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I haven't read the whole thread yet, FreeTH, but let me just put a thought down about these ?followers?.

Most of the young kids just seem to be idealistic. They hook up (not the pop term in use now-a-days LOL!) to a cause and go for it --- not looking down the road or exploring all the consequences. One kid at the last Patriot's Rally really felt that he was in the right, but his stance was shallow, and his mind wouldn't accept any new thoughts.

At this past Rally, an older guy (40's?) was downright condescending. He tried to play with me, making fun of my signs. The rightous SOB then brings up world hunger. Has he never read about what happens to the food drops that the US has tried to give to the starving in various countries? He never said what he actually does for the hungry, but he blames Bush for it!

A lot of these kids don't seem to go it alone. They are articulate, intelligent, and have big mouths and closed minds. It is chic to have a cause, so they pick one and go for it.

At the last rally they were 'giving it to the establishment', while wearing their Izods and Hilfigers (or what ever that name is) and accepting daddy's $$$ for their education ---- and never saw the incongruity of it all.

Most are young and are followers. They probably have no idea who Becker and company are. They have a cause, and a chance to show their idealism in a public way. 20 years down the road they might wonder what in the world they were thinking of.

Just some of my thoughts.

I would love to see the faces on these kids if the worst of what we expect to find in Iraq proves to be correct. I didn't make it to the barracks on Saturday, but driving along Constitution Ave. and thru all the different groups massing, the one thing that struck me was that they all seemed to be cut with the same cookie cutter. It was the same at the other two rallys. For the most part ----- idealistic one-dimensional kids.

Sure, the leaders of the rally are total communists, but what is it with the followers?

From my observations there are several ways to look at these people. One would be to divide them up into groups and explain each group.

If I were to divide them up by age they had the '60s refugees that are probably in their 60s - or getting pretty close. As an aside, there is something very unbecoming about a 60 year old woman in a tie-died t-shirt playing the bongos. Anyway, these seem to represent the real hard left - out and out communists. Then we have the misguided youth. Many of these are college students who are being spoonfed a bunch of commie claptrap from the previously mentioned group on a daily basis. I feel that there may be some hope for a portion of these down the road. Then we have the useful idiots (Stalin's term). These are the ones in their 30s and fourties that are opposed to at least some marginal thought process. They either believe that we should not act unilaterally or they are waiting for more evidence to make an informed decision and are worried that the administration is not taking enough time to consider all options. This group seemed to be in the minority.

I fell that the above description is an oversimplification but it provides a snapshot.

Another way is to pick out some represenative examples and make some observations about them.

There were an awful lot who feel that war, or any violence for that matter, is never the answer. These are the total pacifists. They think "Saddam needs a hug." There were a lot of these folks there. I wonder how they would react to an intruder in their home attacking their family members?

There were also a lot of your typical Demo-socialists opposed to the war becasue they somehow think it is all about oil. Corporate greed. The same ones who think that the pie is always one size and if one person has more than they do that somehow it must have come at a cost to someone else. This is the typical mantra of the Democrat party. Of course, if taken to its logical conclusion, they want everything everyone has and will ever have equally divided. That is in complete opposition to everything this country was founded on and is out and out socialism. Many of thier signs and chants were about money for their causes - mostly welfare. They feel that all money should go to welfare programs and that the military is unneccessary. Another position held by most Democrats.

I also observed several people wearing those scarves that Arafat wears. Apparently, this is a show of solidarity with Arafat over the Israelis. Many of them were young women. Some of them were Arabic looking men and women but may were caucasian. Most of the non-Arabics in these scarves were young college students. Do they realize that they are aligning themselves with terrorists?

I also saw many young males in shirts that said "ant-flag." I asked a couple of them directly what that meant - were they anti-The American Flag? None of them would give me a straight answer. I would put these people in the same group as the ones that typically wear all black and look to start trouble. There a fair amount of that type. Most of them looked pretty weasely. They seemed to be they type to want to cause destruction hidden in large groups but would be crying for their mommies if confronted one on one. These are mostly young kids just looking for trouble (juvenile delinquints). Mostly social outcasts.

