Some of the people protesting with us.
Posted on 09/21/2004 9:16:05 PM PDT by Loopy Picklefink
We had a great FReep/protest of Kerry/Edwards in Orlando today.
FReepers in attendance were: Loopy Picklefink(me),Old Glory, Matchett-PI, subterfuge, Roos_Girl and her hubby. (I think I got everybody)
There were also several Bush groups there including Bush/Cheney campaign people, a local highschool republican group(I think it was Lake Mary?), UCF Republicans, and many individuals coming to support Bush.
We got there at 6, when the doors opened(Kerry was not expected to speak until 9) We started out on one corner holding up signs for the cars going by (I've never seen so many Kerry bumper stickers in my life) and also for passerby's. There were more Bush people on the other side of the arena. My signs said "Orlando is Bush Country!" and "I'd Rather not vote for Kerry!" Other signs there included a "Flush the Johns" sign, "The UN says Vote for Kerry", "10 out of 10 terrorists vote anyone but Bush"(and on the back had an anti ACLU slogan), flip-flopped shaped signs both big and small, waffle signs, including someone with a Ego box, many of the normal Bush and Viva Bush signs, and a few other signs I don't remember.
This was my first protest, and it was so much fun! I am hoping other FReepers will give more detailed accounts of some of the confrontations they had with the Left. The loonies were filled with such hatred, I feel so dirty after a night of being around them! We got lots of cussing, flipping off, and dumb insults. Everything was variations of "(explicit) Bush!" Our side remained very civil throughout it all. When Matchett-PI got there, she had USA Today in her hand and was yelling "The Democrat Party is a criminal enterprise" and how they were involved with CBS and forgeries and telling them to read the news! It was great!
When we had amassed a large group(the group on the other side of the arena came to our side), we decided to march to the other side of the arena where all of the Kerry people were waiting to get inside. Before going, everyone was reminded to remain calm, not to get into fights, and just smile. I was very shocked at the number of people there. I estimated a couple of thousand at least, but other FReepers thought only a few hundred. I took pictures of the crowd so you could see them all. Our group started walking in front of the crowd, and suddenly, the entire crowd started booing at us very loudly! As we kept walking in front of them, a bunch of Union thugs(I believe they were from the same union as the guy that ripped the 3 year old's sign) started running at us. Some were screaming at us, getting in our people's faces, cussing, and others had huge banners and tried to block us as we walked by, by walking with the banner next to us. One of them got on a bullhorn and was yelling "No more Bush-sh*t!" over and over, and got the whole crowd to do it to. I was a little nervous, but it was very exciting!
We walked back towards the direction we came from, and some cops stopped us. They told us Kerry and company had rented the entire place out tonight, which meant we weren't allowed by where the Kerry people were standing and had to go to "designated areas". Rather than cause trouble, we went back to where we originally were. People were still coming in droves. In the next couple of hours, slowly, many of the Bush people started leaving, until it was just the FReepers and 4 or 5 other people. At 9pm, Kerry was still not there, so everyone went home. (On the news tonight, they reported Kerry didn't arrive until a little before 10pm)
Here are the pictures:
Some of the people protesting with us.
Roos_girl's hubby, Roos_girl, and subterfuge.
Bush supporters in front of the Edwards/Kerry welcome sign.
Matchett-PI(back to camera) with her FR sticker on her back, and Oldglory on far right.
An empty Kerry bus went by us. Signs on all the windows, but no people!
Matchett-PI with her USA Today newspaper telling the Kerry people the DNC is a criminal enterprise!
Some of the people from Lake Mary High.
Everyone marching towards the Kerry crowd. Girl on left is holding the sign I made. ;-)
As we turn the corner, we see all the Kerry people gathered.
More of the crowd...but notice the lone Bush sign in the crowd. Not sure who that is, but he's brave! (Sorry for a few pics being blurry, hard to take pictures and walk at the same time)
The big crowd.
Union guys bothering us now.
Not sure exactly what he was trying to say.
Don't get so close to me buddy!
This picture tells it all. The banner they tried to block us with on the left. The union guys walking with us in the middle. Roos_girl on the right in red.
They all booed us!
Oldglory is on the left.
These people were selling Kerry pins. They had a bunch left. They told us afterwards that they were secretly for Bush. They said they sell way more Bush pins than Kerry ones!
Freepers Roos_girl, her hubby, and subterfuge.
A cool non-Freeper.
More protesting.
subterfuge and others(left) arguing with Kerry people.
