After-Action Report: Nashville, TN

Nashville | 3-20-04 | wolicy_ponk

[wolicy_ponk]

NRT's Report- Wolicy_Ponk, radu and Mr. radu; wardaddy with sweet virginia and their future Freepers, Reformed Beckite and myself had a great time standing tall for our service people and representing the face of civilized conservatism this Saturday while a few hundred A.N.S.W.E.R.-sponsored “Stop the War” activists marched by. Hippies and beatniks, obviously gay couples, misled elderly people: you name it and they were represented. Ragtag as we were, none of their parade stepped beyond the point of casting a few verbal barbs. Some looked downright ashamed to be seen by us as they walked behind the strange neo-tribal drummer and his chanting comrades who shared the same glazed expressions.

Time and again middle aged fellows stopped to tell us that they were also veterans and supported the troops. We did not shame them; we responded that no one wants war and we’d also prefer a peaceful world where our loved ones weren’t facing danger. This seemed to surprise a few who may have been led to believe we breakfasted on babies and were looking at them for lunch. We also supported their right to express themselves while pointing out why they have that right.

Nashville’s Channel 2 News got the jump on me for some stumbling comments. Fox 17 got far better responses from wardaddy that hopefully make up for that, so catch their broadcasts today if you can (he’s just that good). The Tennessean newspaper reporter took down a lot of notes; hopefully she will publish a fair and unbiased account.

Freeper wolicy_ponk saved the day by coming prepared with extra flags and signage, even giving a few American flags to some passing skateboarders. Not only does he fight fires in his hometown, he comes through for folks on his spare time.

I especially thank Mr. John Smith (real name), a non-member who came out on his own all the way from Clarksville to support the troops when he heard about the liberal’s march.

One of their protestors stopped to inform us that we surprised them with our open and friendly manner. Apparently a group of religious types on their opposite side got physical and had to be restrained by law enforcement. We made sure he knew we had nothing to do with that.

While it would have been great if more people would have attended I feel we more than made up for that on a quality versus quantity basis. Don’t flame us too badly if we get a hatchet job from the media; we did our best.
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Wardaddy's Report-
Quickie on the Counter Freep today in Nashville...kudos to New Rome Tacitus for the alert!

There were maybe 150 A.N.S.W.E.R. protestors here in Nashville today. They appeared to be about 85-90% professional protestors doing the circuit. Sort of a Deadhead/Rainbow People/Burning Man/Queer Nation bunch. There may have been 10-15% locals including a few Vandy lefties and a handful of conventional liberals.

We had a rather small group of FReepers to counter at the courthouse. There were about 10 of us including spouses. The marchers were fairly antagonistic and hostile which I always find comical since they constantly shout their peace and love histrionics. We all kept our cool and got some pretty fair media attention (I hope) including local FOX of course.

I confess I was surprised at the obvious ragtag professional agitator status of nearly all the marchers. I really expected more local normal looking folks. These folks looked mostly like young know nothing anarchists dopers, aging hippie dopers and a fair amount of fat lesbian couples and a few homosexual couples and a handful of normal looking "yellow dogs". And one or two blacks in the bunch in a city that's 20% black.....that tells you something about this gang.

We all got a lot more honks than they did and the police gave subtle sympathy nods our way.

My main point in the interviews aside from support for out troops and president was to plead with the local media to take a look at the sponsors of the marchers and to report on that.

I did get several reporters to admit to me that "yes, they did look like outsiders and chronic agitator types". The fact that the national media treats this "movement" like a real grass roots swell angers me. It is anything but that. It is the same old bastards we have been dealing with since Trotsky behind this.

Man, I am so glad I don't live in Santa Cruz or Eugene or Cambridge where I'd have to look at them all the time. IN Nashville, if we avoid Tower Records at Vandy or the coffee shoppes around Vandy or Belmont...we will rarely encounter the unwashed naive idiots.
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My report (Wolicy_ponk)

WKRN put footage with the images of our American flags (I knew they were ours because they had my 3/4" PVC poles with caps) with the anti-war protest segment.

