Jackasses met during anti-war protests

Anyone who's participated in an anti-war protest has likely met them - hecklers, idiots, people on the other side. Thankfully, they're in the extreme minority. Most people driving past seem to be very supportive.

This week, the most obnoxious one was riding in a Ford Excursion SUV stretched into a giant limo (see this page http://www.ftlauderdalelimo.com/excursion-limo.htm for horrid examples.) It was utterly hideous. He was riding way in the back, wearing a black cowboy hat, filling the stereotype of "rich asshole." He gave us the single-finger salute has his monstrosity of a vehicle pulled away. I wonder how many Iraqis per mile it gets...

Last week wasn't so funny. A car full of skinheads pulled up and started flipping us off and cussing at us. We argued back at them (trying to be civil,) and I had to get a little closer to the altercation than I would have liked, because most of the protesters are older church-going women, or aging hippies. One's a WWII vet that's far too old to get in fights. Thankfully, the skinheads drove away after berating us. Later, some assholes in a pickup truck screeched their wheels and belched diesel smoke at us.

I can take insults. I can take being flipped off. But the protests are supposed to be non-violent. We all know this, and even the counter-protesters across the street know this (we disagree, but civilly) but I'm afraid we could get assaulted by skinheads or other wingnuts.

Any tips on how to deal with this?

After all, the police say these are all nonviolent ways of controlling people when they use them. Who are we to disagree?

If you defend yourself BEFORE being physically attacked you will be arrested for assault. None of the situations the OP described would allow the OP to retaliate with any of the items you suggest.

I was commenting on the double standard that's applied when deciding whether someone presents a threat. If a bunch of skinheads rolled up and started shouting abuse at cops, they'd soon find themselves on the receiving end of the weapons I described. Yet the average citizen is expected to endure far more risk without recourse.

And remember, the Supreme Court has decided that the police are not required to protect you, unless you're in their custody.

And very true. :hi:

:hi:

I have always just displayed the peace sign and smile.
Makes em mad, but they move on.

Get evidence. Take pictures, especially of vehicles and license plates.

And remember that you're in the majority.

...I was, of course, out there supporting Gore. I was at a corner in front of the federal building on Wilshire Blvd in West L.A. holding a protest sign. Well, the light changed to red and the traffic stopped ~~ and there I stood with a group of people ~~ and I am wearing my usual pearl earrings, loafers and hair tied in a chignon at the nape of my neck with a black velvet ribbon...and I am a Senior Citizen. Not exactly the rad, hippie look...to say the least.

Some HUGE ba-zillion dollar SUV is stopped in front of the group of us...and the azzhat sitting in the passenger seat rolls down the window...and yells at the top of his lungs, "FUCK YOU" at the group of Gore supporters. Ummmm....no one says ANYTHING...and I loudly say back to the creep in my most elegant voice replete with disdain, "Sorry, I don't do charity work." And the entire group erupts in laughter and the azzhat who said this then had to sit in front of the group at the red light until it changed to green...while everyone laughed at him and I continued to give him my most elegant stare!

It was a great moment!

:rofl:

...azzhat when they are so brilliant to shout "Fuck You"...:evilgrin:

They have absolutely NO clue on how to answer back!

great post...

:rofl: You are so my hero for doing that. :applause: Rock on! :D

Giving them attention just validates their attention-whore tendencies. A few years ago, during a protest leading up to the war, it was raining buckets (yes, it does actually rain sometimes in Los Angeles). To the protestors' credit, they showed up in droves anyway. As a bunch of us were walking back to our cars, some dipshit very deliberately drove into the gutter to splash a bunch of us. And you know what? Fuck him. We also got many honks of approval; in the meantime, this asshole drove into the gutter to prove who he was. Which is just about right.

to get permits to protest? Or do you just show up? The police in Phoenix are always present at all of our damn protests. So far we have been very lucky with only a few incidents as when push comes to shove, we fight back. Heh.

need a permit.

Permit for this, permit for that, tax for this, tax for that.

Believe me, many have tried, in all good faith. It very easily goes crazy with some. And you'll lose any of them who might have eventually been won over under other circumstances. Some are just people who are dis-satisfied and ignorant. We're not going to reach them by yelling at them in the streets. They may walk up and approach you sometime on your terms. If the environment is hostile, no one is going to approach for anything except more hostility.

