A tip for Anti-Bush Canvassers/ Protesters

[Carni]

As a pretty liberal very politically informed person who detests W and tends to be in the MIHOP camp about bushit and 911 (which some people find *out there* I realize) I just had a real honey of an encounter with if you can imagine...
an Anti-Bush protester!

I went to my post office earlier and as I was coming out, I noticed signs that said "Stay out of the bushes" "impeach and imprison"

There were two people standing near the signs next to a table with petition type stuff on it...so I'm all excited and venture over to talk to them (at which point some asshole revs up behind me in their car and screams *fucking traitor* at me... some male, 20 something repuke looking type)

Needless to say having "fucking traitor" screamed at me didn't please me, but I continued on and got to the two people with the signs etc and I said "is this some sort of a petition to impeach Bush"?

The guy says *oh it's way more than a petition* and at that point I was thinking great WTF IS this, because that sounded kind of ominous...

So then suddenly I had this woman in my face blabbing away and foisting magazines at me--I look down at the magazine and find out they are LAROUCHE people!
(ACK! I thought to myself)

Quite honestly, Larouche is not my bag...yeah he's right about bush, but on a lot of other stuff he's out there IMO but I thought...I don't want to be rude, because they at least have enough guts to make an attempt (but there was no way I was giving them any money because I think their party movement is not for me)

So then the woman asks me if I will sign their mailing list I said fine, filled out the thing...but said I am not giving the phone number because I don't give out my number for this stuff--she says Oh come on you won't mind getting a call from me and I am like YEAH, I WILL...I am not giving you my phone number - SORRY.

So then the woman goes ON and ON and On and keeps foisting assorted magazines at me and she's one of these *close talkers* to boot--I would back up and she would follow. I kept saying "yeah, I know about that already--yeah I know you don't have to sell me on how bad bush is I am well aware" She doesn't even acknowledge my comments and just keeps right on lecturing.

At that point I was REALLY getting sick of the whole encounter... but I am still wanting to be polite, so I said to her I am sorry before you waste all this time with me -- I already know all this, I used to research and write for Democrats.com...I said I already detest George Bush, so you don't need to sell me on that point and I am sorry but I don't have any money to donate today. I thought this was some type of petition to impeach bush when I walked over here...

Does this woman listen?

Oh HELL No---she continues blathering and getting kind of pissy...do I support an illegal war, do I support a fascist government bla bla (didn't I just SAY I DIDN'T? HELLO?)

THEN she slams the Democrats (the ones we have now...which believe me there are many days when I don't think too highly of them either) She slams the online community and bloggers and goes into a whole deal about how people need to take to the streets and back Larouche bla bla bla bla *how all these bullshit people on the net are spinning their wheels* yada yada (OH REALLY? And two people looking sort of extreme on the street corner has done WHAT, EXACTLY? Compared to say...uncovering all of what the bloggers have discovered? I think not)

Then she starts bashing my Senator(who I happen to like, he was one of the only ones to vote against the patriot act) and I am now not just annoyed but rapidly entering into the pissed off range--but I still want to be polite and support their disdain for bush, so I finally said "OK, thanks I will just take these pamphlets and read them over later, but I don't have any more time for this now"

INSTEAD of sensing that I am all done and letting it go... she tries to get ME to take numerous Larouche pamphlets to pass them out to people I know.

I said no, I'm sorry I don't want to waste your printing costs because I don't go anywhere where I would be handing out these pamphlets-- She doesn't let that phase her and goes back to her crap about Larouche and how great he is and how what bush has done is illegal and this party of Dems sucks bla bla and says "what you don't have any friends that you can give these to?" I said "no I don't have any friends that will be into this" so she's arguing with me that if I knew who Larouche was and how great he was they'd be interested bla bla

I said "LOOK I KNOW WHO LAROUCHE IS I AM WELL FAMILIAR and I am not into him but I'll check out your pamphlets and think about it"

THEN she starts with...well can't you give us a few bucks today? Not even 20 dollars? I was like *NO SORRY* she says you can't even give 5 dollars, one dollar?
You can't even give one dollar? I was like NO -- then she says well why not write a check?