This guy joined as at the end and brought his 2 dogs. They were a big hit with the left. Some of them would actually stop and pet the dogs even after yelling insults at us!
This guy started by yelling insults at us, and I'm not sure what happened, but I think Matchett-PI told him something to the effect that he shouldn't say that around the ladies. And he apologized!! He also came back to talk with some of us, and actually held a decent, intelligent conversation.
More pictures to come from the other FReepers at the protest! Attending FReepers, please post your stories as well, as many of you have some great ones to tell of your dealings with the left tonight!
Oldglory and I got interviewd by a Daytona newspaper, subterfuge got interviewed by the Orlando Sentinel. Camera crews took some footage, but I didn't see it on the news tonight(did anyone else catch it?)
This one rabid man screaming at us, shaking, telling about how his son was in Iraq and Bush lied yadayada.
Someone shouting "If Bush wasn't President maybe you all would have jobs and not be here!" (This was at 8pm, we do have jobs, just not at that time!)
Subterfuge said something about Memogate and Kerry to a young girl and she said she knew about it, and actually looked proud of it. I don't think she had a clue.
Someone said "At least when Clinton lied, no one died!"
A couple of drunk girls came to argue with our group, but they were not making much sense. They, along with a few other women claimed to be Republicans. ("I'm a republican....but....")
The guy with the dogs yelled at a mom with 4 kids "Soccer moms for Bush!"
Our side kept telling Kerry people not to drink the Kool-aid. One man comes up and says "What do you mean kool-aid?" Someone explained it to him, and he says "Oh, well religion shouldn't be involved in this!" ??? lol.
The rest is up to you guys!
You guys are like the infantry, right there on the front lines.
It's quite a high isn't it?
What's the worth of freedom if never exercised?
Nice job.
What an awesome slide show and event! You rock!
Ping to you great Freepers that were there today!
An empty Kerry bus went by us. Signs on all the windows, but no people!
just like his campaign.
The crowd outside was bigger than I expected. I guess also because they were all standing out there, none had gone in yet, so were grouped very tightly on the steps. But I guess, when you compare it to how big TD Waterhouse is, then I guess you're right, it wasn't that big. On the news tonight, it did look like there were tons of people inside though, I guess tight camera shots can help with that. I thought I heard a 7,000 or 8,000 number on the news.
The Kerry crowd was there at sunset but Kerry didn't show until 10? What an asshole.
The photos are great and all of you handled yourselves so well, especially since you were vastly outnumbered and crowded by union goons. It takes courage to confront people like this and when you do, you speak for all of us who couldn't be there. Thankyou!
Excellent photo-summary and good work today!!!
As the so-called party of peace, Democraps rarely are peaceful.
At a local farmer's market here in California I joined in an argument between Naderites and Democrats who had the usual "register-a-Democrat-only" booth. The farmer's market is usually frequented by bleeding hearts, greenies, and limosine liberals, so I knew I was in enemy territory when I pronounced that I voted for Bush and will do so in November.
One of the bearded, aging baby boomer (Can you say "Peace & love, brother?") went ballistic on me, yelling and shaking his finger at me "You're the problem!". I was actually entertaining the thought that he wanted to start a fight. The crowd was looking at me as if I was a criminal, but I calmly said to him, "For one who professes to not like war, your actions are so hostile and warlike. Why do you have so much anger towards me when you don't even know me?"
It was an enjoyable interchange because he and his tribe made fools of themselves and I walked away unscathed.
You freepers were all brave to go into that crowd, the two union guys in the picture look like "hired thugs"!
I wouldn't doubt they'd do bodily harm to anyone of you!
If the press said their were 7-8000 people there, you can probably be safe in saying there were about 7-800.
You better well believe that these union thugs are from the same union [IUPAT] - same union thug that stole the Bush-Cheney sign out of Sophia Parlock's hands!!!!!!!!
Time to blitz the IUPAT leaders again!!!!!
Yes, those are the same guys. They'd better hope allot of libs need their services because from now on, I'll look for the union label and avoid it.
As we kept walking in front of them, a bunch of Union thugs(I believe they were from the same union as the guy that ripped the 3 year old's sign) started running at us. Some were screaming at us, getting in our people's faces, cussing, and others had huge banners and tried to block us as we walked by, by walking with the banner next to us. One of them got on a bullhorn and was yelling "No more Bush-sh*t!" over and over, and got the whole crowd to do it to. I was a little nervous, but it was very exciting!
Wasn't young Adolph a housepainter, or was that a 'paper hanger,' as Patton famously put it?
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