LittleMsSunshine
11-28-2007, 11:39 PM
Official Plan of Action for Friday’s Memorial Support Rally
As I posted yesterday, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church (see http://www.godhatesfags.com) are planning on protesting at the funeral of SFC Johnny C. Walls. SFC Walls was killed on November 2nd in Uruzgan, Afghanistan when his unit was attacked by insurgents.
This Friday, we will be working alongside the Washington state chapter of the Patriot Guard Riders (http://www.patriotguard.org) in an attempt to shelter the family from the hateful protesters by creating a wall of people waving American flags who will line the streets. Our goal is to help them mourn their loss in peace. As military significant others, we more than anyone understand that this poor family is living out our worst nightmare. Let us join together and raise them up.
Because we will be representing the Patriot Guard, they have requested that we abide by their standards of conduct. While they greatly appreciate everyone wanting to show their American pride and support, they want to make sure that we go about it in the most respectful way possible. In order to be under the Patriot Guard “umbrella” (which basically protects us, in the Unlikely event that things get out of hand), they’ve asked us to submit a list of names so they know who is representing them. Again, this is for our protection.
As I keep getting word from various sources including the local news, hundreds of people are planning on showing up to pay their respects and wave the flag. Because they are expecting such a large gathering, we’ve decided the only people we are going to “vouch” for and submit on our official list are MilitarySOS members and their families.
This is not to say that others aren’t welcome, but we’d rather not risk letting some stranger tarnish our image and cause us to be excluded from all future Patriot Guard events. If this goes well, we’d like to continue supporting their work.
As for the standards of conduct:
Please keep in mind that the point of this assembly is NOT to heckle the protesters, but rather to support a fellow military family in their time of grief. The Patriot Guard has made it clear that anyone heard harassing the Westboro Baptist protesters, or anyone with negative intentions will be immediately asked to leave the group. They will explain things more thoroughly at their briefing.
This is a peaceful, quiet assembly. Please do not bring any posters. Please do not wear politically-themed clothing. Dress warm (plan for rain, an umbrella would be smart!) and bring your American flag to wave high and proud.
As for the details:
12:15am We will be meeting in the Port Orchard Wal-Mart parking lot. Look for a white SUV with "SOS" painted on the windows!
(Wal-Mart: 3497 Bethel Rd Se, Port Orchard, WA)
12:30am We will then carpool to the staging area to meet with the Patriot Guard Riders and find out where they need us. (M&M Market & Deli & 76: 451 S Kitsap Blvd. Port Orchard, WA 98366)
Once we arrive at the staging area, we will be following their official schedule:
1:00 - Ride Brief
1:10 - KSU - Ride to Christian Life Center
1:15 - Form flag line
2:00 - Memorial Service
TBD - Mission Complete
The intersection where the protesters will be is within walking distance (less than a block) from the Wal-Mart, so if you need to show up late or leave early, it won’t be a problem.
Please take note that these protesters will have some pretty disgusting and hateful things displayed on their posters. This particular group (Westboro Baptist Members) also has a history of confrontations at their events. While everything is intended to be peaceful, I don’t want there to be any nasty surprises. So please be cautious and exercise your best parental judgment when deciding whether or not to bring your young children along.
If you plan to attend or have any questions, feel free to contact me (LittleMsSunshine) or Meyers_Wife via PM.
Hope to see you there!
****************************************
Here is a tentative list of ladies planning to attend for those of you who'd like to arrange carpools:
LittleMsSunshine
Meyers_Wife
Andreacc
JenJen2002
Wagrrrl (+1)
Usnwife1205
Amy24Cali
Polkadot (+1)
Showgirl85
April*
Harrisonsdream*
NikkiD*
(* Maybe's)
As I posted yesterday, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church (see http://www.godhatesfags.com) are planning on protesting at the funeral of SFC Johnny C. Walls. SFC Walls was killed on November 2nd in Uruzgan, Afghanistan when his unit was attacked by insurgents.
This Friday, we will be working alongside the Washington state chapter of the Patriot Guard Riders (http://www.patriotguard.org) in an attempt to shelter the family from the hateful protesters by creating a wall of people waving American flags who will line the streets. Our goal is to help them mourn their loss in peace. As military significant others, we more than anyone understand that this poor family is living out our worst nightmare. Let us join together and raise them up.
Because we will be representing the Patriot Guard, they have requested that we abide by their standards of conduct. While they greatly appreciate everyone wanting to show their American pride and support, they want to make sure that we go about it in the most respectful way possible. In order to be under the Patriot Guard “umbrella” (which basically protects us, in the Unlikely event that things get out of hand), they’ve asked us to submit a list of names so they know who is representing them. Again, this is for our protection.
As I keep getting word from various sources including the local news, hundreds of people are planning on showing up to pay their respects and wave the flag. Because they are expecting such a large gathering, we’ve decided the only people we are going to “vouch” for and submit on our official list are MilitarySOS members and their families.
This is not to say that others aren’t welcome, but we’d rather not risk letting some stranger tarnish our image and cause us to be excluded from all future Patriot Guard events. If this goes well, we’d like to continue supporting their work.
As for the standards of conduct:
Please keep in mind that the point of this assembly is NOT to heckle the protesters, but rather to support a fellow military family in their time of grief. The Patriot Guard has made it clear that anyone heard harassing the Westboro Baptist protesters, or anyone with negative intentions will be immediately asked to leave the group. They will explain things more thoroughly at their briefing.
This is a peaceful, quiet assembly. Please do not bring any posters. Please do not wear politically-themed clothing. Dress warm (plan for rain, an umbrella would be smart!) and bring your American flag to wave high and proud.
As for the details:
12:15am We will be meeting in the Port Orchard Wal-Mart parking lot. Look for a white SUV with "SOS" painted on the windows!
(Wal-Mart: 3497 Bethel Rd Se, Port Orchard, WA)
12:30am We will then carpool to the staging area to meet with the Patriot Guard Riders and find out where they need us. (M&M Market & Deli & 76: 451 S Kitsap Blvd. Port Orchard, WA 98366)
Once we arrive at the staging area, we will be following their official schedule:
1:00 - Ride Brief
1:10 - KSU - Ride to Christian Life Center
1:15 - Form flag line
2:00 - Memorial Service
TBD - Mission Complete
The intersection where the protesters will be is within walking distance (less than a block) from the Wal-Mart, so if you need to show up late or leave early, it won’t be a problem.
Please take note that these protesters will have some pretty disgusting and hateful things displayed on their posters. This particular group (Westboro Baptist Members) also has a history of confrontations at their events. While everything is intended to be peaceful, I don’t want there to be any nasty surprises. So please be cautious and exercise your best parental judgment when deciding whether or not to bring your young children along.
If you plan to attend or have any questions, feel free to contact me (LittleMsSunshine) or Meyers_Wife via PM.
Hope to see you there!
****************************************
Here is a tentative list of ladies planning to attend for those of you who'd like to arrange carpools:
LittleMsSunshine
Meyers_Wife
Andreacc
JenJen2002
Wagrrrl (+1)
Usnwife1205
Amy24Cali
Polkadot (+1)
Showgirl85
April*
Harrisonsdream*
NikkiD*
(* Maybe's)