*Never* tell me that protests 'preach to the converted.' (incredible day)

[WilliamPitt]

From the blog:

http://www.truthout.org/rnc-monday.shtml

Do not ever again tell me that protests are merely exercises in 'preaching to the converted.'

I was down with Adam at the 'Still We Rise' protest, as reported earlier. In the crowd was a group of pretty young women dressed in red, white and blue costumes. Some of them were arguing vehemently with the protesters, which piqued my interest. I saw one of them standing off to the side, tapped her on the shoulder, and asked what her group was about.

"We're the GOP Jamboree, a singing group here to support George W. Bush," she said. I asked if I could get an interview, and she said yes.

Confession: I was planning on taking this young Republican apart at the seams, and all on camera. It didn't quite work out that way.

Once the interview was underway, I asked her what it was about Bush and the Republicans she supported. She hesitated, cast her eyes downward, and looked inexplicably sad.

"I don't know," she said.

She came all the way from California as part of an organized singing group whose whole purpose was to support Bush. An afternoon talking to the protesters, however, had filled her head with data that did not jibe with what she had been told.

The video of this will be up soon. Watch it. The crowd educated a dedicated Republican, and did so in a way that made her think instead of making her defensive.

I raise a glass too her for having the courage to wade vocally into a liberal crowd while flying the Republican flag, but I offer a toast to her for having the courage to doubt her own beliefs in the face of facts. To many won't, or can't, do that.

Cheers.

===

The interview:

http://win20ca.audiovideoweb.com/ca20win15004/5.083004willinter3300k.wmv

[swag]

1. We're gonna pop your bandwidth limit sending that around to our

friends tomorrow.

[LearnedHand]

2. Nice work, Will

Thank you for NOT raking her over the coals. It NEVER works, anyway. And I, too, applaud her for not drinking the KoolAid yet. Glad she still has some brain cells working.

(Did you tell her about DU?) :evilgrin:

[uhhuh]

3. Excellent!!

Thanks Will!!

[The Traveler]

4. The protestors have been doing a great job

so far. Keep it cool and give people grounds to think ... examples like this give me great hope, Will.

[underseasurveyor]

5. I read that earlier on TO

I was going to watch the video after Malloy's show tonight.

Right On Will :thumbsup:

[WillyT]

6. Great Job !!!

None are so blind...

She's opening her eyes. And she's starting to think for herself.

Good on her.

:bounce:

[BlackVelvetElvis]

7. Will, I'm so glad you were so nice to her.

Yow!!!
It was like a veil was lifted off of her eyes.
Thanks for linking to that.

[Tight_rope]

8. Good will done....I guess she is an undecided Bush lover!

[saracat]

9. Thank You Will

That piece of film almost makes the RNC Convention worth it. It gives me and many others hope.Thank you again!

[WilliamPitt]

10. My feeling exactly

You should see the rest of the film that was edited out. She walked away, and my jaw hit my chest with an audible thud. Adam, from behind the camera, said "Holy fuck, dude."

100% worth the price of admission. Made the whole week.

[JohnDoe1]

11. Fishy

Is it just me, or did that interview seem staged? I'm not trying to troll, and I'm not questioning the authenticity of it; but, the way she describes her change seems quite scripted.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

12. Most of us know the interviewer. It was not staged.

"not trying to troll" :eyes:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

16. Ya, trolls never take usernames like "johndoe", LOL.

[WilliamPitt]

17. "Not questioning the authenticity"..."but it seemed staged"

I think the word I'm groping for is

pzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzcheeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzz

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. Many Bush supporters are such because they're uninformed

If they're decent people capable of evaluating information instead of repeating what they've been told on the radio or in the pulpit, they are often brought up short.

One of my proudest moments in boggling someone's miind was when I informed a fundamentalist friend of my cousin that Tim LaHaye ("author"* of the Left Behiind books) has been on the Moonie payroll since the 1980s. You could almost see the "I've been had" expression coming to her face.

*Having actually paged through some of these volumes, I can only characterize them with the barb that Truman Capote flung at Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls: "That's not writing; that's typing."

