Activists Ejected From Mall in Comedic Foot Chase With Police

[rainbow4321]

http://www.ntimc.org/newswire.php?story_id=1622


Five local activists went to Park Cities Baptist Church on Northwest Highway to display large signs and banners depicting the children and other civilian victims of the War in Iraq with the message to the Religious Right, "this is what you voted for."


"It was a bit tense because it's Park Cities, not Dallas right there," says Charles Kelly, one of the five anti-war activists. "Police kicked us off the city sidewalk by saying it was private, and tried to kick us off the median, but we held our ground and things were fine. "


Pre-action reconnaissance by the activists found the church members leaving church via a back way in over construction. The picketers caught churchgoers leaving the first service and entering for the second.


The five activists then broke long enough to gift wrap their signs and banners, then proceeded to Northpark Mall in Dallas. They parked at opposite ends of the mall, entered one at a time, and met in the middle of the mall. "At our set time we unwrapped the signs and displayed them in opposite directions for mall patrons to see," says Mr. Kelly. "Security was on us fairly fast but signs did get seen."

[Tinoire]

1. Kudos to them! We need more of this!

I strongly support showing all those "good" Americans the fruit of their "compassion".

[saigon68]

31. HERE IS THEIR COMPASSION (caution graphic0

These thoughtless uncaring selfish, self centered Americans could care less about anyone who is shredded into a pulp or killed. In particular they could care less about a few "RAG-HEAD"
children who are blown into mush like the soldiers below.








A common type of injury associated with roadside improvised explosive device run over by a
Humvee.

LINK: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/24/2476\

CAUTION HAVE A BARF BAG READY BEFORE YOU SEE THE REST OF THE
PICTURES

[proud patriot]

2. Wow

:D

[Tinoire]

3. Uh oh... You in this thread

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Lol!

There are enough of us ;)

[Zhade]

6. Make that three thinking the same thing.

It needs to be seen, and the media isn't showing it.

[Tinoire]

7. Well come on over to CA Zhade!

You know I'd put you up! There's a group of about 10 DUers here that I know we can count on to do such things :)

I agree, this needs to be done more often and the truth SEEN.

[Zhade]

11. I'm in Los Angeles, silly! :-)

I'd love to come up for a weekend - maybe for the march on January 20th!

[Tinoire]

17. THAT would be AWESOME! Please do! n/t

[Zhade]

30. Let me get the money together for a hotel, and I'm there!

I've only been to SF once, but I loved it. I'd love to see it again!

[Occulus]

9. FOUR n/t

[proud patriot]

8. I like the idea of Shoving

morallity w/pictures and words into repuke fundie
crispy's faces . ;-) ...I have a quote from Jesus
in my yard for my Christmas Decoration :D

[Tinoire]

18. Me too... People need to face what is being with their support

and in their name.

How lovely to just write checks for slaughter and then go on your merry way thinking your hands and conscience are clean because you are not SEEING or feeling the effects of your decisions.

Let's go for it! The antiwar movement needs to FORCE these moral cowards to face what they are doing! Help them figure out the answer to their whining "Why do they hate us?"

[John Q. Citizen]

4. This is cool. What we need is the ablitiy to carry out timed and co-

ordinated protests. Guerrela media!

[itzamirakul]

5. Real Activism!

BRAVO!

[sherilocks]

10. Five

How about the road to Disney in Orlando?

[leftchick]

12. I think of doing this all of the time!

everyday when I see a "we vote pro-life" right next to a w04 bumpersticker I want to shove a wounded or dead Iraqi photo in their faces! Perhaps I should just carry one around in my car for such occaisions.

[Vidar]

13. Great protest. Warms my heart.

[Renew Deal]

14. Nice job!

[Turley]

15. Target churches for political protests....great idea

Hell, why don't we just burn all the churches down? After all don't we all agree that everyone who attends church must be a Bush-supporting, war-mongering, fascist?

Freedom of worship? Hell who needs that?

[Bono71]

16. Was thinking the exact same thing...what a dumb

f*cking idea this protest was...

As if the protestors knew how everyone at those services voted...

Newsflash: the government and Bush authorized the war, leave ordinary citizens (who are trying to practice their religion in peace) alone.

[Porcupine]

34. Many "Christian" churches supported this war from the pulpit

and held pro-Rethuglican, pro Bush rallies on their grounds. Many of their leaders made a great deal of fuss about how the election was about "Values."

These churches and the people who allow the name of Christ to be tarnished by the support of war are rapidly alienating the other 4+ billion people on the planet. The rest of the world is quickly getting the idea that Christians and the Taliban are basically the same type of people.

Oh yeah; I went to church every Sunday for the first 14 years of my life. I know there are good Christians. I just don't see them on T.V. ever.

[juliagoolia]

19. Some of the churches, and you know this is true

Practically asked people to vote bush from the pulpit.

Those churches should not be off limits. Regular churches should.

I bet they know what the minister had done in that one.

