Posted on 02/17/2006 2:47:49 AM PST by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
You'd think that a woman with such an Irish-sounding name would have gotten a better reception down in Mount Greenwood.
But Cindy "Peace Mom" Sheehan, known for protesting the Iraq war, was greeted at St. Xavier University on the Southwest Side with, well, protests.
Sheehan was hired by the university's student activities board to give a speech titled "One person can make a difference, not one more," aimed at getting people involved in the peace movement.
She's credited for re-energizing the anti-war movement by protesting outside President Bush's Texas ranch -- an effort to get him to meet with her.
Before her talk, dozens of bikers and blue collar workers gathered outside the field house, in the freezing rain, carrying signs that read: "Support Our Troops."
Bill Naughton, a truck mechanic from Hillside, said he showed up so Sheehan didn't get all the spotlight.
"She gets to say what she wants. We get a say," he said. "She says 'Bring them back. We're fighting for oil.' I don't believe we're fighting for oil. I support what our guys enlisted to do, volunteered to do."
Sheehan suggested she was going to stay away from politics on this night, telling an audience of more than 300 -- including protesters who stood on the bleachers with their backs to her -- the story of why she became involved in the anti-war effort and how one person can make a difference.
She talked about how her son shared a birthday with John F. Kennedy and died in Iraq on April 4, 2004, the same date Martin Luther King was killed. That's when the protesters in the crowd started heckling her.
When she started reading her daughter's anti-war poem, something that spurred her to the peace movement, about 20 protesters inside the gym walked out, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and screaming at her.
As they left, Sheehan gave them the peace sign. Only a few of the protesters remained in the university gymnasium as she continued.
The speech became an anti-war rally, with members of the crowd cheering as she ticked off reasons why troops should come home and the war should end.
She said, "Let's talk about supporting the troops," and went on to list the problems such as poor quality body armor and having soldiers eating rotten food. "Let's talk about cutting VA benefits for when they come home. Let's talk about kids committing suicide because they're not being treated for post-traumatic stress."
She went on to say: "If you care about the troops, do more than carry a sign or put up a bumper sticker . . . if you support this war and President Bush, march to your recruiter's office and sign up."
She finished the night by taking questions from the audience.
For the Chicago area this weekend:
FRIDAY 2/17, 8:30 a.m. - Cindy will be interviewed on WGN-TV, Channel 9, Morning News
FRIDAY 2/17, 2:30PM: Cindy Sheehan and Jose Torres will be flyering and harassing the students of Amundsen High School at Foster and Damen in Chicago.
FRIDAY 2/17, 6:30 p.m. - Cindy Sheehan and Juan Torres will discuss the War in Iraq
and Military Recruitment in Our Schools, In English and Spanish.
St. Pius Church, 1919 South Ashland Avenue, Chicago.
SATURDAY 2/18, 10:00 a.m. - Cindy and Juan will Join "Anti-War Majority" Demonstration in front of Congressman Rahm Emanuel's office!
, 3742 West Irving Park Road, Chicago
SATURDAY 2/18, 2:00-4:00 p.m - Meet-up with Cindy Sheehan & Juan Torres Benefit for March 18 Rally and March Marking the Third Anniversary of the Start of the War in Iraq.
Hot House, 31 East Balbo, Chicago.
Suggested donation $25. No-one will be turned away. Wheelchair accessible. Please bring a potluck offering. Sponsored by the March 18 Coalition, in partnership with Chicago Area CODEPINK.
SATURDAY, 2/18: 7:00 p.m. - Cindy Sheehan and Juan Torres will be illegally politicking at a non-profit, non-taxed CHURCH. Lake Street Church of Evanston, 607 Lake Street, Evanston.
Maybe Cindy just watched Battleship Potemkin.
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