[Paul R.]

There is one last thing I want to add. Most FReepers might think it unnecessary for me to include it, but I am so fed up with the people who assail Trump, or even more so assail those who support Trump or attend Trump rallies or (in the past) Tea Party rallies, as racist, or some sort of "Nazis", that I AM going to say it: You (attackers) are either vile liars of the worst sort, ignorant beyond belief, as biased as that accursed REAL psychopath who mowed down helpless Jewish people in Pittsburg, for whatever reason(s) willfully misled, or are simply stooges of those who given the chance would be tyrants rivalling any in history. Oh, I left one out: You might be aspiring tyrants yourselves.

You see, I have direct, personal experience to refute your ugly meme. My wife is a petite, quite brown skinned woman who appears more Hispanic than Asian. (Technically, she is a Hispanic-Asian Pacific Islander legal immigrant.) We live in the Mid-South: Generally, it is a quite "red" region. While at this rally, my wife "split off" from my daughter and me, to find a better vantage point, and we ended up being separated in the crowd for almost 2 hours. I asked her, the following evening, if at any time she felt uncomfortable, did anyone behave inappropriately toward her, etc. She said no, not at all. She even said she felt very much as "one" with the crowd. As we discussed this, she went further and said that in the 18 years she has been here, she has NEVER felt unwelcome or disliked or discriminated against for her race or sex, except in two instances, by, get this, black women. (There may be more to that, but, it is a somewhat irrelevant side issue. Our relationships and friendships with other black men or women are good, even great, in a few cases, including a black ex girlfriend of mine.)

My own observation beyond the above was that everyone seemed to be polite, friendly, and of good humor. The crowd was predominantly white, but there were a few blacks, a number of Hispanics, and Asians, and we even ran into another Pacific Islander acquaintance of my wife (who's husband and she had driven almost as far as we.) EVERY indication was that NO ONE in the crowd was valued or accepted as more or less than anyone else -- except for a few old disabled vets in wheelchairs who were, well, just "loved" is the best way I can put it. (I got the chance to assist a couple of the disabled fellows in a minor way, and got a couple "God Bless You's" from other non-disabled rally-goers, as a reward!) Everyone followed the rules and was basically a "good neighbor". Also, much as happened in the old Tea Party rallies, there was not even any trash left scattered around, so far as I could see. These are decent, responsible people.

Now, I am under no illusions. I have witnessed racism in person, on occasion, and that does not even count one of my Grandmothers, who was just awful about it. Certainly there are far "louder" than their actual numbers odious examples of human excrement on YouTube and the like, spewing their filth. And sadly, a very few (words I cannot use in public) individuals do more than talk. But... they are a tiny (under 1%?) minority, and certainly matched by just-as-bad people on the far left. Not every racist displays their racism in stereotyped ways, or fits into only certain political groups.

That is however, a different discussion. What is true here is every conservative I know, and I would claim over 99% of the people who went to President Trump's S. IL rally, have NO tolerance for racist based violence against anyone. Most, I think, would even try, if they could, to stop such if they saw it happening, even at risk to themselves. Kudos, I might add, to the WHITE GUY with a concealed carry permit, who took on that bastard in Louisville, back on Oct. 24. He may well have saved additional lives. THAT is who almost all of us would want to be.

[PJBankard]

Thank you for posting. Did you capture any photos from the event?

[Freedom56v2]

Thank you for posting. Illinois GOP is really pitiful! Shame they did not take advantage, because he went there for THEM, for those candidates.

Any idea of crowd size? I had wanted to go but just waaay too much traveling this week!

[libertylover]

Thanks for the report.

[wbill]

I experienced much the same thing at Tea Party rallies.

Perfectly safe, the Tea Partiers were a good bunch of people. Only ones that caused trouble were liberal disruptors. One that stood out in particular was some fool in a hood and robe yelling about the NRA and KKK. The cops hustled him out.

[jonno]

Great report - thanks for taking the time.

[SelmaLee]

My experience at the Murphysboro rally wasn’t that different than yours.

One thing that you missed, that we didn’t, were the dozens of Bost campaign volunteers who were everywhere while we were in line. Since you didn’t arrive until 4, I’d guess that they had already entered to hangar by then. They continually walked the huge line, talking to everyone, and providing a means to sign up to volunteer for his campaign.

I’m happy to hear that the President stopped and spoke to the outside crowd. They actually opened the gate, and started screening folks at noon, instead of the advertised 1:30. I’ve heard estimates of 7-10,00 in attendance. I’m glad you were able to make it out of that ditch, we saw quite a few cars parked down there when we were on our way out.

[NEMDF]

Thanks for this report. It occurred to me that possibly the MSM was involved in the poor communications about routes, parking, etc. Not that the area GOP might not be wholly responsible, but could have been sabotaged by the media.

[RWGinger]

I am so glad you took the time to post this
I enjoyed it
Glad you went

[E. Pluribus Unum]

We are going to a Trump rally on Thursday. My wife is always anxious about things and these are some of the things she is worried about. Can we bring a container of drinking water? Do they have water fountains there? Do they have access to port-a-potties or whatever?

Thanks.

[pbear8]

Thanks for posting, glad you enjoyed it.