Posted on 10/25/2003 5:13:26 PM PDT by Pyro7480
Here's your eyewitness report from today's successful rally/FReep. From the start, my day was interesting. After getting a shower and dressing, I left my house just south of Alexandria and walked to the Metro station. I wasn't even three blocks from my house when I saw an "anti-war" protester ride by on a bike with poster that was an anti-SUV, anti-war rant. He was on the same Metro train car as I was, but I didn't bother. I got off at Federal Center Metro station, and walked a surprising short distance to the rally site. It was already about 10:15. The Protest Warriors were already set up with their t-shirts and signs. The FReepers were also already ready with a stage, flags, and banners. The Guardian Angel group arrived shortly after I did, all dressed in their red hats and jackets.
The speech segment began with the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. Taxman, a mother of an active-duty Marine and Army soldiers, Harry Wu, a member of Accuracy in Media, and Bob Dornan spoke, while Kristnn spoke to news media. Bob Dornan's speech was really good, and he stated that he was really impressed with the Protest Warriors and their signs.
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 America," just to counter the shouting we were getting. From that point on, we were getting shouted down, and some of us debated the ANSWER supporters.
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. This continued until one of his buddies pulled him away and they walked away from us. 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 anyone marching by could see our signs. We got more insults thrown our away, and we even chanted "U-S-A," but the other side started adding their own chant, which was like "Our of Iraq" or something along those lines. We talked to some more on the other side, and that was relatively civil. One guy, not getting the slogan on my sign, point his finger in my face and said he was offended. A lot of them couldn't get the sarcasm or irony of our slogans. 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.
We had a great time talking about our collective experiences and our successfully completed mission. We had successfully demonstrated (again) the Left's great hypocracy. All of this was caught on video camera or photographs. The people who were shoved even filed police reports because of the assault on them. This should prove to be great material for the Protest Warrior site.
I hope you weren't too surprised that they couldn't get sarcasm or subtle messages on the signs... subtle.. haha
Doctor Raoul...
The D.C. chapter of Free Republic, an independent grass-roots conservative group, gathered a few dozen people at the U.S. Capitol to show support for Bush and the troops in Iraq.
"Whether or not the war should have started is a moot point," said Eric Campbell, a 32-year-old who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. "We have to stay if anything for the Iraqi people."
The D.C. chapter of Free Republic, an independent grass-roots conservative group, gathered a few dozen people at the U.S. Capitol to show support for Bush and the troops in Iraq.
"Whether or not the war should have started is a moot point," said Eric Campbell, a 32-year-old who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. "We have to stay if anything for the Iraqi people."
... and at the bottom of the article...
Several hundreds of people from a conservative group also rallied in Washington to express their support for the war in Iraq.People from the two countering demonstrations had verbal exchangesbut no physical conflict.
Ruben Israel, left, of Los Angeles, and Stephen James, right, of Somerset, Penn., heckle anti-war demonstrators as they march in Washington to protest the U.S. troops presence in Iraq (news - web sites) on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2003. The thousands strong march, labeled 'Bring the Troops Home Now, End the Occupation of Iraq,' was organized by the groups A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now To Stop War And Racism) and United For Peace And Justice. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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