[WilliamPitt]

15. Heheheheheh

You wish.

I went up to her and asked for the interview, fully expecting to wipe the pavement with her. All of her buddies were in finger-in-the-face arguments with the protesters. She, however, went a different direction. She brought that out on her own, causing me actually to downshift into kind mode.

I am too fucking busy, and too fucking tired, to organize 'staged' interviews out here. Get your ass out to New York, and maybe you'll get it. This city is up in arms, and someone smart made that young lady think.

Try it.

[AgadorSparticus]

21. i'm not trying to question your intentions, but your post sounds

like a little bit of trolling to me. that girl sounds very confused and it wasn't because she was badgered by anyone. it just sounds like she was introduced to ideas that questioned the viability of her set of beliefs. good for her to question her beliefs. MORE people should question their beliefs. we'd have a far more educated and open minded society if people weren't so afraid to be wrong.

p.s. good interview, willpitt. i'm glad that there is a clear exchange of ideas and open dialogue. that is uplifting.

[JohnDoe1]

22. Sorry

Woah dudes, chill out. I definately wasn't trying to troll, but hey, do what you want. Search my other posts, no hint of trolling. Whatever though, to me it just seemed to direct. Her shift just happened too fast.

Just out of curiousity, wouldn't you rather have someone question material than just ignorantly accept it (ala the Iraq WMD's)?

[stevedeshazer]

13. Similar thread in GD Election 2004

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x698633

I'll bet there are many more people having similar doubts. Nice job on the interview, BTW.

[RummyTheDummy]

14. Brave, dedicated and......

Smoking hot. The young lady, I mean.

[Cat Atomic]

19. Wow. That is really refreshing. It's so nice to see someone

who actually listens to the other side. Good for her. I think that takes real guts.

[Elginoid]

20. I guess that even experienced writers can get tripped up by syntax...

To many won't, or can't, do that.????

careful where you step...somebody dropped an "o"...

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WilliamPitt]

28. ...or by blogging on a Blackberry

I'm all thumbs. :)

[nomatrix]

23. Wow Will, you downshift smmmmoootthly

That tree hugging liberal side just couldn't help itself, huh? You are going to be running for office, you wait.
You are a real New England Yankee Democrat. Tough, intelligent, and cool. Sometimes that cool is mistaken for cold. But underneath, that heart will find the good cause. Even in a republican.
You know I see that in Kerry when he is relaxed.

Poor thing, I hope she gets home O.K.
Was that some chemistry I detected between you two?
Never mind me.....
Where's the ones you took apart at the seams, Argh!

[anarchy1999]

25. All I can say is Thank You, Will!

n/t You are an awesome spokesman for us all, thank you again.

[JSJ]

26. protests 'preach to the converted' n/t

[0rganism]

27. Whoa! That interview took a left turn right out of the starting gate

:wow:

I can just imagine her friends heckling her on the way back to California: "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSD TO AGREE WITH THEM, DAMMIT!"

[cybildisobedience]

29. thanks, Will

for both sharing that, and for handling the situation so deftly.

[Jacobin]

30. I love stories like this

Thanks, Will. Stories like this are extremely important. "One voter at a time"

I would love to be able to do this, but my blood begins to boil when I start talking to them and I don't have the patience to listen to all the propaganda and mantras they throw out in response, to get through all the glop in their brains to discuss issues.

My 15 year old son is great about doing one on one discussions with Bushies. He is patient, listens to their mantras, calmly asks them questions, discusses FACTS with them instead of right/left mantras and talking points and every now and then scores a hit. He did this at a military base in Texas where my 13 year old son was playing in a basketball tournament. I watched him do this calmly over and over for several hours and it made my heart swell with pride. He spent half an hour with a mother of two sons in Iraq and by the end of it she was crying and he was hugging her. As much as she wanted to believe her sons were doing "noble and wonderful work", she knew down deep that their being there was wrong and resented Smirky for sending them there. By the end of the conversation, she was able to voice those doubts and begin to 'think' instead of waving flags and spouting jingoist crap.

