On Sun, 14 May 2000 23:07:12 -0700 "Scott Bieser" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED] Scott Bieser: wrote: Here's a quick "data dump" of what I saw at the Los Angeles SAS vs MMM event: There were actually two Moron Marches in Los Angeles. The organizers had split between the soccer moms who wanted the rally at the Federal Building in Westwood, an affluent area adjacent to the University of California at Los Angeles, and where anti war and pro hemp rallies are often staged; versus the "people of color" who wanted the march on Oliviera Street near downtown L.A., which is in a mostly Hispanic area. The Second Amendment Sisters staged their counter-rally against the Westwood group. Interestingly, although the various law enforcement agencies went to great pains to keep the MMM group separated from the SAS group while rallying, they had both of us park in the same lot. As I entered the lot and paid my $2 to the attendent, she asked, "Are you with the Mothers or the Sisters?" I replied, "The Sisters," expecting to be directed to some segregated part of the lot. Instead she just handed me my parking stub and wished me a nice day. So I found myself emerging from the lot in the company of three Mothers. We didn't say anything to each other. The Mothers were encamped on the expansive lawn between the Federal(ist) Building and Wilshire Boulevard, a major traffic artery. The Sisters were spread long the opposite side of Wilshire, our backs to the fence in front of the federally-owned (and guarded) Veterans Cemetary. In that regard it seemed highly appropriate that about one in five of the Sisters group carried American flags, although I preferred the Gadsden Flag carried by one particularly determined and wonderfully hard-core Sister. Early on some attempts were made to string signs and banners along the sturdy concrete-and-iron fence, but the federal cops quickly ordered those removed. I guess they were worried about their fence falling down under the weight of the banners. Numerically, the Mothers had the Sisters beat six ways to Sunday. Best estimate of the Sisters was about 250 people, and my eyeball guesstimate of the Mothers was about ten times that. I guess it helps to have corporate sponsorships providing entertainment and amenities for the kiddies, and to have the weight of the entire gun-control lobby including the White House backing you up. For our part, the crowd seemed to be dominated by "Freepies" (subscribers to the FreeRepublic.com e-zine) as well as quite a few NRA members, although the NRA organization didn't lift a finger to help. The only Libertarian Party presence I recognized were Gail Lightfoot, who is challenging Diane Feinstain for U.S. Senate, along with her husband Richard Venable and a few other associates, and two Orange County activists. There may have been some Los Angeles Libertarians present but none that I could recognize. But while the Mothers dominated with numbers, their stage and sound system, and their diaper-changing tents, our side definitely had the best signage. I must commend the SAS organizers for having produced a large number of VERY effective protest signs. These were about 2-1/2 x 4 feet in size, using bold letters and as few words as needed to get the message across. The one I picked up to carry said, "Armed to Protect My Children." We knew the official news media would ignore us, so we focused on getting our message across to the people in the thousands of cars that passed by in both directions in the busy Boulevard. We spread ourselves one-deep along the sidewalk, so that every sign would be visible to passing cars (as well as the Moronic Mothers across the street), and we got quite a few favorable honks and hi-signs from the vehicular traffic. One of the best signs was actually a 15-foot-long banner which read, in two-foot tall letters, "Gun Control Increases Violent Crime." This was one that was ordered removed from the cemetary fence. So three of us turned ourselves into banner posts, and now I was holding not only my 4-foot sign (via a cord looped around my neck, but the left end of the large banner, via another neck-cord attached to the banner. Reminded me of the days when I had to wear a necktie to work. Most of the signs carried by the other side were not readable from across the street. Most of the unreadable signs were about 11x17 inches, mass-printed in color. Danged if I know what they said. Some of the Mothers had hand-made signs which _were_ readable, spouting the usual drivel. The most intelligent one was, "What kind of wild-west paradigm are you upholding, anyway?" Most of them were on the order of "Flowers good, Guns bad." I saw exactly three American flags in that crowd, one of them worn folded and hanging over a guy's backside. My award for Titanium Steel Balls goes to a trio of young men (youngest seemed to be age 14), who each carried a yellow hand-made pro-gun sign, and STOOD WITH THE MOTHERS! I can only remember what one of the signs said: "Nazis support Gun Control." Since the signs were facing the street, the rest of the Mothers apparently never noticed they had free people in their midst. Or maybe most of these Mothers can't read. So there I stood for three hours, waving at the cars, mooing at the Mothers, and exchanging pleasantries and wisecracks with my fellow "Sisters." For my troubles I got a nice little sunburn, an aching back from standing too long, and the immense satisfaction that I had stood up publicly for truth and justice. --Scott Bieser HMSH "Know, otherhandwise, that the easiest, most humiliating path to defeat is thinking that to beat the enemy you must be like him. Avoid the temptation to set your values aside "for the duration". What's the point of fighting if you give up what you're fighting for? If remaining consistent with your values leads to defeat, you chose the wrong values to begin with." --L.Neil Smith COA runs a national pro-firearm media campaign--and YOU can help! Learn more at http://www.citizensofamerica.org RKBA! ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day. ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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