[rainbow4321]

21. And if the activitsts can't do it, neither can the church people...

Not that anyone is going to tell the church people to stop what THEY are doing.

There was a church at a major intersection in our town that had it's members line the sidewalks of the intersection with anti-abortion signs one Sunday morning during their service time. They didn't seem to care if the rider-bys were anti-abortion or pro-choice....

[juliagoolia]

22. exactly. My point exactly.

They also voted for the war monger president in droves too.

I personally had a friend tell me that her minister(who is infallible) told her John Kerry had deeply lacking morals and so she was going to back Bush.

[NorthernSpy]

33. Yes! The churches are RESPONSIBLE for the results of their advocacy!

There is NOTHING wrong with holding them accountable for what they preach. Confronting them in this manner was entirely proper, and I think it's downright bizarre to try to claim otherwise.

Right on, Juliagoolia! :)

[PunkPop]

20. That's silly.

Hyperbole at its most extreme. Half a dozen activists standing on a median are somehow preventing these people from worshipping? Ridiculous. Do you live in Dallas? I do. So do the people who planned this protest. They know those attending this church come from one of the wealthiest, pro-Republican areas in Dallas. This is Bush's base. I would call it an excellent targeting of one's message. These activists are doing a public service by informing these poor, ignorant souls.

Plus, that was only half the action. The part where they giftwrap their signs and go to the mall (Northpark - another upscale destination for the rich and Republican of Dallas) was also awesome.

[rainbow4321]

24. Ditto...

Glad to hear a local explain the demographics of the church and mall. Park Cities is where chimp's elite/have-and-have-more base live. And it's not like the activists burst into the service or disrupted it any other way.

[GoldenOldie]

25. Seems a few aren't willing to look at the dirty parts of war!

I would wager that those activists didn't just pick any church. If they took the time to make banners, print photo's of the dead and dying, it was a well thought out plan.

I agree if the CONS and fundies are willing to use their churchs, temples, cathedrals, and the name of Christ to sanction their support for a leader who wages war and death, than they no longer can stand behind the cross and claim religious persecutionwhen they are confronted with their role in the photo's depiction. If they are able to look at Jesus nailed to a cross with the claim that "he died for them," than let them look at the dead, dying and maimed Military and Iraqi civilians and know that these people died and are dying because of what they did and are still doing.

If they played no active role in the support of George W. Bush and his administration for the war but just sat quietly in their pews and listened to the pulpit sermons.....they gave permission. If they are ashamed of looking at the photo's of the dead, dying, and maimed and know in their hearts that they allowed this to happen because they stood mute. Instead of attacking the messenger's, maybe they should be reviewing their religious sensibilities.

[Turley]

26. Can't agree with you

I attend a church in a reasonably well-off part of town. Should my church be targeted for political protests? I can assure you there would be plenty of honked-off Democrats at our Church if someone targeted us for political protest simply because we attend service on Sunday.

How about protesting the next GOP picnic? Or picketing outside their political headquarters? How about protesting something (anything) that is actually GOP-specific instead of making massive assumptions about people's views on the war based on their church attendance?

How would you feel about someone protesting outside a mosque with graphic pictures of the victims of radical Islamic terrorism? I'd say the connection is just as tenuous in that case.

And finally, what makes you think that people who attend church in North Dallas are all "poor, ignorant, souls"?

[PunkPop]

28. Are you comparing 'radical Islamic terrorism' with

a specific, state-sponsored military campaign using the highest technology, most lethal weapons available and spanning two years? I don't see a comparison there so your analogy fails.

Also, this was less a protest of the church itself than an anti-war action directed at those who would blindly support Bush unaware of the death and destruction he is wreaking on Iraq. If there were people attending that church who don't support Bush or the war I'm sure they were not offended.

Again, I don't know where your town is, but I can guarantee these people were overwhelmingly Republicans and Bush supporters. You seem to be taking this as some sort of attack on the sanctity of churches. I don't think that's what it is at all.

[marzipanni]

32. I was thinking in terms of attending a few services to get a feeling

for the views of the pastor and congregation before bringing photos to share with them, if I thought they could use the enlightenment. Obviously doing this demonstration at a Unitarian church would be preaching to the choir. ;)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

27. Separation of Church and state..how about that?

There are plenty of denominations that used their bully pulpit to promote Bush thereby making themselves fair game...any church associated with Falwell and RObertson for instance

[antigone382]

29. Yeah, we should leave the churches alone

Just like we've left all those Iraqi mosques alone. You know, the ones we've shelled and stuff.

[Threedifferentones]

35. MANY churches encouraged their congregations to vote for W

and MANY churches are made up almost entirely of fundamentalist whackjobs masquerading as "Christians." There was probably a good reason the protestors picked the church they did, most likely because it is known to be pro-Bush

[Swamp Rat]

23. Yeeeeehaaaaaa!!!!!

That's what I call activism!

:kick:

[talk hard]

36. Kinda reminds me of the anti-abortion "activists"

Funny thing, though. Their rights to protest are protected.
Screw the mallfolk.