At this ratio all the FReepers in Texas could hold off every Leftie in the country.
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Posted on 10/05/2002 11:02:13 PM PDT by HAL9000
Anti-war protest draws about 1,500 in AustinAUSTIN — About 1,500 demonstrators, including more than two dozen from San Antonio and South Texas, marched through downtown at the state capital Saturday afternoon in protest of plans for a U.S. invasion of Iraq
Chanting such slogans as, "One, two, three, four, we don't want your oil war!" the throng marched north along Congress Avenue and gathered for a rally at the Austin federal building at Ninth and San Jacinto streets, where more than a dozen speakers addressed the group.
A Houston peace organization brought a busload of more than 30 protesters, but a similar bus-chartering effort in Dallas failed.
About a dozen demonstrators from the Dallas-Fort Worth area came to Austin, anyway.
The demonstration and march drew graying veterans of past anti-war campaigns as well as a new generation of high school and college students, many of whom were attending their first protest.
Richie Libertad, 19, a student at Edison High School in San Antonio, said he came for the march because, "I feel that what George Bush is striving for is not what the people want. The people do not want a war."
Tory Gravito, 24, a law student at St. Mary's University, said the demonstration would be useful "to force the media to broaden the debate about the war in Iraq."
Among the some two dozen religious, pacifist and left-wing groups represented at the march was the Austin chapter of Veterans for Peace.
Jewel Johnson, 76, a veteran of World War II, said he has attended dozens over the years.
"I was in the Navy," he said. "My ship picked up former prisoners of war, American, Brits and Russians, at Nagasaki, shortly after the atom bomb was dropped.
"A few days later, I walked through the rubble of Hiroshima, and I've been a peace activist ever since."
About a dozen speakers took the microphone at the federal building rally at the conclusion of the march. The most prominent of them was Rahul Mahajan of Austin, author of a book on U.S. policy in the Middle East, and the Green Party's candidate for governor.
"I accuse the Bush administration of viewing the events of 9-11 as an opportunity instead of a tragedy," he told the crowd.
Leti Guerra, a student at San Antonio College, also spoke to the rally, to invite participants to an Oct. 26 mobilization in San Antonio.
"I don't want mothers to grieve the loss of their sons, or for children to do without their parents. We need to do this in every city and every state until Bush gets the message that we don't want this war," she said.
Only two counter-demonstrators, from a conservative group called Free Republic, were in evidence at the rally. They carried picket signs reading, "Leaving Saddam in control of weapons of mass destruction is like putting Clinton or Condit in charge of interns."
Actually, I did get a picture of the jerk. He would come right up next to you and argue in your face. We asked him to leave and he didn't. Gracey asked him to back up and he didn't. When she put her arms out to establish her personal space, he got upset and spit on her.
It was difficult to get the Law Enforcement Officers' attention who stayed across the street. We need to bring a whistle next time.
I need to get back to Austin sometime. That's where I was born.
Another article I saw, had some quotes from a couple of us and were pretty favorable.
Back in 2000 I went to a rally in Tallahassee. It was the night that Harris was going to release the official totals. There were around 250 Freepers, and 3 Gore supporters.
Do you think the report read like this? No. Every reporter (print, TV news, photographer) went to the Gore supporters for an interview. We heckled the reporters. I was even told to keep quite because I was disrupting the interview. The next day, the pictures in the papers and on web sites showed a big crowd with the Gore supporters in front. It looked like a huge Gore crowd (except for my daughter, who slipped in the bottom of one of the pics with her Sore Loserman sign.
Funny how the lefty spit in a woman's face, not the Marine's, huh?
Message to protesters:
HEY TWERPS. WHY are you protesting? This ain't the '60s. There is NO draft. This is a VOLUNTEER amry. Therefore your protest only means that you support terrorism.
What a nug-head. This statement is a succinct example of just how stupid the 'average' American is.
Proud to be a HOT Freeper, Eric
Great job. HOTS, and I sure hope I will be able to make the next freep with you!
At this ratio all the FReepers in Texas could hold off every Leftie in the country.
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I refused because it has come in handy at many freeps against the anti-war crowd so they finally took a picture of themselves with it. The ladies with us thought they were going to take it and told them not to steal it which I thought was nice. Hours later, I thought that I should have been the capitalist that I am and sold it to them.
But this one brings them over to argue that they don't hate America. Then you know that they aren't beyond hope, because they aren't radical left. They just think they are.
But then they don't ever believe that the communist organize these rallies or that anyone sponsoring these rallies don't want America to win.
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