Operation Rescue left me bloody (Durham Indy)

[struggle4progress]

The murder of Dr. George Tiller recalls the long history of anti-abortion violence
3 JUN 2009
by Angela Williams as told to Fiona Morgan

In 1989, Operation Rescue came to Washington, D.C., where I lived while attending graduate school ... A group of us in the direct action group OUT! (Oppression Under Target!) worked with a liberal Catholic peace and justice organization called the Quixote Center and other groups to organize a counterprotest ... Our goal was to create a line of people that broke their line, so that eventually clients could enter the clinic again ... There were a lot of very angry people screaming and holding fetus signs, yelling at everyone that they're murderers ...

As I wiped the blood off my face with an old T-shirt, I felt angry and shocked. Up to that point, I had this idealistic belief that although we took opposing positions, we were just there stating our beliefs. I grew up in South Carolina, and I guess I had this notion that anti-abortion protesters would be like the Sunday school teachers who believed in life and were also, say, opposed to the death penalty.

Since then, I've learned a lot more about Operation Rescue. Part of their standard operating procedure is to intimidate people with threats of violence. I think they train specifically for what to do if someone breaks their line; when I did, the response was immediate ... http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A395948

[MineralMan]

1. It's been a while, but I used to do client escort for a

PP clinic in the CA town I used to live near. You know, shield the clients from the screaming protestors and escort them into the clinic. I had anti-choice creeps up in my face a lot of times, screeching their hatred. I always kept my face in a neutral expression and did what was needed to escort the clients into the office.

They always kept an inch between their faces and mine, and I stayed unperturbable. Except for one time, when one particularly obnoxious man screeched, "I know where you live firstname lastname, and you will never be safe again."

I drew the line at that point, and calmly told him that if he said another word of that nature or ever appeared anywhere near my residence, he would suffer in a serious way. I spoke quietly so that nobody else would hear. His face turned pasty white and he backed away quickly. I never saw him at the clinic again.

My father taught me how to make a point in a difficult situation, with a cold expression and slow, measured speech. It worked a treat. It even worked after he had disappeared. Never again did any of the anti-choice people get closer than a foot from me.

Oddly enough, nobody ever showed up at my home, either.

[angstlessk]

2. that is too cool, my husband, too, can look like a serial murderer when he wants

some kids were throwing stones at our car and my husband saw them from the second floor..he ran after one of the perpetrators and caught him (surprisingly) and towed him back to the manager of the apartment's office to await the police...but...on the way he gave the boy his 'serial killer' face and kept saying..."you don't know who you are messin with, boy"..(they were teens) and continued with "I could kill you right here and bury you and no one would know you were even dead" all the way to the office he used all the fear mongering he could muster...my fear was of retaliation....NEVER HAPPENED...they were too scared to come anywhere near our apartment!!!! It does work!

[MineralMan]

3. It's a useful skill, but you do have to very careful not to

include any sort of specific threats in your comments. Leaving it up to the imagination of the person you are attempting to chasten is much better.

The funny thing is that, like my father, I'm probably the most non-violent person you'd ever meet. I just don't like nasty people threatening me, and have found that my father's technique is almost foolproof.

There is one exception: You do not try this with crazy people or serious psychpaths. Only with blustering assholes.

[angstlessk]

4. touche...in my hubby's case it would have been the youths word against the rent payers

but I do know what you are saying. and too true about the psycopaths...they would one up you till one of you was dead or seriously injured!

[kickysnana]

5. "I gave him the Dad look..." Code in our family.

One time at a four way stop a 19 year old was going to double up (evidently he was in a hurry) he made the mistake of looking at Dad and Dad gave him "the look" and pointed. The kid stopped and backed his car up while we rolled on the floor in the back seat. When my kids were teens we were in bumper to bumper traffic and I had a bozo on my bumper who kept on hitting his horn occasionally for blocks. I told my teenage son in the backseat to give him "grandpa's look". He could turn around and face him. Mr impatient actually immediately made a U-turn and took another route.