It was a beautiful, sunny day here in Louisville today. Perfect for driving with the top down on the car and perfect for counter-protesting a bunch of mealy-mouthed pacifists! Much to the chagrin of our arch rivals, LPAC (a.k.a., the old hippies), Protest Warrior successfully crashed their little pacifist party today outside of the Ramada Inn on Zorn Avenue. They were there protesting the presence of the West Point Military Academy recruiters who were holding a presentation for prospective students inside the Ramada Inn this evening.
One old hippy chick took up a position all by herself in a median outside of the Ramada Inn just before 6pm tonight; she was joined quickly by another.
Lonely Old Hippy Chicks
One minute later, six Protest Warriors armed with flags from all four of the Armed Forces, tongue-in-cheek signs, Old Glory, and a boom box locked and loaded with patriotic tunes marched out to the opposite median. Eventually, there would be six old hippies holding silly signs intended to scare young men and women who were interested in attending Westpoint. Eventually, on the opposite median, there would be 15 liberty-loving supporters of the US Military and Conservative values waving flags and holding signs intended to show our support for America and her warriors.
Protest Warriors Mission Underway
Just as we were digging in for our hour-long protest, four young guys crossed the street to our median. I am sorry now that I didn't write down their names so I'd remember them long enough to name them here. (Sorry guys; I'm an old broad with a short memory!) We cheered when we found out who they were and why they had come out to join us. We are used to having the random veteran or active duty guy on leave join us -- it happens at every counter-protest we do and it means so much to all of us every time it happens. This was so very different. We were graced with the presence of the future of the US Army. I can tell you, after meeting and talking with these guys, this country will be in good hands.
Circumstances were nothing short of cosmically poetic. As it turns out, the Army was housing new recruits and a couple of guys who had re-enlisted at the Ramada Inn prior to them shipping out for bootcamp and to MEPS for physicals tomorrow. The guys told us that they had been wondering what they would find to do with their evening! They were happy to see us out there facing down the hippy contingent. Before we knew it, they were armed with flags and signs too. We were so proud to have them stand with us! Brent, one of our warriors, bought them all cigars. Immediately, our median took on the look of Patton's Army (sans uniforms, of course) as those cigars were lit and flags were waving. Naturally, the mood became pretty festive.
PW and Our New Friends
Amen, Brothers!
One of the young guys, who was cherishing the last few days of his longish blond locks, seemed to enjoy marching over to the other median to debate the pacifists. He took it upon himself to shake out some of the other recruits from the hotel to join us. We were joined by two older guys -- Dave had just re-upped and Tommy was a new recruit. Great guys. Since Dave and Tommy were over 21, Kelly (my fellow female warrior) and I made sure that they were rewarded with a couple of cold 12-packs of beer. I hope they threw a good party for their fellow recruits back at the hotel. It was the least we could do to say thanks.
A number of the local TV stations showed up to cover the protest and counter-protest happening out in the medians across from the Ramada. They spent a lot of time with us filming and interviewing. That could be good news or, as usual, it could turn out badly after the edits. Robert gave a good interview as did another warrior, Damon.
A number of the local TV stations showed up to cover the protest and counter-protest happening out in the medians across from the Ramada. They spent a lot of time with us filming and interviewing. That could be good news or, as usual, it could turn out badly after the edits. Robert gave a good interview as did another warrior, Damon.
Old Hippies love the media (and vice-versa)
We're getting used to the media. Right, Damon?
Damon had one of the best new signs for this rally: "PEACE BIGOTS: Guilty of hate crimes against the American Soldier." The other awesome new sign is one that Kelly made. To understand why it's so awesome, you have to know that LPAC has been doing this sign campaign around town. Their signs read: "Peace Takes Courage." Kelly's new sign for this mission read: "FREEDOM TAKES COURAGE." Thanks to Brent, the LPAC signs have been quietly coming down as soon as they pop up around town. We Conservatives don't care for hippies who litter public property, right Brent? ;-)
I saw the WAVE-3 news report at 11pm tonight. It was labeled as an "investigative report." A misnomer for sure as the reporter didn't bother to mention that our crew was made up of more than just Protest Warriors. He didn't bother to interview any of our new friends who would be headed to bootcamp. Nice journalism, pal. Anyway, as expected, the soundbytes they used were a bit slanted to the Left; however, they didn't cut the footage of the new recruits standing at attention as the National Anthem played on the boombox.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T for A-M-E-R-I-C-A
WAVE-3 used footage of one of our favorite LPACers, Nancy -- she's grumpy, she's gray, and she's not too bright -- saying, "We've tried to talk to them [PW] before but it's like talking to a tree." I suppose she would know what it's like to talk to a tree now, wouldn't she? Sheesh. Then she added, "We're just on different levels." Unfortunately, she forgot to mention that it is we who are on the higher level. *sigh* NOTE: I misquoted based on memory of the quick bit I saw on the news. Check out the story on WAVE's website for the more accurate version of her nonsense.
My favorite part of the WAVE-3 report was the clip of Robert confronting a woman who was holding a "chickenhawks" sign. Robert simply wanted to know who they were calling a chickenhawk. She looked a silly and apologetic as she answered, "well, we don't mean YOU..." Actually, I'm sure she was telling the truth because when they call us a name it's usually "fascist."
Who's a Chickenhawk?!
Fox-41 news did a very brief blurb on us this evening at 10pm and they seemed to give us the slant for a change -- thanks for bucking tradition, Fox! I'll be sure to link you all to them if the TV station websites post the stories.
I had to chuckle a couple of times during this mission. The whole scene can become a bit overwhelming... Our friend, Frank, who joined the Warriors for this mission (his first experience with us) seemed to be just a taaaaaad overwhelmed by it all!
Don't worry, Frank; you did a fine job today!
I'm sure I've left out some details. Things were happening constantly and it was hard to keep up. I'd really like to get the text of Damon's sign (which was hilarious) but forgot to write it down or snap a picture of it. So, if you were there with PW today and want to contribute more details, please comment on this post or email me. I'd love to hear from everyone who was there today. I gave this blog address to the guys so they could see the pictures later. If you guys stop by, I hope you'll say "hi" and let us know how you're doing. Thanks for your courage, your patriotism, and your service. Godspeed and stay safe, fellas!!
Comments
WeldGopHardline
Paul Hosse
Paul, thank you for your sacrifice and service, my friend. I can't tell you how many times we've been out on the streets with our signs and had disabled vets stop to thank us... I mean, truly it is we who thank you. It is truly my pleasure to be out there supporting our troops. I think I've said before that no one did that for the guys like my Dad who fought in the Vietnam war. Our PW chapter here is determined not to ever let that happen again to any of our brave compatriots!