Fayetteville, NC FReep: After-action thread II

Free Republic Network & others ^ | 03/21/2004 | Constitution Day

[Constitution Day]

Some random thoughts:

On Saturday, March 20th, 2004, the Old North State Chapter of the Free Republic Network was joined by FReepers & patriots from NC and other states.
We came from points far & wide to FReep International ANSWER when they descended upon Fayetteville in an angry, festering mob that had the sheer shamelessness to bring their anti-military vitriol to the home of Fort Bragg.

I arrived at our permitted location before 10 AM, and it wasn't long before people began to arrive and set up signs and flags.

One thing that was striking to me at this event was the amount of media present.
I was interviewed by at least two local TV stations, one local newspaper, and the New York Times.
kristinn has a full list of the media present at the event.

Before long, there were many veterans and a few active-duty soldiers with us, and I deeply appreciate their service and their time spent with us, advancing the cause of freedom.
As the beautiful morning progressed, many drivers passed by, honking their horns and giving us thumbs-up for being there.

Before noon, we began to notice the anti-war march making its way up the street.
You couldn't miss the ramshackle "peace truck" leading the way; this was the same truck that Freepers were falsely accused of vandalizing.

We yelled "WE GAVE PEACE A CHANCE, WE GOT 9/11" at them as they passed us, giving the middle finger and shouting who knows what kind of epithets at us.
After they had passed, we relocated to the hill across from the park where the anti-war rabble had arrived at.
The Rolling Thunder group was out in full force with their Harleys, signs and flags displayed prominently.
I listened in amazement as virtually every liberal cause celebre was trotted out for their audience.
This ran the gamut from pro-union diatribes to anti-police screeds, feminist dictums, Halliburton/Cheney conspiracies and the like.

The D.C. and S.C. Chapter members present were also a great help. I'm especially grateful for the emcee duties of kristinn and Doctor Raoul, who also led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of "God Bless America".

The officers from the Fayetteville Police Department were very professional and I personally would like to thank them for the hard work they did.

One thing that was striking was that the Airborne & Special Ops Museum and the war memorials across the street had to be cordoned off from the "pro-military" anti-war crowd.
I will post more later.

[dixie sass]

Dear Doctor, could you post the speach that you gave on Sat at the park? The one about the house and the groups that occupy it. Please? There was a lot of good information in there!

[dixie sass]

Thank you.

[dixie sass]

Can't wait to see the photo's!

[dixie sass]

Are you going to post your pictures?

[BillF]

At long last, here are my photos from the Fayetteville FReep.  Pinging many who attended.

Click on any photo to pull up a larger, full size, high resolution version.

 

	LEFT TaxRelief, who did much of the organizing for the Free Republic event, stands and watches as others make signs. Radisson, where  many FReepers stayed, is above her head.  Leftists assembled in Amtrak parking lot next to Radisson for march along street in front of us and to assembly at park a few blocks away. ---------------------------------------------------- RIGHT Cong. BillyBob at left with Doctor Raoul (beard & sunglasses) facing camera in middle being interviewed.
	LEFT Ted Sampley of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry addresses crowd as Kristinn holds sign and watches. ---------------------------------------------------- RIGHT   BufordP holds sign and waits for leftists to climb hill on street in front of us.

 

FReepers and other patriots as seen from behind as they await leftists to march on street in front of them.

Blue leftists' truck ("Who profits, who pays") at front of their parade pulls in front of patriots.

 

Leftists walk along street in front of patriots.

	LEFT  Relics of the sixties.  Should not have taken the brown acid at Woodstock. ---------------------------------------------------- RIGHT   Flotsam and jetsam continue past us.
	LEFT Leftists walk as horse-mounted officers observe. ---------------------------------------------------- RIGHT   SECOND LOCATION: After the leftists assembled in a valley of the park, FReepers and other patriots moved to join the Rolling Thunder counterprotest on a hill overlooking the leftists.
	LEFT Patriots in foreground on one side of street, leftists below on other side of street. ---------------------------------------------------- RIGHT   Horse-mounted officers look down on leftists as patriots watch.
	LEFT  Doctor Raoul prepares to address the crowd. ---------------------------------------------------- RIGHT   tgslTakoma's banner behind Doctor Raoul.
	LEFT Leftists and their stage seen from patriots' high ground. ---------------------------------------------------- RIGHT   FReepers and others watch as Doctor Raoul speaks through his sound system.

I'm proud to have FReeped with all who attended. All FReepers that I met were great. If I didn't meet you, I hope to meet you at another FReep.

God bless America and God bless our veterans, past, present and future, who keep us free!

[Huber]

Here's a write up from the Daily Tarheel (The UNC Chapel Hill Student Newspaper) including a few words from yours truly...
http://www.dailytarheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/03/22/405ef57606008

Protests mark anniversary

By Kavita Pillai
Staff Writer

March 22, 2004


FAYETTEVILLE -- Larry Syverson stood among hundreds of peace protesters in an Amtrak Station parking lot Saturday.

The 55-year-old geologist from Richmond, Va., carried a sign with pictures of his sons Branden and Bryce, both soldiers who have taken part in the United States' military action in Iraq.

"Iraqi oil is not worth my sons' blood," the sign read.