Radu and I made the 5 o'clock news.
She stated that we were there to support the troops.
I was identified as 'Ben Freeping' and they did use the best part of my comments "They aren't anti-war, they're just anti-bush."
I almost wet myself from laughing so hard.
I wonder what the Tennessean will have about it tomarrow since the gal from there spent some time speaking to wardaddy and me and took copious amounts of notes. Oh well. That's about it, NRT and Wardaddy have said it better than I could with probalbly fewer words. I wish that we had some more people there too, but as a wise man once told me, 'It isn't Christmas every day'.

You guys that were able to make it did an OUTSTANDING JOB. I was proud to stand with each of you.

Salute.

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Oops, I almost forgot the obligatory comic relief photo:

The "Usual Suspects"

[radu]

No argument from me! LOL! His wife and children are just as charming. It was great getting to meet them and the others and we look forward to seeing them again at future FReeps.

[wardaddy]

Thanks...where ya been?

[wolicy_ponk]

No regrets, bert.
Fayetteville was a biggie.
You could say that you were our delegate and ambassador to NC.
I salute you, you stood in Fayetteville for us.
Thanks.

[zip]

You all are having too much fun.

THANK YOU FOR STANDING TALL FOR AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, AND OUR PRESIDENT.

FR Quality over leftist quantity EVERY TIME.

[zip]

You and your family make me proud to be a FReeper. I always look forward to tahe followups and pictures of our pro America FReeps. Thanks for being there.

[wardaddy]

Thanks and God bless ya!

[Fledermaus]

WTG!

I live in Franklin...please keep me informed on any future activity!

[Fledermaus]

....I don't know why I have that stupid grin on my mug!

One look at your wife and kids and I know why! lol You married up for sure! (ducks)

[Fledermaus]

450? It's now up to 450? Your report said about 150 and I saw 2 local news shows saying 250.

Figures the Tennessean would bump up that number. But it's not surprising since the media DOWNPLAYED the number we had in Centennial Park a year ago for our support for the troops and President before the battle for Iraq started.

They threw around 1,000 or so when it was clear we had more than 3,000-4,000 there!

[radu]

You all are having too much fun.

Hey! Y'all have been having all the fun and it's our turn to join in. LOL!! I've watched you and the other mid-MO. FReepers each weekend for how long now? *grin* Y'all are great teachers on how to FReep.

Hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and standing with the others and countering the useful idiots. I'm hooked, and ready to do it again! LOL!! You know how I feel about our troops and veterans, zip,.....it's an honor to to stand up in support of y'all. *HUGZ*

[radu]

The Tennessean definitely inflated the numbers of the lefties. There were NOT 450. IF there were 200, I'd be surprised.

We were ticked off last year when they downplayed the numbers at the support rally at Centennial Park. We were there, too, and know the crowd was much larger. Darned media. grrrrrrr!

[NewRomeTacitus]

I did a rough count...somewhere between 180 and 220. Figuring 33 of them for each one of us makes it almost fair...
to them.

It's one thing to know the media is biased and quite another to see it in action. I was happy to see the press's disappointment when you and wardaddy refused to be led by their leading comments and made your points clearly and rationally (compared to the tightly edited ramblings of the left).

You and w.d. really put over to the average Joes which side has their heads free of posterior ensconcement, much to the reporters' obvious dismay. That was priceless!

[wolicy_ponk]

I agree on the numbers.

Here's some more comic relief...

[Blood of Tyrants]

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/03/48624680.shtml?Element_ID=48624680

About 450 march, mark one-year anniversary of Iraq war

By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer

Beating drums and carrying signs calling the Iraq war unjust and President Bush a liar, about 450 people held a rally yesterday marking the one-year anniversary of the war.

The event drew a mix of people — from teenagers wearing tie-dyed shirts and peace signs to older people in somber clothing as a sign of mourning for victims of the war, to middle-aged veterans wearing caps and pins from their old uniforms.

