No matter WHO we are, what race or nationality, male or female or what political party we affiliate with I’d like to believe we ALL prefer the TRUTH to information that is actually MISinformation or DISinformation. It just makes sense to want to be informed with correct information. It’s good to trust people who have had the actual ‘experience’ to describe it to us. Even better, of course, is actually having had the experience personally, in which case we’re pretty much assured we’ve got it right. AND if someone asks us to describe it to them, we’re confident we’re passing along the truth. You know …
So, I felt compelled to write this about an experience I’ve had (and shared with thousands of people) to dispel rumors or incorrect information that’s floating around “out there.”
Contrary to how it may seem, this is not exactly a political post. The example is political but the focus remains about TRUTH, which seems to be in short order a lot of the time lately. On this topic, at least, I really want to share the truth because I’ve BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.
The past few days I’ve heard the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson say that next weekend there will be a protest (speaking of the NO KINGS national protest / rally on October 18) that he referred to as “the HATE AMERICA RALLY.”
What Mr. Johnson said was, “It will be a gathering of Antifa, Pro-Marxists and Pro-Hamas groups. It will be an outrageous gathering with an outrageous purpose. All this has got to come to an end. We’re so angry about it. I’m a very patient guy but I have had it with these people. They’re playing games with real people’s lives. It (the rally) is meant to extend the government shutdown.”
I’m sorry but I can’t listen to this disinformation without speaking up and speaking out.
My husband and I were at the national NO KINGS Protest in June and I know from having been a part of it, how and what it actually was. If anyone turned on a TV (any channel other than FOX News) in the many days following, they saw HUGE crowds in every major city and in small towns all over this country PEACEFULLY PROTESTING as part of the NO KINGS Protest. AND it extended into countries other than our own. There was no violence, which was remarkable considering the size of the crowds.
As a “national” protest there is NO DOUBT in my mind that it was successful, peaceful and overwhelmingly attended BECAUSE of skillful organization AND because those attending were united in a common cause because we LOVE THIS COUNTRY. “Hating America” was never even hinted at.
WEEKS prior to the event those of us signed up to attend were invited to multiple webinars that educated us on how to act, how to peacefully defuse a conflict, what we could and could not bring to the event, and sadly, how to be identified should we become victims of violence. The recurrent theme throughout EVERY webinar we attended was that, above and beyond all else, it would be PEACEFUL, which was the most important thing.
We were told absolutely NOT to bring a weapon. It was suggested that we bring water, signs and a snack if we wanted to. We were also told to bring raincoats in the event of bad weather. We would NOT be allowed to bring umbrellas or any object that had the potential to be used as a weapon … our posters and signs had to be held by hand and not attached to stakes or sticks of any kind.
We were instructed NOT to be confrontational even if someone confronted us. If a conflict occurred that threatened to become physical, we were instructed to sit down on the ground and put our signs on the ground in front of us. This would distinguish us from those causing the conflict and would make them easier for the police presence to identify.
The constant and ever-present instruction was to do everything we were instructed to do to keep it a PEACEFUL PROTEST. And it worked. Of the thousands and thousands of people that attended throughout the world, the protest was PEACEFUL. There was NO sign of HATE or HATE AMERICA. This apparently was the universal response or we would surely have heard about even one incident for days and days following the event.
I can only speak for the rally we attended in our city, which brought in more than 1000 people and was remarkable.
To make things clear, my husband and I are not affiliated with ANTIFA (which is NOT a “group or organization,” by the way, but is an abbreviation (possibly also an acronym?) for Anti Fascism), neither are we Pro-Marxists or Pro-Hamas. Among ALL those present we never saw a single poster or sign FOR those groups but did see MANY very creative signs and posters protesting against President trump’s methods of governing and tendency toward acting like a king … hence the NO KINGS title of the nation-wide rally. There were, however, abundant posters / signs to save our democracy, Social Security, healthcare, Medicare, Medicaid, museums, history as it actually happened, education, women’s rights and the CONSTITUTION, and more. There were signs against indiscriminate ICE raids against anyone that does NOT appear to be ‘white.’
The 1000+ people at the rally locally were the way America was intended … people of every color, race, sex, nationality, and they (we) were young people, old people, disabled people – some in wheelchairs, representatives from every age and choice … every group. The BEST part of all of us together was that we WERE together … talking to each other like neighbors meeting at a mailbox or at a block party united for a common cause and BECAUSE WE LOVE THIS COUNTRY. It was exhilarating and positive and inspiring.
The only concern that could have turned to conflict, thankfully did NOT. 3 men arrived together wearing the MAGA uniform – beards, the red baseball MAGA cap … and stood just outside the crowd watching, scowling and one was taking notes. About 40 minutes into the event one left and came back carrying a flag I wasn’t familiar with and wearing a shoulder holster with a gun. He walked into the crowd and simply stood holding his flag. The police approached him immediately and spoke with but didn’t attempt to make him leave because he hadn’t done anything except, perhaps, try to intimidate with the presence of his holstered weapon. We’d been well trained by the pre-rally webinars and didn’t feel the intimidation if any was intended.
A woman with a small child standing close to us said, “There are CHILDREN here …”
The press arrived and was headed towards the man with the flag and gun, doing their job and apparently with plans to get a story for News at 6. The men closest to him surrounded him quickly, never touching him, and held their signs above his head to deflect the press and keep the event from being interpreted as something controversial. Since the event was PEACEFUL (and about the right to PEACEFULLY PROTEST as much as it was about NO KINGS), I thought the action of the men in the crowd was peacefully and well executed. The 3 bearded men left shortly after that.
SO … Mr. Johnson … you are wrong and I couldn’t let your statements just hang out there in the air without attempting to make them right as I’m certain you would want me to do. The previous nation-wide NO KINGS event was neither populated by ANTIFA, Pro-Marxists or Pro-Hamas and I’m betting dollars to doughnuts the NO KINGS event coming up on October 18 will not be either.
The thing that bothers me so much about what you’ve been saying is that it is disinformation and rather than it being simply your OPINION, because of who you are and the position you hold it may seem to be a call to those troubled trump followers who enjoy conflicts and inflicting personal injury upon those they believe to be against trump. Your statements, Sir, are what has the potential to cause problems and even injury or loss of life and that frightens me beyond words. You have a responsibility to do all you can to prevent that from happening.
As an additional aside, as preparation for the October NO KINGS event continues, including pre-event webinars, at NO time have we heard even a hint that this particular rally that has been months in the planning, is intended as a means of extending the current government shutdown. The shutdown is NOT a consideration because it hadn’t occurred when this event was originally conceived.
I remember politicians having differences of opinion as long as I’ve been able to understand conversation and differences. In the past that was a good thing because talking / debating through differences mostly made for sounder and stronger judgement. It encouraged people to THINK. But misinformation & disinformation are like cancers that will continue to do unimaginable damage unless they are stopped. I implore you to do your research and find out what NO KINGS (or anything else) is about before making public statements that can cause real damage. Let it start with you …
The NO KINGS Protests are peaceful, founded on peace for the love of this country. WATCH … LISTEN TO THEM … ATTEND ONE. According to unaltered history … President Truman had a sign on his desk that said THE BUCK STOPS HERE.
heimdalco 