Kowabunga

Labor Day Protest Full Report

September 4th, 2008 | by Sqotty |

Labor Day, 2008. It was the day of the big pro-terrorism rally and parade. There was also a “Victory Over Terrorism” Rally going on at the same time. Knowing about some of the plans being put forth by the so-called RNC Welcoming Committee, I had some doubts about going up to St. Paul for the pro-Victory rally. But decided it was important enough that I should go to it.

It’s a bit of a hike up from Northfield, especially when one doesn’t want to park downtown; besides, parking in St. Paul was going to be at a premium, and I don’t want my truck keyed by some Leftist Moonbat. I took light rail in from the Mall of America and then a bus to downtown, and then backtracked a mile or so on foot as the bus doesn’t stop in the detour leg of the route. Too bad as we went right past Triangle Park where the support the troops rally was taking place. I also had to walk through “no man’s land”, or the rally site for the Leftists anti-war/pro-terrorism parade. It was going to be a hot and humid day.

Actually, walking through the Moonbat Square was entertaining as I got to see some of the stacks of signs, provided by such communist groups as the Socialist Workers Party. Signs with the famous silhouette image of Che Guevara were also present. I wonder if these people understand that he executed thousands of Cubans, many of them kids as young as 15 years of age. The theme there was “we hate Bush!”, “No war for oil” and, of course, “we hate Republicans, period!” Various communist groups were handing out their propaganda papers…what a laugh.

Once I made it to Triangle Park, I hooked up with my pal, Bill, and spotted a couple of other people I know. Many of the people at this rally fell into one of the following categories: Gold Star Parents, people who have served in the military, people with family currently serving. Most were from Minnesota, but some had come from as far away as Mississippi. Nice people, all of them. Shrek’s mom was there. Families United was the principal organizing group. Emotions ran high. Love, honor, and pride.

Jon Voight showed up and addressed the crowd. There were about a hundred of us gathered there. He signed autographs and posed with pictures, and generally hung out with the folks. I kind of stayed off in the wings as I thought this should be more for those who have lost a loved one in these ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, or for those who served in harm’s way. I served in the Air Force in the ’80s. Nothing exciting or interesting about my service. I just did my duty. I was never in harm’s way. Unlike the many of those that were here with me. Vietnam vets. Iraq War vets. Afghanistan vets. I’m just a guy who spent three years in Spain hanging computer tapes and eating calamari. This didn’t mean my service was any less in their eyes, nor did they treat me as if it was. But I figured those who have suffered loses, or had put their lives on the line should be the center of attention. Good people. All of them.

A few vehicles carrying some troops to St. Paul, possibly National Guardsmen brought in to help with the crowd control, rolled past us. We flashed our signs. Some of them waved or gave us a thumb’s up.

Soon, it was time to saunter, meander, and otherwise stroll down to the Excel Center where the RNC was taking place and where the focal point of the protest would be.

Arriving at the new site we saw a platoon of police officers in riot gear. With tear gas grenades. They were relaxing before the festivities began. Joe Repya was also down there as well, with hundreds of “Victory Over Terrorism” signs. There was about 150 of us here. We were going to be heavily outnumbered, but the role was specifically to provide a display of support to those serving overseas and give some semblance of balance. The rule was to not engage the opposition. Smile; hold up the signs; have fun. Works for me.

After a while the first wave of protestors, a group of about 200, showed up. They pranced around, a few of them flipped us off and called us various obscenities; for the most part we ignored them. Several wore Che Guevara t-shirts. The Bloody Butcher of Havana. And they think bush is “evil.” These were most likely some of the break-away group that caused the bulk of the rioting that took place later that day. Fortunately they left. Some of them looked like they hadn’t had a bath in a month. Probably longer.

We then had a respite to socialize while we waited for the main body of protesters to arrive. So we waited. And waited. We were beginning to think they all turned chicken. Finally they did show up, several thousand Moonbats screaming “Bush is a terrorist!” I always thought Bush was the president and Osama bin Laden was the terrorist. At one point when a leader would loudly ask “who’s the terrorist” some of us responded “Ahmadinejad!” It fit right in. I wonder if the Moonbats know who Ahmadinejad is? Especially those carrying signs of Che Guevara, like he was some kind of great hero to be idolized. I wouldn’t be surprised if Barack Obama concurs with them on that point. I know there is a few million Cubans who would disagree with that sentiment.

There were some friendly interchanges between the two groups, as well as some protestors who insisted on giving us the finger and slinging profanities at us with great abandon. For the most part we ignored the profanities and made light of getting the finger. But they, the ones that were slinging the profanities and giving us the finger should be embarrassed, as there were still a number of Gold Star parents amongst us, and the Gold Star folks deserve to be treated with honor and respect, regardless of where you stand on the war or your personal political ideology. Occasionally we would crack a remark at them, but I didn’t here any profanities or witness anyone giving the finger from our side.

Code Pink had a pretty good sized showing, and seemed to be okay with one of our merry band posing in front of them with his “Victory” sign. It added a surreal image to the overall scene. Mayhem did not breakout where we were.

Once the bulk of the parade had moved past us, Lt.Col. Repya (retired) began to round up folks and wind down our rally. Mission accomplished. No fall out. No violence. A good time was had by us. Time to head for home…or more accurately, someplace to get some cold drinks. Especially since there were reports that the police have had to lay down a few cans of tear gas.

Overall it was a good experience. One I would do again in like company, and preferably without the criminal troublemakers that were involved on the other side. But the criminal types were in the minority. However it only takes a couple of them to cause things to spiral out of control. The police did their jobs, admirably and well. Those I did encounter in passing here and there were friendly, and like me, hoped that they were overdressed for the day. Sadly all of that gear was proven to be necessary. Fortunately the police were well prepared for the problems that did arise.

Too many of our young have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like most Americans, I mourn their loss. Unlike the anti-war protesters, I recognize that they gave their lives to the cause of Liberty, if not our own, then for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq…just as Americans did in World War 2 did to liberate Europe, Asia, and the Pacific rim.