''I'm not a pacifist, but I believe that war is the last resort and it should be used for our defense, not in a unilateral attack to promote imperial America,'' said Inglewood's John Bohonis, who said he is a Vietnam veteran and member of the Veterans for Peace group. ''After 9/11, the world was with us to fight terrorism. But Bush has blown that, and now the world is against our policies.''

As they marched from Owen Bradley Park near Music Row to the Estes Kefauver Federal Building on Broadway, the anti-war protesters were met by a small group of counterprotesters holding American flags and signs saying ''Support Our Troops.''

Several counterprotesters said they were members of Free Republic, a network of conservative activists who plan activities through their Web site.

Some of them called the protesters ''useful idiots'' who were unwittingly supporting Communist organizations that they think organize anti-war rallies throughout the country. Several also said they considered the protest a demoralizing insult to the men and women serving in Iraq.

''These people are naive, they think you can negotiate with Islamic fundamentalists,'' said Nashville's Charles Byrd, holding a large American flag and standing with about a half-dozen other counterprotesters.

''But I think sometimes you have to take the war to the enemy.''

Matt Leber, director of the Nashville Peace and Justice Center and one of the organizers of the rally, dismissed suggestions that he was connected to a Communist organization.

''We have wives and husbands of people serving in Iraq right now and veterans who have fought in wars out here today,'' Leber said. ''We know how to distinguish between our brothers and sisters in the military and the decisions of the U.S. administration. And we accept all groups who want to work for peace and justice.''

While the rally was taking place, several self-described born-again Christians waved Bibles and shouted that the protesters were ''killers'' who were bound for hell.

Ignoring their comments, Doris Dumont of Nashville said she came to the rally as a show of mourning for those on both sides who were killed during the war. She said her son is a Marine who served in the war and was forced to come home early due to physical ailments no one has been able to diagnose.

Dumont, who came to this country from Germany, said she sees similarities between Hitler's withholding of information from the public and the secrecy of the Bush administration.

''The only way a regime can do something horrible is to declare somebody an enemy,'' she said.

''So many people have died so we could catch one man. But we treat the deaths of Iraqis like they don't even count. They are treated like rubble.''

[Blood of Tyrants]

He isn't THAT big. It is just that his wife is 5 foot nothing. But personally I would go for the Dodge trucks with the Cummings diesel ;^)

[wolicy_ponk]

More loony tunes pics...

[radu]

Hubby and I have seen the media bias in action before but it doesn't lessen the frustration with them a bit. NO WAY I was gonna cave in to their leading comments. LOL! NONE of us did. Time to let the media be frustrated for a change. hehehe!

The young man with FOX News surprised me when he said he'd heard of and investigated A.N.S.W.E.R. already and wasn't impressed with what he'd seen there. I told him to take a good look at moveon.org too and he said he would.
I told the other reporters to check out both groups but who knows? Maybe they will, maybe they won't.

[radu]

This was the pushiest of the useful idiots that I noticed. She stopped both on the way to the Federal Bldg. and on the way back to their "love fest", or whatever they had planned. Isn't it just a shame they got that unexpected washing by the storm? LOL!

[NewRomeTacitus]

"Matt Leber, director of the Nashville Peace and Justice Center and one of the organizers of the rally, dismissed suggestions that he was connected to a Communist organization."

Well if Matt Leber says that it must be true. How could I have questioned their devotion to our country? I feel so ashamed.
NOT.

Great work with the pictures under such adverse conditions and thanks for linking this page to FreedomPoster's national collection.

[wolicy_ponk]

Here's a quick little who's who on our "friends" at the "lovefest" saturday, the thorns were the "intelligentsia" for the other side.(Trotsky's Three Elements of the Revolution: Peasantry, Workers, and Intelligentsia)
The guy in the black t-shirt really looks the scariest to me,though (Oh wait, he's one of ours-LOL)