<< Back 10/30/02 Peace protest greeted with mostly respect To the editor: You may have heard of peace demonstrations going on around the world on Saturday, Oct. 26. Tens of thousands of people gathered to march against the impending war in Iraq. They came from all walks of life to exercise one of the most important freedoms we have as individuals. They gathered in Washington, D.C, San Francisco, Denmark, Sweden, Chile, Tokyo, El Salvador, Bryson City. Bryson City?! You gotta be kidding me? Saturday morning at 9 a.m, my wife and I put out our sandwich boards (with our slogans on them) and held our signs and our American flags and marched against a war on Iraq. Back and forth on the corner of Main Street in front of the federal building. And for hours we walked alone. But then a supporter brought us coffee and another fresh baked brownies. And by lunch a friend had come to join us. And then some other supporters stopped to wish us well. Two older gentlemen stopped to talk and let us know that they totally and passionately disagreed with our message, but that they also passionately respected the right of us to be there. So we amiably disagreed for a while and they moved on. Oh, we got head nods, and head shakes and thumbs up and thumbs down and “get a life” and “fight the power” and “**** you,” and of course we got the finger. Many times we got the finger. One gentleman stopped at the light and rolled down his window and then waited to drive off before he yelled: “Hey Stupid, That’s Stupid!” We got a big laugh out of that one. And then the Bryson City Fire Department Truck (after escorting the Mini-Mite football team out of town with sirens blazing) came back by, and the driver got on the loudspeaker and said, “They oughta pay for what they done!” And we thought, who exactly is “they?” Which, of course, is the entire crux of the issue. Thanks to the Bryson City Police Department, we were able to march legally. We had gotten our permit through them the day before, and they went out of their way to make sure we were able to march legally. I believe they totally disagreed with our position, but they didn’t let that get in their way of doing their job as professionals should. And they warned us of potential trouble. For “stirring it up,” you know. And we were prepared for the same. But there was no trouble. Nobody throwing anything at us, no physical confrontations, no sidewalk-veering pickup trucks. And we were thankful. By 2 o’clock, a Vietnam veteran showed up to join us. And then he went home to get his wife and his uniform. And then another Vietnam vet from Knoxville stopped by to support us, and said he couldn’t believe this was happening in little ol’ Bryson City. Three other friends joined the march, and a mom with a baby. On more than one occasion people stopped to offer money for our cause. And by the time the day ended, 25 people during stopped to either join us or give us their support. Now, here’s the most interesting part. From the moment we started walking, I kept a tally of the number and kind of positive or negative responses we received from passing motorists. Any time anyone showed any emotion directed to us, it was recorded. And we figured the responses would be close to divided (like the nation) but maybe a few more negative responses than positive; on par with the polls the media likes to report. And for hours that seemed to be the case. But then an interesting thing happened; the longer we marched, the more positive responses we got. (Which for me is the biggest takeaway for the day: The more we protest, the more we ask tough questions, the more likely it is for people to begin to question this war, and the less likely it will be for us to go to war.) And at the end of the day, the total number of positive responses to our peace march was 106 and the negative was 48. We couldn’t believe it! And we wondered how the national media can keep coming up with these polls of a majority of Americans being for the war. Don’t believe it! Our poll was at least as scientific as anything from the Fox News Channel. We had a great cross-section of people; locals on both sides, and tourists from Florida, and people from the Nantahala Gorge, and friends of Bob Dole, and veterans of many wars. And in the end the people overwhelmingly supported us. It was a new and great experience for me. And there's no reason it can’t be a great experience for anyone against this war. Get a permit. Get some friends to join you. March on a busy street corner. Do not let fear get in the way of standing up for what you believe. It is your right to do so. It is empowering. It is uplifting. It is democracy. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Dave Etheridge Bryson City