"Really? I'll feel better if I just stand up?"
Posted on 01/15/2005 3:09:37 PM PST by Chummy
They will leave from Green Bay, Milwaukee and Madison, and they will travel all night. When they arrive Thursday morning, they will participate in a nationwide effort to send a message to the president, who will be inaugurated for his second term that day.
The protesters will line Bush's parade route, with no signs and no clothes that distinguish them from the general public. When the motorcade drives by, they will turn their backs.
"We're just going there as people, and at the given cues, we're going to turn our backs. It'll be pretty quiet like that," said Anita Singh, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the organizers.
The "Turn Your Back on Bush" project was designed to outsmart security personnel who have kept protesters away from high-profile events. Singh said the spoken cue is being kept secret for now, because it appears there may be supporters of the president trying to infiltrate their ranks.
"It is kind of weird. People will be going there to dissuade protesters, turn them in the wrong direction, get them away from the inauguration," Singh said. But their fears of people making a scene are unfounded, she said. "We're trying to avoid any sort of conflict."
With many students still away from Madison, it is impossible to know how many people will participate and how many buses will be needed, Singh said.
Bus tickets are still available for $90 at three locations in Madison: A Room of One's Own, 307 W. Johnson St.; the Rainbow Bookstore Collective, 426 W. Gilman St.; and the Madison Info Shop, 1019 Williamson St.
Ron Kossik of Manitowoc said he expects 30 people will take the "Lakeshore Bus," picking protesters up in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Milwaukee and Racine.
And Tracey Sperko of Milwaukee said she's got a separate busload coming from that city. Other protesters, especially those planning to stay longer in Washington, will be carpooling, she said. Bus tickets from Milwaukee are available from Atomic Records, 1813 E. Locust St.
"I know it won't change anything, but what I've found is that it gives hope to a lot of people that we're not just a forgotten 49 percent. That we can stand up for ourselves, we can represent ourselves. We're still part of this country," said Sperko, a veteran of the Persian Gulf War. She was state director of Veterans for Kerry. "Some people have rolled our shades up, but for some of us, it's making us feel better to just stand up."
There may be some scholarship funds for people who cannot afford the entire price. The Madison delegation will depart from the Wisconsin Memorial Union at 5 p.m. Wednesday, and will return Friday afternoon.
There will be organized protests, but people with a bus ticket are free to do as they please while in Washington, Singh said.
Sounds like a humdinger of a protest. Just show the world what a backside you are, and then the ??-hour trip back to Wisconsin. Wish we had thought of that!
FYI
Makes you sympathize with Randy Moss.
Hope the buses get stuck in Detroit.
They'll be cutting the cheese all the way back to Madison, once they've raised a stink in D.C.
A UW-Madison student being anti-Bush...UNHEARD of. /heavy sarcasm/
We're just going there as people,
Really? Just as people. How interesting.
Liberals are so stupid.
What they need to turn their backs on is the dem clowns in Madison who slashed the tires on 40 vans that the Republicans had rented to take their voters to the polls.
This, after finding out yesterday that probably at least 25,000 fraudulent Kerry votes were cast in the city of Milwaukee alone. This doesn't even take into account the illegal voter drives, bogus absentee ballot scandals, felons voting from prison and the People's Republic of Madison where I'm sure at least as much fraud took place. Bush only lost WI by 10,000 votes, so guess who probably legitamatly won? And they're going to protest what? That their massive fraud still didn't propell Kerry into the White House? Sick, stupid SOB's.
LOL.........nothing would make me sympathize with Randy Moss
I haven't heard that.
Just a bunch of Randy Moss clones. The President won't see them or care what they do.
ROTFLOL!!
Is this supposed to be payback for the veterans who turned their backs to Kerry ..?? Poor things .. they just can't get on with life.
It'd be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.
Bunch of college kids?
They should stay home and look into why there are more registered voters in Milwaukee than there are adults.
BTTT
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.