What a friggin' bunch of turdbags. I again thank all who were there for their restraint in not swarming those ****ers when they started setting up their display. In some of the pics, you'll notice a large sticker-clad white Ford backed as far as legally allowable on the corner just to the left of the protestors. They were allowed only 30 minutes to have their say and could only hold it in front of one certain address. The Greeley PD allowed Becky to park her "Good Deal For You" Marine sticker-encrusted vehicle there, and made sure we were well aware of exectly how close to the corner she could be without being illegally parked. I was right in front of her in case there was further need to block their view.
The Greeley PD came through again by parking one of their Durangos on the corner, and removing it so the animals could park there 'for their safety' - the fact that it also blocked part of their display was just icing on the cake. There was a large black Suburban behind the protestor's van, and a Milliken firetruck took up the rest of the parking in front of their allowed address. Thank God for public parking
Phelps' Church of Hate (aka Westboro Baptist Church) had planned three protests at military funerals on Friday, we've seen links that say they showed up at one in Minnesota but I guess there wasn't much counter-representation there.
Our goal was to block the view of those asshats as much as possible when PFC Mackenzie's family and friends drove by. To aid in that, we assembled a number of tarps with 1x2 posts holding them, and were prepared to string those between vehicles or hold them up if needed to block the protestors. I'd say we succeeded, but not as planned. Like all good plans, the moment it hit reality the plan crumbled so we adapted. Great communication with the Greeley PD allowed us to coordinate parking (for maximum efficiency on residential streets, of course) and set up Americans on both sides of the road opposite the haters.
During their allowed 30 minutes, the haters did almost everything they could to cause an attack on them. They thrive on lawsuits, and hope to provoke people into attacking them. The first thing they did when they pulled up was to start taking pictures of the crowd, making sure to get our faces. This way, they have proof of your attendance and can use that in court.
Next, they pulled two American flags out and spread them on the ground so they had a place to stand. They have a number of placards printed up in vibrant colors, demonizing the very people who give them the right to protest...and then the big cow started to sing. In another venue, it might be said that she has a pretty good voice. However, her twisted rendition of "God Hates America" and other voicings
celebrating PFC Mackenzie's death were drowned out by a dozen or more Harleys that kept revvin' em up for the 30 minutes she babbled on (thanks a ton, guys). I heard from a friend inside that not only did they not hear the protestors, they couldn't hear the Harleys. That's the way it should be.
One little inbred tried to provoke something as they were being told to leave; she made big theatrical gestures of 'sneezing' into the American flag that she had so recently been standing on before wiping her nose on it. Again, great restraint on everyone's part for not rushing them.
After they left, we forgot a major lesson that we should have known, and actually believed scoop from a LCpl's mouth
Acting on that, we knew how the family was going to leave the church so we had people line both sides of the road with flags, all the way down and aound the corner. That's when we realized that they wouldn't be leaving for more than an hour. To their credit, I saw very few people leave. In fact, the crowd grew as time passed.
Lessons learned:
- If you have ANY way to set up the parking, get a Harley group set up near the protestors. Big-block Chevy and Fords with big cams and a loping idle would go a long way as well, as would a fat diesel exhaust.
- Park large vehicles in front of the allowed area, leaving enough space that they can block themselves, too.
- Pre-printed handouts with patriotic themes would have helped. Everyone knew the Pledge of Allegiance, but other patriotic songs were mumbled by most..it sounded kinda weak on our side and I'm sure it gave them no end of joy when they heard a few hundred flag-wavers who couldn't get through a chorus of the Star-Spangled Banner.
- Find flags. Find LOTS of flags. We were fortunate to get two minivan loads of American Flags on PVC pipe holders from the Greeley Exchange Club; they had made them for a 9/11 remembrance "Healing Field" and brought them over for our use. People WANTED to hold them, and we probably could have used a third load, there were that many people there.
- Get the word out. We had 4x4 groups, bikers, and folks of all colors, from all walks of life in attendance. Spread the word to everyone you can that the Haters are coming to town, and drown them out. The support for the family and the lack of violence toward the haters was incredible. Thank you all.
To address a couple points brought up in this thread: the funeral services were at the LDS church near 49th and 4th (Ave, St, or whatever) at noon. The protestors were allowed to be there
only from 11:30 to noon, and the Greeley PD made sure they left at exactly noon, and escorted them outta town immediately.
We remained outside for another hour and the crowd only grew as we formed an impromptu honor guard arch for PFC Mackenzie as his hearse left around 1pm. That procession went to the cemetery on US34 and (35th?) and is probably what John saw.
The restraint shown by all in attendance was amazing. The turdbags can spout off at the mouth all they want thanks to the sacrifices made by others. So can we.
To that I have to say:
folk or a mixture of 4x4 club reps?
