Posted on 10/08/2001 5:38:36 PM PDT by CounterCounterCulture
I went to check out a “peace” rally at Palo Alto City Hall organized in haste by something called the “Peninsula Peace and Justice Center.” Wasn’t sure what I would do there whether it was as an agitator or as a stealth reporter. I ended up doing the latter.
I arrived shortly after the 6pm start time and they had just arrived evidently after marching there from some location (Stanford perhaps?). Probably split between college students and aging hippy peaceniks with only a handful of children duped by their parents. One newsbabe from Channel 7 was wrapping up her piece as the speakers began.
Signs were handed out that said “Justice, Not Vengeance” (subcaption: “Let us not become the evil that we deplore”). I decided to grab one of those souvenirs from the aging hippy freak handing them out. On the reverse of that sign was a hand-written “NO RACISM.” I soon stored the sign in my backpack and engaged a conversation with nearby officers. The officer wasn’t too concerned with the situation. I asked if burning the U.S. flag was legal and evidently it was in Palo Alto. Luckily no flags were burnt at the rally.
I wandered back to the rally and noticed a large pot of baked beans on a bench. Uh, OK. Not much of a pot luck. I did not partake in the offering.
One young skull-full of mush woman, probably college-aged, was handing out green ribbons. At a distance I though it might have been weed, but it was just ribbons. I asked her what the symbolism was and she hesitated as if she wasn’t sure. She finally offered something along the lines of non-violence and non-racism. I took the souvenir and stuffed it in my pocket next to my red, white, and blue ribbon that I had concealed so I could stealthly work the crowd.
As the speeches were spewing forth, I strolled mostly around the perimeter, looking around to see if any other from our side were out to counter the pacifists, but I didn’t see anybody else. Since the rally was far enough from the street, there were few honks in support. Only one outburst of condemnation was heard when a couple was walking by across the street and the woman shouted “Grow up.”
The speeches and chants were rather pathetic in my opinion but the crowd ate them up as usual. Overall the rhetoric was typical but the rally was rather tame. Only a few chants were offered:
Some of the quotes or paraphrases from the thought-free zone…
Mostly swiping at Reagan/Bush, but I enjoy the few quips of two DemoRATS, Dianne Feinswine and Maddy Halfbright.
As twilight fell, about 6:55pm, candles were passed out and lit. I should have probably got one as another souvenir, but oh well.
At 7:15pm, they marched down the streets of Palo Alto toward University Avenue. Not sure of the destination point, but I didn’t care as I opted to leave the loonies at that point.
Notably absent – No Free Mumia speeches. No “Give Peace A Chance” singing. No flag burning. And, of course, intelligence and rationality (self excluded, of course).
Common puke-inducing rhetoric: We are waging a racist war.
Flyer one goof handed out:
“Being a patriotic at this moment in our history means participating in decisions about the future of our world…Not just react, be engage.” -- Barbara Lee
We are a community of Stanford students, faculty, and staff who have come together in loving memory of the lives lost on Sept. 11. We are part of a state-wide student peace coalition, California Students Against War (C-SAW). We believe in three core points:
1) Build a peaceful world
2) Promote tolerance of all human beings regardless of nationality
3) Defend civil liberties and human rights
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
(SNIP)
Get informed. Read for yourself the case against bin Laden and decide how compelling the evidence is:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_1579000/1579043.stm
Be aware that a lot of media – mainstream or independent – can be biased. (For example, NBC is a subsidiary of GE, which is a major military contractor.) With that in mind, here are some sites we find useful:
http://indymedia.org
www.antiwar.com
www.alternet.org
www.fair.org
www.commondreams.org
www.motherjones.com
www.siliconvalley.com/news/special/attack/blog.html
http://www.teachingforchange.org/Sept11.htm
(SNIP)
From today’s San Jose Mercury News
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/local/center/bayreax1008.htm
(SNIP)
``What happened today is not justice,'' said Paul George, executive director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center. About 200 people attended a rally the group held Sunday evening outside Palo Alto City Hall. ``To decimate a country that had nothing to do with this attack on the U.S. is not justice. It is revenge, pure and simple.''
What to do if you happen upon a peace rally by naive, hemp-shirt-wearing college idiots, to teach them why force is sometimes needed:
1) Approach the dumb, well-off, ignorant student shouting about "peace" and saying there should be "no retaliation."
2) Engage in brief conversation; ask if military force is appropriate.
3) When he says "No," ask "Why not?"
4) Wait until he says something to the effect of, "Because that would just cause more innocent deaths, which would be awful and we should not cause more violence."
5) When he's in mid sentence, punch him in the face as hard as you can.
6) When he gets back up to punch you, point out that it would be a mistake and contrary to his values to strike you, because this would be awful and only cause more violence.
7) Wait until he agrees to pledge not to commit additional violence.
8) Punch him in the face again, harder this time.
Repeat steps 5 through 8 until he understands that sometimes peace means it is necessary to punch back.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.