"The reason I came out here was to put a face on the soldiers in Iraq. To me, it seems most of the American people have moved on."

Syverson's message echoed the theme of the peace rally and march through the historic district of Fayetteville one year after the beginning of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The protesters gathered in the hometown of Pope Air Force Base, Fort Bragg and about 50,000 military personnel with one message: Bring the troops home now.

Dreadlocked 20-year-olds sang anti-war songs alongside gray-haired grandmothers, all espousing their belief that the war was fought on false pretenses.

Saturday's demonstration was planned by a coalition of peace organizations and was first proposed in January, said Chuck Fager, director of Quaker House in Fayetteville and one of the event's coordinators. He said they expected about 1,500 protesters. An unofficial count showed the number came close to that goal.

The demonstrators were met by a small group of counter-protesters chanting "We gave peace a chance. We got 9-11."

Bill Huber, a corporate executive from Huntersville, was among the counter-protesters and said the majority of the anti-war demonstrators do not genuinely support the troops. "The intent of (their) protest here is to demoralize the families of the soldiers. They're attacking the families while the soldiers are away fighting for their freedom."

He added that he thinks many of the organizers are active socialists and communists whose goal is to "destabilize the Middle East and allow the powder keg to continue."

But Huber's message could barely be heard above the drums and shouts of the war's opponents, which included a group of veterans.

"This whole thing going on in Iraq has made the world more unstable," said Vietnam veteran James Starowicz of Kannapolis. "This is just too much like Vietnam."

Syverson said his sons do not want to remain in the military after they come home, despite the fact that they planned 20-year military careers before the war.

Letters from his oldest son, who returned from Tikrit, Iraq, less than two weeks ago, describe the deterioration of relations between the soldiers and the Iraqi people, Syverson said. Instead of giving the soldiers gifts of food as they did in the beginning, they now throw rocks at soldiers on patrol.

"(Their letters show) that people no longer think of us as liberators but as occupiers," he said. He added that his sons are proud of what he is doing and understand that his disapproval of the war is not a lack of support for them.

"(Bryce) said there aren't very many dads out there who work so hard for their sons' safety," he said. "I've been very lucky that both my sons supported my right to protest."

The two groups of protesters were separated by police tape, but this didn't stop them from taunting each other with rivaling chants like "Draft Bush" and "Draft Kerry"

and yelling an occasional profanity at the other side. The counter-protesters carried American flags and signs saying "Support our troops."

Beth Pratt, one of the event's speakers and the wife of a soldier in Iraq, addressed this issue in an emotional speech while standing on a sign-laden stage in Rowan Park, where the march ended.

"I support my husband 100 percent," she said as a military jet flew overhead. "Ending this war and bringing them home is the best kind of support there can be."

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.

[BillF]

Well said.

Wonder how many of those who claim relatives in Iraq are telling the truth and how many are phonies? Phonies like those who pretended to be Vietnam vets and lied as part of the Jane Fonda-John Kerry Winter Soldier sham propaganda event of 30 some years ago.

[funnynurse]

Another local here! (well military, but I consider myself local after all these years). Thank you for coming to show your support to our troops, our community, and our country!

[dixie sass]

Excellent, well said!!!

[dixie sass]

Thanks Bill.

[Tax-chick]

Oooooh, a "corporate executive!" Chilling :-).

[Taxman]

Great pics, Bill! Thanks for the ping.

It was, as always, a pleasure to FReep the creeps with you and all the other FReepers who responded to the Road Trip challenge.

Thank you one and all for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to Fayetteville and stand with us against the forces of evil.

Great job, TR! And to all the other FReepers who assisted you. Taxman Bravo Zulu to all!

Eagles Up!

[rrrod]

IT WAS A GREAT DAY! next time will even be bigger!

[Taxman]

I know you are right!

[Taxman]

FReedom Bump backatcha!

[IAmNotAnAnimal]

A Corporate Executive (Shame on you you rich, white, SUV driving Republican) LOL

Ya think this reporter may lean just a little to the left? That will change after she gets her first "real" paycheck in the world of grown-ups.

The inane babble aka interviewing the peace people reminded me of a tagline I once saw on FR..."just because you have the right to be heard, does not mean you have the right to be taken seriously" - I thought that was very appropr for the Commie Zombies.

Looking forward to the next one.

[TaxRelief]

Flora McDonald made the smiley face poster. Flora had to leave early because she found out that her son was in the hospital with a very serious eye infection.

[Ligeia]

Hey, BillF, thanks for the pics. Freeper events are always so full of sound and movement that still pictures never quite do them justice, do they? Thanks also for driving. I trust your blood pressure is back down to the stratosphere now that BufordP is off your case!

[TaxRelief]

The intent of (their) protest here is to demoralize the families of the soldiers. They're attacking the families while the soldiers are away fighting for their freedom."

He added that he thinks many of the organizers are active socialists and communists whose goal is to "destabilize the Middle East and allow the powder keg to continue."

So what did you really say instead of (their)?

"The intent of (the pacifist) protest..." or
"The intent of (the hippie) protest..."
or "The intent of (the smelly, drum beating, socialist) protest..."

[BufordP]

I may drive to Thursday's event. I'll see if I can get his blood pressure back up again.
:-)