"Yes, and ready and willing -- and only restrained by our own respect for the law. They need to see that, too."
Yes, you set a "good example", but
....somehow, I don't think it was your respect for the law that got their attention.
I think it's literally more of an impact that they took their "best shot" and COULDN'T "control" your actions by getting you to get suckered into an "incident" which could be used to YOUR disadvantage on camera.
Trust me...they have NO "respect" for the law....or YOU.
....just a visceral fear that they really are NOT the masters of fate as they wish to delude themselves.
The RIDICULE they faced is something they've avoided previously through manipulation of "the law"...being cordoned off by police from any "assault" [provoked or otherwise] and by playing the "victim"...
And, it's the RESISTANCE you presented...along with an obvious "threat" if THEY stepped over the line by assaulting one of the memorials you were OBVIOUSLY protecting...and the ridicule you [as a group] rained down on them is what they will remember.
Oh, and far as the "law" goes...it SURPRISED them they couldn't get YOU to be restrained. They've had TOO MANY instances within which to run free in the streets, performing ever more egregious assaults on the American psyche.
No, I would say it is MUCH more likely that it wasn't your respect for the law that will stick with them...rather respect for YOURSELVES....which they lack big time.
And, of course, a true respect on your part for each other, your brethren lost to war, and this country. See, they can't DENY that those things exist. They are much too used to "getting their way" in the media and had presumed that they are "in control".
THEY are the fascists. THEY are the law breakers. THEY are the liars. All the things THEY have been accusing you of.
And, faced with your actual physical presence and "squared away" appearance and manner...they were HUMILITATED by comparison.
LOOK at the photos and videos if you don't believe me. They can apply all the mind salve they can muster to erase the sting...but, they CAN'T change the fact that you bested them. It's all too obvious to the casual observer that their clownish appearance and comportment was no match for those they spend all their time belittling.
YOU are the real world. All of THEIR "victories" are pyrrhic. YOU, the veterans, are the ONLY ones in the mix who have ever actually WON a war...or even BEEN THERE for that matter. THEY are all talk...and YOU were documentable ACTION.
simple, really.
EAGLES UP...!!!
Excellent post. I understand and agree with you.
Many of them suddenly felt a real threat they did not expect to encounter.