My e-mail to a SLC newspaper writer about yesterday's protest.

[Sean Reynolds]

You can read the guy's article right here:

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600157841,00.html

Typical of a writer in Salt Lake. So I sent him this e-mail, he's yet to reply.

Hey Doug, just writing you to say how much I'm disappointed in your article about the protest yesterday.

Firstly let me just say that I don't know what protest you went to, but I saw a diverse demographic of people there. You state that the protest was mostly made up of younger people and old hippies, however you're very mistaken.

My mother (who's in her 50s) and me ventured over to Pioneer Park and we saw an array of age groups, cultures and beliefs. In fact, I'd wager that most there were not the typical "radicals" like you portray them to be.

Yes, I'm dismayed because once again an article tries to broad stroke every protestor. Instead of listening to the message -- or gosh even looking at the crowd -- you focused on a small minority of people to make "your" point fit.

Well let me tell you about myself. I'm a 21 year old Catholic. I'm not a hippie and I'm not a looney leftist. I have written into the DesNews quite a bit and I do like to express my opinions. But I don't like being stereotyped because I happen to be at an anti-war protest.

Now let me tell you about my mother, whom I went to the protest with. She's, like I said, in her 50s. Her father was a veteran of World War II. Before he died, my grandfather also opposed Bush and his policies -- but he wasn't a radical. She's married to a Vietnam Vet (who does not support the current war, yet not a hippie nor a radical) and is a very staunch Catholic -- like myself.

I take offense to your comments because I don't think they give an unbiased look at what occurred at Pioneer Park yesterday. I understand that what you wrote was an opinion piece, however that should not excuse you from the truth. And the truth is, the protest was more than just "anti-war liberal hippies".

I also love your conveniently placed quotes to reduce the magnitude of the protest. Of course you quote a guy that says he thought it should have been bigger, and then state how Hatch thought the protest would be a mild one. Yet you don't mention once that close to 3,000 people were there. The fact that it was probably one of the largest protests in Utah State History -- or at least since the Vietnam War era.

But I can understand that, Doug. You want to marginalize the protestors actions and beliefs because it continually pushes the issue towards the fringe. Or in other words, no one but looney liberals protest.

It's not like I can expect anything better from the media. I watched the coverage of the protest and CBS stated that only 500 people had shown up. Clearly, we can all admit, there were more than 500 people at that protest. And they weren't all, as I've said, liberal hippies.

The root problem with your article is that you assume our agenda without listening to it. Your article does not mention the mother who actually lost her son in Iraq. Nor does it really talk about the many vets that were in attendance (and there were a lot).

Instead your article molds the protest to your liking, which better fits your definition and thus makes your argument and article more to your point. Not the point of the actual protestors or their message.

Doug, did you listen to the entire protest? Or did you just pop your head in, get a couple quotes and dash right out? Because that's what it seems like.

You finally state that Mayor Anderson picked a wrong time to hold the event. Of course you say this because Salt Lake City was the host city of the VFW conference and I guess you assume it's disrespectful to those vets.

However once again you fail to mention that there were vets in attendance and in fact the protest was actually co-sponsored by Veterans for Peace and Gold Star Mothers for Peace.

Two military groups.

I can't think of a better time than to protest President. Bush and his war. Not only is President Bush probably making his last stop in Utah, you also have vets coming in from all over the country, and yes some do not support Bush.



As you can see, this fine man stood and turned his back while the president spoke.

FOX 13 also mentioned a poll that 85% of the vets there said that you could support the troops and protest the war.

In the end, that was the whole point of the protest. Rocky, along with Gold Star Mothers for Peace and Veterans for Peace, put together one of the largest protests in Utah history. A protest that was seen around the country, and possibly around the world. You and Mr. Hatch may believe it's mild, however the publicity it got wasn't. I think it's fitting that the day http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/ released their poll showing Bush with an approval rating of ONLY 36%, Salt Lake City -- the capital in one of the most conservative states -- drew 3,000+ people out to protest Pres. Bush and his policies. Mild? Not by a mile! This protest is going to usher in a change not only for Utah, but for America. People are finally realizing what's happening to our nation and, to quote Howard Beale from Network, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore!"

Thanks,

Sean Reynolds

Salt Lake City, Utah

[PunkPop]

1. Great letter

and awesome picture! I hadn't seen that before. That deserves it's own thread.