Posted on 04/20/2002 7:56:53 AM PDT by Mustang
Received two cell calls from Dave. The stage is set. The flags are waving. The weather is great. They're ready to Roll! Around 0945 the crowd was 50+ including Kristinn, sauropod, Leadpenny, Angelwood, Exit 148, GoreWarVet, Dutchy, Congressman Billy Bob, Black Agnes, TaxMan, TGSL DeComa, WhoKnowsWhatEvil, FireBrand, Country Dummy, Stan Waite, Pro2aMom, 0351Dog. (please pardon any mispelled "names" or omissions. The cell connections were poor).
Around 1015 the crowd was continuing to grow, with some spill over from the Peacenik/anarchist nitwits. Dave reports that it was the port-o-potties that attracted them. But our fearless Freepers labelled the doors "Patriots" and Patriot Women". It seems to be turning them away.
More to follow. Mustang sends from Florida.
Bump!
According to the audio report, the protesters called it "A-20" apparently signifying April 20 as the biggest day of protest to support the Palestinians and denounce Israel. I suggest the "A" should stand for the commonly used term for anal orifice.
"I know, I was there. Why can't we do the same"
I was in my rack, trying to get some Z's, but had a burning notion to log back on to FR.
Have no fear Brother. When the shit starts hitting the fan...we will be there with ample cover.
Mustang sends with Best FReegaards.
Thanks to all those that showed up today. It was great to see some familiar and many new faces. Pics are awesome--I am going to bed for a few days.
Good thinking....don't want our freepers getting scabies or some other disease.
< snip> Smaller rallies against military occupation in the Philippines and world poverty were scattered around the city all day. A group of pro-American protesters by the Washington Monument waved American flags and told rowdy protesters to move elsewhere.Yvonne Sovovacu of Richmond said she's disappointed people demonstrated against the protesters.< snip> Continue at the RTD
A, They were probably cops. Peace and love, George.
< snip >A short time later, the Patriots Rally for America -- a collection of counter-demonstrators that opposed the United We March antiwar protesters with whom they shared the Washington Monument grounds -- had heated up and was getting protection from 10 police officers on horseback and 13 more on foot.< snip> Continue at the WP
< snip >Across Constitution Avenue from the Palestinian demonstration, an alternative pro-Bush administration rally called "Patriots Rally for America" drew a modest crowd of about a hundred."Too often we take for granted our own liberties and the fact that America is the greatest force for good in the world," said Niger Innis, national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality, after his speech. "Our children need to know America is not an evil country."< snip > Continue at the WT
I am not a middle-aged white male. I am not rich. I do not blindly follow my country. My parents are conservative, but I do not blindly follow my parents either. I am educated- I am a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated from the College of William and Mary with highest honors. The difference between you and me is that I went to a school where even professors who were left of center allowed me to challenge their point of view without penalty- and for that, I respect and admire them. None of my left wing professors called me stupid or racist, as some of you did yesterday without truly engaging my worldview. None of my professors implied that I was a member of the KKK, a suggestion that deeply offends me as a Jew. Never think you can get away with that kind of slander. Also offensive to my Jewish soul are the swastikas on your mock Israeli flags- are you really so hateful? Yes, Communism always- always- results in loss of freedom and the arrest and execution of dissenters. It is not solely a feature of Stalinism. Because human nature is what it is, the system for which you still long must require an enlightened elite to impose their values on the supposed "benighted." Read your history- Communism has been soundly trounced by human experience. You'd rather be a Communist than a supporter of a government that kills people (an actual line screamed at me by a member of the unwashed)? So the millions of people slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge- the millions killed by Stalin- don't count? This is "Alice in Wonderland," where leftist governments can get away with their brutality. If Orwell were here, he would be saying, "I told you so." You are a master of Newspeak. "Peace" means war on the American way of life. "Diversity" means diversity of superficial skin color, not diversity of opinion. Those who actually expect all human beings to accept the standards of civilization are "racists." Even more incredible, you support governments who are more oppressive than the American government has ever been! You quote Mussolini on your picket signs and then call me a facist?! What planet are you living on?! To the gay activist groups in the march: Does it bother you even the slightest that your are coming down on the side of governments that officially execute gays, sometimes pressing blocks on their chests until they suffocate? I am sympathetic to those gays who want to participate in all the institutions of our society, including family life- I do not have sympathy for those who are knee-jerk leftists and don't think critically about the state of the world. To the Palestinians out there- while I am pro-Israel, your plight does make me sad on a certain level. But don't you realize you are being used by the left to further their reflexively anti-American agenda? The people who are marching with you don't care about the Palestinian children. You are just a convenient cause. Oh, and why don't we all put on our foil hats and discuss all the conspiracy theories that exist out there- afterall, if it's on the internet, it must be true. And for heaven's sake, take a bath more than once a year, and shave your armpits!
/rant
I had C-SPAN's repeat coverage on last night, and I never saw/heard so many shrill voiced zealots in one place.Tell me, do Palistinians call themselves 'Brothers'? I'm not being funny. I've never heard the term used in coverage from the Middle East.
If what went on at that rally was heard by half the country, then they did themselves a big dis-service.
There was another funny incident late in the day. There were a few of us sitting around waiting for the table/chair people to pick up the equipment. A small group of young guys came our way with some sort of provocative sign. (I forgot what it said, but they were eager to get a rise out of us, and perched under a tree a short distance from us, placing their sign facing us. They kept looking at us waiting for a comment. None came. Hovever, one MIrattylookingkid, misinterpreted a signal from us as a sign that we wanted to talk with him. He jumped up in a nanosecond and came up to us and tried to talk with Angelwood. Angelwood was really tired --it was a long difficult day -- and she said to him "Go away! I don't want to talk to you. I'm tired. Go home and ask your family for money!" (OWTTE) He was thoroughly deflated! It was a wonderful moment! (ROTF just thinking about it!)
This jerk was attempting to crash our Support the Troops Rally which was intended to counter ANSWER. The police told him he couldn't bring his sign into our permitted area. If he left his sign outside the area then he could attend. His language was less than erudite.
[sarcasm].Sorry your parents couldn't come up with the scratch so that you could make it to DC[/sarcasm].
These "protestors" are nothing more that terrorist vermin.
And I submit C-SPAN didn't do it justice! If that is possible.
I am happy to say I was there!
I annotated one of the photos from earlier:
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