From: "Ccpeacemovemant@aol.com" < mailto:Ccpeacemovemant@aol.com
Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 6:30:08 AM
Subject: [Peace] To anyone who "talked back" to counterprotestors--you know
who you are--DON'T
I'm not going to single anyone out, but I have been
given some identifying information - so I know who you are in a couple of cases.
And, trust me, I know how hard it is not to respond to constant verbal abuse -
I'm their main target, so I know exactly how you feel. I have one thing to
say: DON'T. And, if you can't refrain from responses to them, PLEASE
DON'T COME. I have had reports of a few people responding to them - DON'T.
YOU AREN'T HELPING US, YOU ARE HURTING US - SERIOUSLY. One name given to me
was someone who doesn't even come to our vigils regularly, which has caused some
to ask, reasonably, "Is [person] on our side or theirs?" - and I say to that
person/s,IF YOU CANNOT RESTRAIN YOUR WORDS, YOU ARE MAKING TROUBLE FOR US, NOT
FOR THEM. SO PLEASE DON'T COME. If I see this happening, I will go to the
police and the news media and tell them "That person's not with us," and I will
make that clear. And you might as well join the counter-protestors because
you're helping them, not us. I can't make anyone do or not do anything, legally,
but I can make it clear to the police and the press that some people do not
represent the rest of us. Have I made myself clear? I have gone to great
lengths to issue "Ground Rules," to tell people not to respond, to tell people
to "stifle it." This makes me feel like a parent admonishing a child, and
it is totally unfair for you to place me in that position - so please... just...
DON'T.
A rather ominous warning from the leader of the ccpeacemovement to her fellow peace protesters. I wonder what Karen has planned for those who have spoken with myself and my fellow compatriots. Also, who gave her the names? Do the peace-protesters police themselves for adherence to their perceived political status quo? This is not very Quaker-like behavior, quite frankly, it is closer in resemblance to Mein Kampf.
The phrase 'talked back' is quite vague in this letter, perhaps deliberately so. Over the course of several weeks, I've talked to several of the peace protesters, and yes, they have 'talked back' to me. In a peaceful society one would call this civil dialog. My hope is to continue the dialog and find understanding. I fear my efforts to reach out to this group have resulted in their shunning.
The photos below document the peaceful encounters between the two sides that has occurred on a weekly basis. Photos courtesy of Barbara Cunningham, NeoCon and myself.
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