Altercations look bad to most others. Take the high road.

Concentrate on being more consistent and out-lasting them and getting bigger groups than theirs. Invite speakers and musicians.

Concentrate of your signs. I know you feel there is something important that needs to be said, otherwise you wouldn't be there and you wouldn't be trying to talk to the BushBots. Say it with your signs. Get even with the creeps by communicating better than they do. Use powerful information.

Good signs also free us from media lies and distortions.

I use poster-size foam-core board, available at Hobby Lobby or such. It's stiff, so you don't need a stick and you can put messages on both sides. You've got to figure out how to get what needs said down to as few words as possible. The longest one I have has "Military Service:" Bush AWOL, followed by all of the names in Bush's administration who have no service with 0s after them. People simply won't read and understand anything that has too many words on it, is too idiosyncratic, or too complex. Try to convince others. I also have several signs with religious/moral themes. We have worked in sign making groups, because it helps to think of and refine ideas.

Stand near a traffic light, so they can read while they wait for green. We have someone who holds a "Honk for Peace" sign and many of us wave and holler "thank you" at the honkers. Dress nice. Smile.

If the hostility continues and escalates, any local Quakers are pretty experienced in these matters and have even been known to mediate between hostile groups.

"God" bless you for what you are doing.

Hare Krsna! Hare Rama!

and try to attack us. We held our signs and stood firm, but she wound up making my husband fall to the ground. We found that standing together, shoulder to shoulder, holding our signs rigidly upright before us, was the best thing we could do. The cops came over and took her away--it was clear who was causing the problem, and it wasn't us.

Ignore them. Don't confront them and take plent of pictures.

One idiot tried to kill me in his pick-up truck because he didn't like my Kerry sticker on my rear bumper. I just blew him kisses. Made him mad, I did. I hope he got a canker sore on that finger too.

Be sure everyone has a camera trained on the skinheads and their vehicle. We always had one person who stayed a little bit away from our group but who was ready with a camera/video camera at all times.

the best way to deal with a heckler is to turn the audience against them. What you need is a special stash of "heckler signs" to use on them when they happen to drive by. Ask DU'ers what to write on them, maybe we can come up with a list that other people can use as well. You could have one that says "Enlistment Forms Available Here! Football Injuries and Anal Cysts Welcomed!" to use on any younger hecklers.
Funny that you brought this up today, I had to go to a part of town that I don't get to too often this afternoon. Last 2 times I was there there were protesters, they apparently go out every Saturday for a couple hours. The first time I saw them there was 2 people. About 3 months later there were about 10 people. Today there were at least 30. All middle age to older people, all holding signs and waving at cars. I made sure to stop and say thanks, they told me they are going to keep at it till they number in the hundreds. I'm going to have to join them next weekend.

Momma bear went looking, but cars are faster than feet. My preference is turning the crowd also.

and wouldn't stand a chance against it.

Steel toed boots.

And have a cell phone handy so you can call 9-1-1 if necessary.

If I wanted to bring weapons, I could certainly bring weapons. Note that my signature line does say "Liberal gun nut." I even have a concealed carry permit, so I can legally bring guns if I wanted to.

I don't want to. These are non-violent protests. Bringing weapons goes completely against the spirit of these demonstrations, so I refuse to do it. I was considering getting pepper spray, but I'm not going to even do that.

As far as I'm concerned, weapons are out of the question. I believe that to be true of everyone I protest with. That still leaves a safety question. None of us go out of our way to pick fights, but we all are passionate about politics and stopping the war. I know that yelling at idiots like skinheads isn't going to change them, so I try not to do it, but eventually, tensions rise and I've seen a couple shouting matches. I'm afraid that some of these people who don't share our views on non-violence are going to start using violence upon us.

I suppose we could call the cops. I've generally had good relations with the cops in Fort Collins, but I'd rather not get them involved, especially after being photographed by the FBI at a protest in Denver. I want to keep law enforcement far away, because the last thing we need is a right-wing jackass with a badge abusing his authority.