I RPed the Anti-war rally yesterday

[krott5333]

we had an anti-war rally downtown here in Erie last night, a few hundred people. at a park at the busiest intersection of town.. they had "support the troops - end the war" yard signs all down both streets, and we put two giant ron paul banners on the corners facing both sides. Then we had a RP friendly table that let us put bumper stickers, t-shirts for sale, flyers, etc, and an RP sign in front of their tent. We were waving RP and End the War signs near the road, plenty of supportive beeps! A few "f'n communists!" and "what about the soldiers who died, did you forget about them" and "go home!", but overall, very good reception, about 5 honks a minute!

oh, and one of the speakers put a plug in for us "I see the Ron Paul staff is here and we welcome them because theyre obviously on the same team"

 

[Shink]

Awesome! All the confused people who call themselves Dems solely because Bush sucks might now realize they need to stop thinking in terms of party names and instead back the best candidate, Ron Paul.

 

[nullvalu]

that's really cool.. but i'm getting tired of being called a staffer.. it's happened to me twice already.. people on the street don't realize we're just ordinary people doing this because it's something we believe in.. they think we're paid for by the campaign or something like the romney people.. they're staffers.. we're volunteers. maybe we should wear pins or something..

 

[dircha]

Great idea!

Glad to hear you were accepted by the liberal-leaning folks. Ron Paul has huge Jesse Ventura appeal if we can just get those people to register and vote in the primaries.

But I think Ron will need a different message than effectively "Iraq was a mistake so we should leave now" in order to win over committed, patriotic Republicans like the ones who you said shouted "what about the troops who died?".

Ron needs to deliver a message that gives their deaths meaning. That they died in vain is not an acceptable answer.

 

[SeanEdwards]

They could be calling you things much worse than staff.

And what is with 'troops who died' crap? Do these people think the dead soldiers want company or something?

 

[Shink]

Great idea!

Glad to hear you were accepted by the liberal-leaning folks. Ron Paul has huge Jesse Ventura appeal if we can just get those people to register and vote in the primaries.

But I think Ron will need a different message than effectively "Iraq was a mistake so we should leave now" in order to win over committed, patriotic Republicans like the ones who you said shouted "what about the troops who died?".

Ron needs to deliver a message that gives their deaths meaning. That they died in vain is not an acceptable answer.

That they died in vain is a SOBERING, correct answer. People need to be slapped around a bit sometimes. This is coming directly from someone who was in Iraq. I accept that the overall mission I was involved in was a part of something unjust and disgusting. It's a tough pill to swallow but it must be done. It's not dishonorable to serve your country, but it is dishonorable what we have been used for.

If people need a feel-good on Iraq, they need to just think about every time we personally helped someone in need in Iraq, not everytime we got in firefights with people defending against an occupation. I suggest that people don't need a warm and fuzzy, they need a bitchslap.

 

[Duckman]

That they died in vain is a SOBERING, correct answer. ... ... I suggest that people don't need a warm and fuzzy, they need a bitchslap.

It's terrible, but war is terrible and to be avoided at all costs. Every major, important general always warns of something along those lines. The sooner we accept that a policy has failed, the better. We are not infallible, it seems we think we are.

 

[SeanEdwards]

I don't think soldiers doing their duty can ever be said to have died in vain. They died fulfilling their solemn oath. Doing your duty and making the ultimate sacrifice is never a waste, regardless of the stupidity of the mission.

What you can say, is that the leaders squandered their sacrifice. But to put on the uniform and stand in harm's way is never a waste. It is the ultimate gift an individual can give to their community.

 

[Karsten]

So did I...

Check out my pics, when about 10 of us Ron Paul supporters invaded a group of about 30 moveon.org anti-war rally people in West Covina, CA...

http://ronpaul.meetup.com/1/photos/?photoAlbumId=208225&photoId=1999823

 

[libertarian4321]

I don't think soldiers doing their duty can ever be said to have died in vain. They died fulfilling their solemn oath. Doing your duty and making the ultimate sacrifice is never a waste, regardless of the stupidity of the mission.

As a soldier, I'm willing to defend my country.

I hope to make the other poor bastard die for his country (I don't relish the thought of dying for my country, and anyone who does has a screw loose).

If I do die defending the USA, it will not be a death in vain.

However, if I die FOR A MISTAKE, my death WILL BE IN VAIN! The fact that I'm "doing my duty" won't make my death any less pointless.

Iraq is a mistake. Soldiers in Iraq are NOT DEFENDING THE USA. Every soldier who dies in Iraq dies in vain. Sending more soldiers to die in vain to "defend the honor" of the soldiers who have already died in vain is STUPID!

And now you know one of the reasons this old soldier is supporting RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT!

 

[american.swan]

that's really cool.. but i'm getting tired of being called a staffer.. it's happened to me twice already.. people on the street don't realize we're just ordinary people doing this because it's something we believe in.. they think we're paid for by the campaign or something like the romney people.. they're staffers.. we're volunteers. maybe we should wear pins or something..

ALRIGHT!! Lets call m-w.com and a make a new word to describe us. Hey, isn't there one already. "Fanatic"

 

[bertsbrother]

Looks like I caught you guys...

(cell phone pic)

 

[LastoftheMohicans]

I don't think soldiers doing their duty can ever be said to have died in vain. They died fulfilling their solemn oath. Doing your duty and making the ultimate sacrifice is never a waste, regardless of the stupidity of the mission.

What you can say, is that the leaders squandered their sacrifice. But to put on the uniform and stand in harm's way is never a waste. It is the ultimate gift an individual can give to their community.

I would never say this when trying to win someone over. But the fact is that they took a oath to the Constitution. That is their duty. Being in Iraq was not only unconstitutional and therefore illegal, it has nothing to do with defending the American people. They did die in vain. And what's worse, they died for the whims of politicians. They didn't die protecting their community. Their community wasn't invaded.

 

[krott5333]

Looks like I caught you guys...

(cell phone pic)

haha. I'm not in that pic.

Identify yourself!

 

[markpa]

Awesome job!!

 

[Elwar]

Sadly, most Democrats don't support this war because Bush is the president.

How many times have you heard these excuses of why we shouldn't be at war:
We're not going to win!
Bush lied!
No blood for oil!

How many have you heard say:
We weren't attacked by Iraq!
We weren't threatened by Iraq!
Iraq never hinted at thinking of attacking US!
No pre-emptive war!

In the past several years I have not heard one person agree with me that Iraq's not a mistake because we might not win...it's a mistake because we pre-emptively attacked a country that has never attacked nor threatened us.
That is, until Ron Paul ran for president and I actually started seeing like-minded individuals coming out of the woodwork.