There were also a lot of union members. Their biggest contingent was SEIU Local 1199 out of New York. They are mostly low-paid hotel maids, laundry workers, etc. This union has one of the most hard-left leaderships of any with the exception of United Electricians. I have read their publications and it is definitely pro-Castro, ant-capitalist drivel. They were probably there for two reasons. One, a Republican is in the White House, and second because the leadership is aligned idealogically with ANSWER. I am sure that the Union paid their way and they got some kind of compensation for showing up.

There were a fair amount of the "usefull idiots" that I mentioned above. Some of these could actually hold a normal conversation.

A very large portion of them were the "Seattle crowd." I am calling them that because they first showed up on the radar during the WTO meetings in Seattle. These are the unwashed, unemployed, rabid ant-American, anti-capitalist types. When they show up I wish Monty Burns was in charge so he could simply "unleash the hounds." These people are completely hopeless and should just leave the country on the next freighter to some paradise like Cuba or one of the "thriving" sub-Sahara African nations where they could all go work on some collective farm. If someone had a rally against air they would probably show up.

There were a lot of the "Free Mumia" crowd. These people tend to see everything through the prism of race. Every situation can be traced back to racism and slavery. They were particularly fond of the "Fry Mumia" signs.

Then there are the '60s rejects. Many of them brought their children. The scary part about them is that many of them are teaching in either the public schools or the universities. Of course, this explains why many of the other groups were there as well.

A common thread runing through most of these groups is their feeling that America is somehow at fault for most of the wrongs in the world. Also, the one sign that seemed to get their panties in a wad the most was "Forgot 911 Already?" We may need lots of those for the next one.

The things I do for my country. I was there, at 8th & I Streets, Wash. DC, along with my fellow veterans and co-patriots, shouting and yelling at the "Hate
America Crowd." Now I'm suffering from a upper respiratory infection and had to take off work today and tomarrow. Was it worth it? Of course it was. I don't work weekends at my job but I'm sure that there was those who had to but would of wanted to be there with us. We work hard, pay our taxes, support our president and troops, love our families and country yet these "peaceniks" treat us like excriment.

I observed "the finger," the facist salute, threats and other obscene, profane gestures and comments directed towards us. These loser "peaceniks" just take too much for granted living in the freest and greatest nation on this planet! Maybe they be happier living in Castro's Cuba, "Nuclear" Korea, or Saddam's Iraq. But NO, we can't tell them that, they're "entitled" to stay here and sponge off of our tax dollars.

They want to change America by destroying it from within! They bash President Bush and appease brutal dictators like Saddam Hussien. They say "America kills more people" than the tyrants that they love do. Well, over a million UNBORN Americans are killed each year so there some truth to what they say. They talk "peace, democracy, social & economic justice" for the world (typical commie crapola) but they support a war on capitalism, on American traditions, values and cultures, and our way of life! "The ends justify the means," eh "comrades?" But what was the most disgusting thing about these left wingers was expressing their fake compassion for our troops and the children of Iraq -- talk about hypocracy! It fills me with the urge to regurgetate!

Anarchists, cowards, and traitors, THATS what I mostly saw marching down 8th Street Saturday. Yeah, there were a few misguided veterans, clergery persons and others with good intentions marching along with them but that doesn't make their cause any more credible. Afterall, even if there was 500,000 "war protestors" as they claim, that does not fairly or accurately represent 288 million Americans.

As far as I'm concerned, if they want "money for jobs, not war," tell them to fill all the vacant jobs out there. Then they can make money and donate it to a "peaceable cause" if they so wish. Oh, wait a minute, I forgot, making money is "evil" but taking money for the "common good" is okay.

Left wingers and the liberal-biased media accuse us of being "Red Baiters", "McCarthy-ites", and "extremist right wingers" when we tell them that this "peace rally and march" was orchestrated and organized by "the Left." Well, the truth hurts. I did observe many examples of that (e.g., the ISO, WWP, PLP, RCP, SEIU, FMLN, etc.). Besides, I prefer to be called a "pro-liberty extremist."

Well I could go on and on but I'd rather move on. They'll be plenty of opportunity to tick off "the Left" in the near future on the issue of "War & Peace." "If you want peace, prepare for war!"