One person at a time.

:toast:

[Misunderestimator]

31. Wow! Wow! On edit... just finished watching the video

And WOW, Pitt, that was historical! We need to get that interview out to a wider market!! "I'm having my doubts..." "After all the things I heard today..." "I think I have to go now... I'm having my doubts."

OMG. That was really inspiring! Definitely NOT a case of preaching to the choir.

:thumbsup: :yourock:

[nolabels]

32. The pen is mightier than the sword

and a picture can tell what words could never tell.

Thank you Will, I knew you would rise up even higher for the occasion.
I hope many get to see it.

Stairway to Heaven
(Page-Plant)
There’s a lady who’s sure
All that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.

There’s a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
’cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook
There’s a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There’s a feeling I get
When I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it’s whispered that soon
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow
Don’t be alarmed now,
It’s just a spring clean for the may queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on.
And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won’t go
In case you don’t know,
The piper’s calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow,
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How ev’rything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.

And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/l/led-zeppelin/82076.html

[Aristus]

33. IN-FRICKIN'-CREDIBLLLLLLLLLLE!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the video, Will. You rock! And God bless that young lady for having the open mind necessary to open her eyes. Hope she votes for Kerry. What a heartening sight! :thumbsup:

[wadestock]

34. Initial Conversion Tactics

I can pick people out like this pretty reliably....they don't have that look as if they've been hit squarely in the forehead with a 2X4....or carry that "greater than thou" attitude....

Anyone who seems to show any real true enjoyment in life or shows the ability to think positively and/or for themselves.....you'll have a very high probability of talking them out of a casual belief that Bush might be the right way to go.

I've been working hard on the sidelines like this for close to 2 years now...and I think I've notched well over 50 conversions. I do find it much easier to convert women, because they seem to have "missed something"...and they are generally more independent in their thinking. I'd like to think that every friend of my wife's that's been over has been solidified to the Dem side. I follow pretty much your tactic...come on soft and thoughtful (or course anything else and the wife would go ballistic)

When they are supporting Bush, it usually turns out they have some pet thing that has some weird connection to Bush....not that they REALLY support the man or anything that has to do with what he's done....and they usually are not very hard core one party or the other. Some of the connections are erroneous and can be resolved rather quickly. For instance, one of my wife's friends thought that if she voted for Kerry she would lose her job?!

With guys....it depends on the "level of A-hole" that I perceive. I've had some quick success with those who have innocently drifted into the Bush camp because of family history or casual beliefs.

If the A-hole meter starts to get aggitated....I have to resolve right up front if they listen to Limbaugh....if they are afraid that Dems will take their guns away...get through crap like that first...then move on to substantive stuff.

Talking points I've used recently:

1. War - did you know there were more weapons destroyed during the 10 years of inspections than Desert Storm? Did you know that one of the main purposes of the inspections was to specifically take away Saddam's ability to deploy WMD...and that they succeeded in taking away this capability?

Are you aware that an estimated 18,000 new terrorists have been recruited as a result of our hostilities in the Middle East?

Are you aware that IRAN is now honkering down for a "cold war" in the middle east with a first strike potential against US and/or Israel forces because of our unprecedented offensive action against Iraq.

Don't you think the over 200B that was spent on the war would have been better spent on securing our borders/port and thwarting new 911s?

Wasn't the lesson of 911 that just a small band of a dozen or so terrorists can create mass destruction? Do you really think it takes "Nation level" resources to pull this off? Don't we really have our eye off the ball of the real threat of terrorism here in our own country?

2. Economy - Do you really think rich people aren't getting rich fast enough? Do you think that they need extra support from the federal government to become that much richer? Will making them that much richer that much faster help the economy out? Do you think growth in the economy is the real measure of how well you are doing?

Are you aware that historically, the faster rich people get richer, the more the middle class suffers?

Are you aware that the total debt is now over 7 Trillion dollars? Are you aware that you are will pay an estimated 8 to 10 cents on every tax dollar next year?...and that with rising total debt that figure will climb to 15 cents within a few years?