to take? It's obviously a case of self-defense on their part.

[Valin]

The counter-protesters stood quietly holding their signs aloft.

Well there you go! I mean how much abuse can A.N.S.W.E.R be expected to take? It's obviously a case of self-defense on their part.

[DollyCali]

I had a hard time finding this thread & the other on Post report AJ. (But that is nothing new, I am still learning my way around the forum.. slow learner , I guess)

Here is link to other thread I found fisrt & also posted at. I was very curious as I wanted to be there but found out to late & had other plans that could not be changed.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1008076/posts

OUTSTANDING JOB ALL OF YOU !!!! ....

I feel badly you encountered actual physical hostility. THe peace lovers surely show their true colors quickly don't they? I do hope all OF YOU are ok & esp the pg woman mentioned

Thank you for pictures... Keep up good work. I hope to be with you all next time!!!

[ladyinred]

The Peaceful ones show their true colors again. They are not the least bit interested in peace, but then, we knew that already. Apparently the media is pretending not to however, as CSPAN et al showed their disgusting display of HATE over and over today. Hope our team is okay, anyone heard?

[Voice in your head]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but what good does protesting do? There are protests nearly everyday, it seems, for damn near any cause that you can think of. It seems like nothing more than a filler for the local news, when they have a slow news day. Whenever I hear about another protest, I think of Rosie O'Donnell getting interviewed by Bill O'Reilly, when she explained why she wasn't going to march in some lezbo-pride protest, because so-and-so didn't march in some gun-control protest. She thinks that protesting equals a legitimate action towards a desired end.

What is accomplished by walking around in public with some sign or banner? Does it change anyone's mind? Does it affect how people vote? Is it just fun?

[Taxman]

Ping

[Arpege92]

This is shocking, just shocking! NOT!!!

[Exit148]

I thought one of the questions was a concern of safety in having a 'counter rally' at the same time there was an 'opposition rally.' ----- No problem! Our rally was a good distance fron the ANSWER crowd. AAMOF, all I saw was the occasional police officer near our area, and one motorcycle officer who remained on site. The police were obviously not concerned, and I never felt a concern either.

At the parade site, we were well protected. The police were in force. I walked the streets, among the ANSWER people groups, to get to the parade site, (dressed with my flag scarf, flag pins, buttons, Pro-Bush stickers and carrying my poster) ---- and never felt danger. Of course I never met any of the ANSWER security, either. The 'anti' people are obnoxious, but for the most part harmless. They were concerned with their own image and ignored me.

As far as how successful were we in getting our message to the media? Others have answered that quite well. But there is also the opportunity of direct contact with the media, when you are on hand during these rallies. I was able to get my thoughts out on why I was there --- both at the rally and at Pershing Park. Where else or when would I ever have a chance to get the undivided attention of a reporter/photographer as I did, and spout off, answering their leading questions with my own thoughts. Not at home certainly.

How effective were our small numbers? Not all people in DC were down at the ANSWER rally. Many walked by our gathering, stopped and listened to the various speakers, before they moved on. You should have seen how many stopped when Curtis Sliwa had the mike!! We were a distance from the road, so couldn't see any thumbs-up from passing cars, but we could hear the deep-long honks from trucks - many of them.

How effective was ANSWER? Those who were curious, that lined the sidewalks, saw the same spectacles as I did. Sure, there were little families, and fine people who disliked war, who were marchers, but for the most part, anyone who had an agenda was there, and their appearance and actions did nothing to bring approval of ANSWER to regular American people.

As 'A Great Per' said, we laughed till we almost p**d our pants. One group was funnier/more obnoxious/more outrageous that the other. All losers. We were a good alternative.

[TaxRelief]

It is so easy to get a permit. Please get permits for freeps!

[Taxman]

Pingeroooooo!