Morgantown, West Virginia can claim a first.
First of all, don?t get me wrong. We don?t feel like we?ve changed the world here with the protest on July 4th. We all know that there is much work to be done. But we do feel that there have been some marked successes.
Number 1 is the media. We have permeated the media around here. Regardless of how it was presented, we got tons of mentions and lots of interviews.
We did a reasonably good job of staying on message throughout the process, both in the media and on site. We chose impeachment as the message for a couple reasons. One, Bush?s sagging poll numbers show the rate at which people are losing faith in him. The more the word ?impeach? is used, the more likely that people will associate it with him and the more likely his numbers will fall further, if even just around here. And two, we wanted to start building local momentum for the September 24th impeachment march in Washington.
Our protest was INCIDENT FREE. This fact did not go unnoticed by any stretch of the imagination and it gives the event a lot more legitimacy. Some reporters seemed the most impressed that we?d managed to keep the crazies out, though who knows how that happened- just dumb luck I believe, but still, a success.
Wow have we struck some nerves! That, in turn, has sparked a community (and regional) conversation about what is and is not acceptable behavior in a democracy. This is a dialogue that needs to happen in many, many places. This dialogue gives people permission to question and if our protest caused one person to question this president for the first time (and I happen to know that it did), then it was victory.
One of our members, a woman, was successful at demonstrating inside the event, holding up a sign that said, ?Bombs Drop, Bush Profits? which Bush saw, Secret Service missed, and Morgantown Police Department ignored. I wonder if she is the first person to ever get away with protesting inside one of these things.
We buoyed the spirits of Democrats and Progressives alike. Since I became active a couple years ago, it seems like there has been nothing but defeats. This is the first event that I?ve seen that people came away feeling like they?d won. In my short involvement in this political world, this was the first victory that we?ve been able to contribute to directly (other than the DNC Chair race, which was bittersweet for many). This one was all sweet.
We completely ruined a GOP publicity event. There were no republicans who left that event happy (except the ones who recognize the importance of free speech). The High Muckety-Muck republican that owns our local newspaper even went out of his way to put in an editorial that sounded like a spoiled 7th grader accusing someone of ruining his party. It had all the tone of a crying temper tantrum- we got to them that well.
We exceeded our own expectations, perhaps the biggest victory of all. These people expected Morgantown to be easy, our protest to be small, and the day to go smoothly. In one moment we got to frustrate Bush and Rove both (Rove had to look out at a huge sign standing alone on the hillside that read, ?Jail Karl Rove.?). We have been told that we were extremely LOUD inside the event, constantly reminding them that we were out there- and Bush had to keep smiling.
Well wait a minute, maybe our biggest victory is that those people won?t come ?round here no mo.
As much as I?d like for our event to be the flashpoint for change, I know it probably isn?t. But maybe it can be another pebble in the avalanche.
Thanks again, everyone, for the words of encouragement and praise.
Be well, stay active.
Chris
Posted by Hannah at July 8, 2005 05:31 PM