The slow build up of anticipatory adrenaline reached a climax as I walked into the entrance of the IMU building in Iowa City Sunday. The chanting could be heard almost immediately and soon visuals revealed it was a squad of radical cheerleaders pumping up the protesters. A faux Karl Rove, massive 40K check in hand, was begging to have it signed, but everyone declined.
Members of the UI Anti-War Committee, Women For Peace, Wild Rose Rebellion, Iraqi Veterans Against the War and the press socialized, conversated, debated, etc. All groups handed out fliers to the poor souls waiting in line to hear the architect of war, torture and right wing madness spew phrases of vomit inducing bullshit out of his cavernous pie hole.
Unauthorized banners "spontaneously" came into being on the side of a parking ramp across the street. The lack of prepaid negotiations resulted in the banners being removed by the vanguard of the elite (pigs).
After several moments being unsure, I decided to actually witness the speech. Sitting with a bloc of protesters, we stood up, booed, and reversed our seats, turning our backs to that bastard Rove as he entered the stage as a sign of disrespect.
What followed was a hour plus of his avoidance of direct questions and rehashing the same old tired cliché sound bites that we've heard for too many years. A few brave ones made an admirable attempt at a citizen's arrest, listing the numerous crimes against humanity Rove has been a party to. They were thrown out swiftly. The rest of the audience held a considerable number of equally passionate persons and at countless times, the bastard had to endure heated accusations of truth from them.
After the speech, a piece of intel surfaced that disclosed his location at a local restaurant. An additional protest was thrown together on the sidewalk outside the establishment. We held banners and brandished amplified sound, demanding him to face us. Several passers-by joined us and eventually a waitress came out to warn us of possible police involvement. She concocted an obvious fable about a similar personal experience with protesting and the police, which we completely disregarded.
Somehow it was learned that he was trying to exit the back of the eatery, and several of us sprinted down to a small walkway that led through some buildings to the back. We were cut off by a security guard who got a little pushy and brandished threats of police calling. A couple of us remained there, while the others cordoned off another possible escape route, thus covering all possible exits.
Rove and his security personal eventually abandoned the sneaky escape attempts and exited out the front door, where he was met by the majority of the protesters and was visibly shaken, looking caught off guard. Your PR prowess may work for the TV, but it doesn't mean squat to real life people who don't accept your fuckery.
That concluded by day of direct action. YAY!
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