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Signs of the End : PRO-WAR Protest in San Francisco!
Calling for "patriots to take back the Bay Area," hundreds of people staged a pro-troops rally in San Francisco on Saturday — taking the stage away from war protesters. "If you don't support the troops, you are anti-American, you are subversives, you are terrorists," said Leo Lacayo, as the crowd chanted "USA! USA!" and waved American flags. "It doesn't take a lot of courage to stop traffic," he said. "It doesn't take a lot of intellect to run your mouth. It takes real courage to fight for your country against terrorism." Bing! The Civic Center crowd may have been smaller than recent peace protests, but the crowd seemed just as passionate about their beliefs. Participants came from as far away as Sacramento and as near as San Francisco's Mission District. Ok, its not news that there is an anti-american, anti capitalist protest in San Francisco. it is REAL NEWS when they have a protest in favor of the military in the capital of anti-american, anti-civilization counter culture. While events supporting the war have been held in Hayward, San Jose and Sacramento, the major protests in San Francisco had all been staged by the anti-war movement. Unlike similar rallies in other cities, the event was not organized by conservative talk-radio stations but was put together by local Republicans and support groups for military families. Republicans? in San Francisco? Can it be true>? Organizers estimated the crowd at about 2,000. Police spokesman Neville Gittens said the department no longer releases crowd estimates. Other officers detailed to monitor the event privately estimated that the noon event drew between 700 and 1,000 at its peak. Many of the speakers, as well as the audience, are self-described conservatives who vented anger at anti-war demonstrators and liberals in general. Others, including some of the many military families there, said they were Democrats who wanted to support the troops and promote national unity in wartime. "I'm not a Republican and I'm not a big George Bush supporter, but I strongly support our troops right now," said Josh Hayes, a San Francisco State student with orange hair and a sign with the Malcolm X quote "By Any Means Necessary," referring to defeating Saddam Hussein. "The world will be a better place once they get rid of Saddam. This cause is just." But many speakers spoke with more venom for local war protesters than Iraq's leader. For those of you outtside the Bay Area, You should be aware of the fact that protests in SF are now so organized that they are regualarly scheduled events. One event called "Critical Mass" involves thousands of bicycle riders who do everything they can to distrupt the Friday commute. Their purpose is to turn San Francisco into a "car free" city. The co-organizer of the rally, Alfredo Najera, whose brother is a U.S. Marine, criticized war protesters, calling them "hypocrites" who support free speech "only when you agree with them" and promote peace "by breaking windows." or by staging vomit-ins on the city hall steps. "If our troops can march on Baghdad, then we can march through San Francisco," Najera said. yeah, but unfortunately, the use of heavy artillery is still not recommended in SF. The audience cheered as patriotic music blared from loudspeakers, ranging from Leontyne Price singing the "Star-Spangled Banner" to Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." Supervisor Tony Hall, the only elected official to appear at the event, led the crowd in singing "America the Beautiful" and thanked everyone for being there. Hall noted that the demonstration, unlike the rowdy peace protests of the past two weeks, did not cost the city "a cent" because "You're law abiding. You're not selfish, and you're not hypocritical." Bassam Ridha Al-Husaini, West Coast representative of the Iraqi American Council, described how his two brothers "disappeared" in Iraq 20 years ago and have not been heard from. He described how women were raped and children were killed. In the ranks of the left, this is known as "losing your socialist persepective" and selling out to "the man". "The Iraqi people are waiting for this liberation. Saddam Hussein's massacre has to stop," Al-Husaini said as the crowd chanted "Down with Saddam." It appears that there are some people in SF that are also awaiting liberation. Around the edges of the event, there were several passionate verbal confrontations between rally participants and anti-war demonstrators. Police separated two men at one point but later reported no scuffles and no arrests. Posted by: Frank Martin 2003-03-30 |
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