I know this lady – a class act all the way around. Minds her manners, is polite, but firm in her beliefs and puts her beliefs into actions. Her problem on Thursday while trying to support those legislators trying to "live within our means" and giving the taxpayers a break was her gender and her age.
They say that they are for the common folks. Some way to treat a Lady – you make your words a mockery of themselves – you three union thugs physically picked on a Lady who could not defend herself. Big men, guys, big men….
Emphasis mine:
My experience in Concord today, March 31, 2011
Today I ventured into the area in front of the State Capitol in Concord, surrounded by all the union workers there to protest the deliberations in the State House over the budget! They were intimidating and threatening to the few of us who were there expressing our differing opinions. A couple were willing to have an intelligent discourse, but most were hateful, yelling, ugly, and confrontational.
I have never seen so many disabled and mentally-challenged people in one setting before, each with his/her "minder" in tow. There were more wheelchairs than at a nursing home! The entire "program" was one "sob story" after another. For instance, a 10-year-old telling the story of how her two autistic brothers would be denied service if this new budget was passed. And so forth . . . This went on for an hour. It was pathetic.
The leaders of this rally were very organized, with buses for transport and signs for everyone — including the poor mentally deficient kids who had NO idea why they were holding the signs. One poor soul kept telling me, "Goodbye." I wondered if he knew something I didn’t.
When I first arrived, alone, I mingled with the crowd and held up my sign # 1 which read, "Private sector workers have rights too." This got a "thumbs up" from the SEIU guys — so I realized they didn’t get it. So then I held up the sign that read, "Union workers are a "privileged" class." This, too, got a thumbs up. They were very excited about that one. Duh!
I realized I had been TOO subtle. Then I held up "Power Grab + $ Grab = Extremist." Again, they liked it. I was really feeling quite inadequate in my sign-making.
My final shot was "Cut the Budget — Stop Spending." THAT they got! And I was instantly surrounded by 3 huge firefighters holding their BIG signs in a way that obliterated my sign.
(So much for my theory that they would not attack an old lady.)
I couldn’t move, and they wouldn’t move off. So,…
… finally, I began inching out of their closed circle (heading toward an area where I knew I had friends, as I could see their Gadsden flag). I kept saying loudly, "Excuse me. These 3 men are harassing me."
It was interesting to see how the "seas parted" to let me, AND my 3 "escorts" move through the crowd. They stayed right with me, holding up their signs around me.
At one point, a woman joined the fray and she started poking me, asking me "What would Jesus say?". That was when I turned a stony look on her and said loudly, "DON’T TOUCH ME." They tried to say that I was just being jostled by the crowd. But I repeated, "DON’T TOUCH ME" a few more times, just for emphasis.
Of course, they had no idea that I had a destination in mind. I suspect they thought I was working my way to the edge of the crowd to make a hasty get-away. They were quite surprised when I reach Jeff Chidester (himself a big guy who is ex-military and has past police experience). Jeff said, "Hi, <redacted>. Do you want me to take your sign?"
I’ve never heard such welcome words!
I said, "Well, no, just pull out your video camera and shoot these guys harassing me." Which he did. That got their attention!
It didn’t stop there — but that gives you a little bit of the way the day went. There was a later incident when I thought I was really going to be beaten up and when I was bombarded with filthy language which I would not repeat. And I was just standing there holding my sign. So much for the tolerant, caring, sympathetic union workers who care only about humanity.
But I had friends there who came to my rescue and then made sure I got out of the area safely.
So what did I get out of this? An understanding that ignorance, greed, and misplaced values are very entrenched in these union workers. Also that those of us who are NOT embedded with the unions need to speak out. I am a former teacher who was required to join the NEA, so I know its faults first-hand. I didn’t agree with them then, and I certainly don’t now!
Respectfully,
I am redacting her name – as we are now seeing in Wisconsin, the unions are start the threatening process of forcing people to pick sides and are not allowing people to just be left alone.
Will they bring that mentality to NH? But, it’s not about humanity – it is all about raw, naked power.