At that point I did a talk to the hand gesture and moved on-- I was pissed.

I had the fleeting thought while driving back home that maybe Larouche is on the Rove payroll because that was just F'ing OBNOXIOUS! :(

I admire EVERYONE with enough guts to get out there in public and try to inform people about bush, but that presentation I just endured was truly horrendous...if I had been a less informed *on the fence* type who was starting to dislike bushit and felt like checking those people out...I would have thought that woman was a rude and pushy maniac of some kind.

Just wanted to share this bizzarro world experience and I am filing this encounter in my memory for when I am trying to educate people about bushit in the future with non-political junkies--that approach was just NOT GOOD IMO!

Had to share!

[Mythsaje]

1. I ran into a bunch of these folks

last summer. I don't like Larouche, and these folks are relentless, almost cultist in their intensity.

I took one of their pamphlets and glanced at in the car on my way home (wife was driving). My only comment on it was...too dry for most people. Why bother printing thousands of pamphlets that no one will bother to read?

I could design a better pamphlet in my sleep.

[Carni]

3. She gave me three magazine sized things

They are still sitting on the passenger seat of my car--I was so turned off I don't think I will even look at themthink they will go right in the trash.

This woman was worse than the *Watch Tower* people-- what the hell was she thinking?

I am standing there saying I hate bush and I agree you don't need to tell me how bad he is...but she manages to elevate things to an argument stage?

That was just very VERY WEIRD!

[Mythsaje]

7. It IS weird...

It's like they're indocrinated. I'm not sure you can have a rational political discussion with them...

[Carni]

8. I am SOOOO bummed that I signed their mailing list

I need to learn that just because someone is anti-bush... I am not obligated to be polite!

Arrrrggghhh!

[Mythsaje]

9. I'm usually very polite...

it's a failing.

But I'm not easy to push either. I do 'immovable object' very well.

[AndyA]

2. I hate pushy people like that. I ran into one at an Ethan Allen furniture

store once. I told he I was just looking, not planning on buying anything today, just getting some ideas. And I told her that again. And again. And over, and over, and over.

Finally, I said, "Look, I know where to find you if I need you. I do not need your help, and your constant questions are distracting me from doing what I want to do, which is to LOOK and get some IDEAS to think about. OK? I'll find you if I need you."

I felt like I'd been assaulted by this woman!

I didn't buy anything from Ethan Allen, I did not want to go back to that store and deal with that woman again.

Being too pushy gets you nowhere, in my opinion. This is a great story to remind people they need to be respectful when protesting or talking to others. Courtesy and respect for others should never be forgotten.

[Carni]

5. Yes, this was EXACTLY like a furniture/ car salesperson encounter

I was standing there thinking I just about got run over and screamed at to hear THIS?

UG!

[WilliamPitt]

4. Two run-ins I had with LaRouchies in Boston

One was back in 1997 in Brighton Center. A LaRouchie was tabling outside a diner and arguing that we didn't have to free Tibet...because China had already freed Tibet by taking it over.

Then there are the guys who operate every weekend in Harvard Square. I went by one day and was handed a bunch of literature. Cheney sucks, OK...the Iraq war is illegal, OK...wait...the Zionist World Conspiracy? The Jews and the World Bank?

All of it wound up min a wadded-up ball back on their table.

LaRouche sucks.

[Carni]

6. I knew he was a loon--but I had forgotten the whole scenario

In retrospect after having my memory refreshed (I had forgotten about the Zionist conspiracy crap) I think I should have just been rude and done the same when I heard who they were stumping for! :(

[Spirochete]

10. They're obnoxious fanatics

I remember hearing about Phil Donahue beating the shit out of one of them at an airport quite a few years ago. Apparently they have learned nothing over the years.

[Carni]

12. What really burns my ass is they are calling themselves New Democrats

Or *true Democrats* or something along those lines--anyone not in the know would have thought they were affiliated with the Dem party...unfortunately that didn't occur to me at the time!

[rucky]

11. I got in a fight with one on the phone

that's what it took to get me off their list.