Robach's "unpatriotic " WV protestors....more like 400 to 500. Great pics

[madfloridian]

Remember the anti-Bush protestors in West Virginia? The ones Amy Robach on MSNBC implied were "unpatriotic"? Well, there were not just a "few". This is a well-organized event with real estimates between 400 and 500.

From Blog for America, a great post by the West Virginia DFA
This is what Democracy looks like

This is what Democracy looks like.
(Chris Chapman is the Chair of Democracy for West Virginia.)

WV For Democracy did not lay down when George Bush came to our town on July 4th.

I've been told that the largest demonstration in Morgantown's history was about 300 people for Kent State, 35 years ago. On the 4th, we took that record with a crowd estimated to be between 400-500 (200 by the newscasts and I think the NY Times said "several dozen.")


Just one of the groups, many more pictures at the blog and the DFA for WV website.

Our local police force, possibly angry about cancelled vacations and an administration that cuts its grant programs, not only let us demonstrate in peace, but invited us to come closer (Sounds a bit menacing doesn't it? It wasn't.). We ended up protesting a mere 75 yards away from where Bush was speaking. Attendees told us that we could be heard clearly throughout the speech.

Then the coup de gras. When it was over, police funneled exiting attendees right through the middle of our crowd. It was like walking the gauntlet. One reporter was overheard on her cell phone saying it was "amazing."


We got lots of press coverage, including a mention in all of the national stories (marginalized, of course) and several interviews for both local and Pittsburgh TV. Locally, and in Pittsburgh, coverage of the protest was fair and presented well with the fact that there were no arrests highlighted in most instances. WDTV in Clarksburg even noted that "This was not your usual group of protestors—these were doctors, lawyers, WVU professors." Two members of our City Council joined us, as did our county assessor and probably others that I don't even know about yet. One of our DFA state leaders told me we were even on the local news in North Dakota. The next day, a conservative radio host in Clarksburg was defending our actions and it appears that an independent newspaper here is now doing a story on WV For Democracy too."

http://www.wvfordemocracy.org/
Stewart Hall protestors at the University.