Posted on 02/16/2003 7:36:38 PM PST by Mr. Silverback
Saturday dawned cold and overcast with nasty winds and didnt improve much from there. My wingman USAF91 and I arrived at the corner of Empire and West at 1150 local and drove through to get the lay of the land. Our local division of UII (Useful Idiots International), the People For Tyranny Peace were not immediately visible, so we turned around and parked within sight of the intersection. At exactly noon a group of protestors came up West from one of the High School parking lots and assembled at the four corners. We got there at the same time; USAF91 was carrying a sign that read UN Out! US In! and I had NO More 9/11s! Free Iraq Now!At first we and our signs were greeted with smiles it took a moment for the message to sink in. It took even longer for an upper-middle-aged appeasenik gent behind us, who asked if we had more signs. I dug Appeasers KILL! and Smallpox: BAD. Freedom: GOOD. out of my pack. We went through the standard pro-war protestors exchange (see below) and he walked off appearing slightly dazed and mumbling to himself.
I wont bore you with too much detail (especially of the rhetorical fights that the peaceniks picked with us) but here are some impressions and thumbnail sketches:
Several times we were referred to by others as pro-war protestors, as in Oh, you guys are pro-war protestors which is how we usually heard it. I had a prepared answer for that, which I repeated each time: No one is pro-war, you would have to be insane to be a war advocate. But in this case military options are the only ones left, so we support our troops and the liberation of the Iraqi people. Unfortunately, I forgot to say that when we talked to the Journal-Standard reporter...Duh.
The appeaseniks had the usual signs (give peace a chance, drop Bush, not bombs) and a few that were more creative, but even dumber: Sanctions killed 200 Iraqis today; Abide by the UN; No UN, No War; 500,000 Will Die; War=More Attacks on the US; Negotiation Not Annihilation.One idiot had a sign I couldnt quite make out from across the intersection which had Bush, racism and a word I wont mention here on it. Very classy. One wonders why he thought that people going by at 30mph would be able to read it.
A general impression of the protestors is that they were unprepared for opposition and shocked that we were intruding on their space. They still think the left owns the street corners. We heard the usual appeasenik pap for the most part, ranging from rush to war to a couple of tinfoil hat rants. One big laff-riot was when a woman said to me (About our weapons of mass destruction) Well, I guess we have them because were planning to use them. Yeah, lady, so that means Saddam has them so he can...what?
Most of the folks going by in cars were studiously ignoring the protest. There were a few people honking and flashing peace signs at the protestors, and a few thumbs down, middle fingers, etc. One guy about twenty years old rolled his window down and bellowed, Go home, freaks as he passed through. A friend stopped on West rolled down his window and asked, Hey man, do you like anthrax or something?
No way, man. That big guy in the plaid and I are for military action. We dont like anthrax and we dont want it in our country!
This got a little cheer and thumbs-up from him and his wife, and a groan from the protestors immediately behind me. Heh-heh.
We did have one nasty incident. A woman stopped by and talked to the appeaseniks, telling them her husband is an Iraqi immigrant and that he and many of his friends are worried about how the war is going to affect their families. I approached her as she was leaving to give her a copy of HighRoadToChinas excellent brochure and tell her we wished the Iraqi people well. She pretty much blew up at me, telling me we were going to kill thousands to get one guy. To make a long story short, (brace yourselves) she gets her news from Arab media and is sure that the Western media are all censored. She even claimed that Afghani women who wish to wear the burka are being forced to go without it by US troops. A real first class tinfoil head.
We spoke to the reporter from the Journal-Standard (article below) and to a fellow activist my wife sent out to us, and promptly at 1pm, the appeaseniks left en masse. James and I stayed about a minute longer, and egressed our frozen butts out of the target area.
Lessons learned: Next time, the signs need to be more militaristic. Many folks thought USAF91 and I were appeaseniks. Also, we need to have more brochures handy. I only brought one, and had more than one request after the nutjob left. Experienced Freepers, please feel free to let fly with any suggestions.
BTW, our numbers are going to grow in Freeport. I have spoken with two recruits since the protest, and we have two freepers who are definite.We are on the march.
Making a statement
Millions march on day of global war protest
By Tyler Vincent, The Journal-Standard
FREEPORT -- Over a dozen area residents braved the cold temperatures and winds Saturday to participate in the second of two peace rallies urging the United States not to take military action against Iraq.
The rally around the intersection of Empire Street and West Avenue was designed to coincide with rallies across the world and to promote peace, according to Shelly Griswold a member of Freeport based "People for Peace."
Noon-time traffic at the intersection saw protesters holding signs with messages reading "Give Peace A Chance," "Let the U.N. Work" and "Drop Bush, Not Bombs."
"My personal view is that we ought to let the U.N. inspectors work and do everything we can to find a peaceful resolution to what's happening in Iraq," Griswold said. "We're still holding out hope that we can make a difference, and we stand out here in the cold holding our signs and hopefully a few of the people who drive by are spurred into action by what we're doing."
Davis resident Laura Andres was protesting because she is concerned the current administration is rushing to war even after U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix's Friday report to the U.N. Security Council.
"It seems that especially hearing Hans Blix yesterday, that we are making some progress with the inspections and rather than our administration being able to even claim a win and doing what we ought to do ... I think (Bush is) just so bent on war," Andres said.
But anti-war protesters weren't the only voices present at the intersection. Freeport residents Christopher Clukey and James Mueller, who carried signs saying, among other things, "U.N. Out, U.S. In," said they were there to offer support for the U.S. going into Iraq.
"Saddam Hussein has been in power for 24 years," Clukey said. "We've been trying peace for 13 of those years, and so far it has done absolutely nothing except give him an opportunity to become more powerful. We know these folks like peace. Only an insane person would be pro-war but sometimes there is no other option."
Valeria, left, and Evan Wiegand of Freeport braved Saturday's chilly temperatures to join a handful of others in peaceful protest on the corner of Empire Street and West Avenue in Freeport. Photo by Lisa M. Sanders
Hey, he has been known to do it- it was one of his agents here in America that sought out UNSCOM inspector Scott Ritter after a congressional hearing and bought him for S400,000 bucks.
And it was an Iraqi agent here in the US that sought out the dissident scientist Hamza at a university to deliver an intimidating message from Saddam Hussein.
Romania and the Soviet KGB used to fund anti-American demonstrations in Western Europe, Cuba and North Korea back some of the current "peace-protestors," so why wouldn't Iraq use its assets here in the states?
I recommend carrying a large American flag and your poster. Patriotism will set you apart, and it is instructive when leftists rally against the flag.
BTW - Love the phrase: "Smallpox: BAD, Freedom: Good!"
My sign said:
Free Iraq
Fry Mumia
FReep on!
However, right before Christian activist Richard Wurmbrand left Romania he was told that if he spoke about his torturers to anyone in the US, Romanian or KGB agents would kill him or plant flase stories in the media to ruin his reputation. Fortunately, he told his story from then until his death in 2000, and he was never touched or smeared by enemy agents.
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Great after action FReeport FReep report. BTW, might you have a link for your handout? My college aged offspring make good use of FReeper kristen's brochure at Northern Illinois University. FReep on!
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