Gotta love the Kerry supporters

[Yeahman]

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040916/capt.wvrs10309162250.edwards_wvrs103.jpg
Three-year-old Sophia Parlock cries while seated on the shoulders of her father, Phil Parlock, after having their Bush-Cheney sign torn up by Kerry-Edwards supporters on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, at the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, W.Va. Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards (news - web sites) made a brief stop at the airport as he concluded his two-day bus tour to locations in West Virginia and Ohio. (AP Photo/Randy Snyder)

[thaite]

Dude, it's a hoax.

[Yeahman]

I can't see the pics you attached but I hope you aren't talking about the hoax about the hoax accusation. The "hoax" accusation has proven to be a hoax. The lengths to which Kerry supporters would go to try to discredit this story is also pretty disturbing.
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, who's member ripped up the sign, issued a formal apology
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades believes in the fundamental right for civil discourse, freedom of speech and activism to support our candidates and issues.
What happened in Huntington, West Virginia yesterday is an affront to everything we, as a union, pride ourselves to represent. We extend our apologies to the Parlock family, especially Sophia, for the distress one of our overzealous members caused them.

I have personally taken steps to address this issue internally, and will take immediate disciplinary action to the full extent allowed under U.S. Department of Labor regulations and the constitution of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

It is my hope that this incident reminds all of our members that every last citizen in this country has the right to express his or herself freely. Not one single one of us has the right to tell them otherwise.

General President James A. Williams
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

[Mr.Lum]

LOL. Serves em right.

[truMp]

LOL. dude that's hilarious.

[SunWuKong]

I can't see the pics you attached but I hope you aren't talking about the hoax about the hoax accusation. The "hoax" accusation has proven to be a hoax. The lengths to which Kerry supporters would go to try to discredit this story is also pretty disturbing.
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, who's member ripped up the sign, issued a formal apology

actually i think that's still in debate. and the fact that the IUPAT issued an apology doesn't necessarily mean that it's been proven. it could just mean that they are trying to do some quick damage control. it could have happen, but i'm not ruling out that it was staged. it's been found that Parlock had been a "victim" on multiple occassions at rallies in the past.

Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, August 27, 1996, Page 3C

Phil Parlock’s experience was less calm.

The Huntington man said he was knocked to the ground by a Clinton supporter when he tried to display a sign that read “Remember Vince Foster,” the deputy White House counsel who committed suicide in a Washington, D.C., park. His death has become the subject of much debate among Clinton opponents.

“It must have been a strict Democrat who did this,” Parlock said, feeling the red abrasions on his face. “Everyone with the exception of him was real peaceful about our protest.”

Parlock said some of the crowd tried to make other anti-Clinton demonstrators feel unwelcome. He estimated that about 150 Dole supporters attended the rally, but their signs couldn’t be seen for most of the rally.


Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, October 28, 2000, pg. 1A:

Phil Parlock didn’t expect to need all 12 of the Bush-Cheney signs he and his son Louis smuggled in their socks and pockets into the rally for Vice President Al Gore.

But each time they raised a sign, someone would grab it out of their hands, the two Huntington residents said. And sometimes it got physical.

“I expected some people to take our signs,” said Louis, 12. “But I did not expect people to practically attack us.”

The two said they didn’t go to the Friday morning rally to start trouble.

“I came to support Bush and try to change some people’s minds,” Louis said.

try clicking on the pics thaite attached again. apparently they needed approval.

[kitty]

... wait, are you saying that those who support kerry are like sadistic child-haters or something? what is this incident supposed to 'prove'?

Bush/Cheney supporters call Kerry/Edwards supporters unpatriotic, dare I say treasonous, terrorist sympathizers, and I'm sure there are as many Kerry/Edwards signs ripped up by Bush supporters as vice versa.

[A.R.A.M.]

Come on, Kerry supporters are not the only ones who can be dicks. A woman whose son died in Iraq went to a Laura Bush speech and said her husband had blood on his hands. Well, the sensitive Bush-Cheney crowd, rather than saying they feel for her loss but sacrifices need to be made in the so-called war on terror, surrounded her instead and began chanting "Four More Years!" over and over. Then the Bush people ejected her and had her arrested. That is a perfect example of emotional intelligence right there.

[Banana]

Come on, Kerry supporters are not the only ones who can be dicks. A woman whose son died in Iraq went to a Laura Bush speech and said her husband had blood on his hands. Well, the sensitive Bush-Cheney crowd, rather than saying they feel for her loss but sacrifices need to be made in the so-called war on terror, surrounded her instead and began chanting "Four More Years!" over and over. Then the Bush people ejected her and had her arrested. That is a perfect example of emotional intelligence right there.

Yea. Their reaction made my blood boil. What made it worse was when a Republican congressman heard about it and said that she "needed to find better things to do with her time."

How dare you.

Also, the picture of the man with his daughter and her ripped sign, it looks like it was photoshopped there.

[so_fee_ahh]

Come on, Kerry supporters are not the only ones who can be dicks. A woman whose son died in Iraq went to a Laura Bush speech and said her husband had blood on his hands. Well, the sensitive Bush-Cheney crowd, rather than saying they feel for her loss but sacrifices need to be made in the so-called war on terror, surrounded her instead and began chanting "Four More Years!" over and over. Then the Bush people ejected her and had her arrested. That is a perfect example of emotional intelligence right there.

Oh my, my! That's so wrong in so many ways! *scratches head* :confused: For some reason, I went into the kitchen cabinet and found a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese...but that's not the weird thing. It's a special limited convention edition with this elephant on the front of the box holding up a sign "REPUBLICANS IN 2004!" I'm reallllly hungry but fuck, I'm not going to eat a box of macaroni that's filled with elephant and star shapes. I'm creeped out cuz there's this quote from Teddy Roosevelt they totally screwed with: "Speak softly, but carry a big bowl of KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese."

Just wondering...how the fuck did the box get here??? *stomach growls*

[rice cracker]

Oh my, my! That's so wrong in so many ways! *scratches head* :confused: For some reason, I went into the kitchen cabinet and found a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese...but that's not the weird thing. It's a special limited convention edition with this elephant on the front of the box holding up a sign "REPUBLICANS IN 2004!" I'm reallllly hungry but fuck, I'm not going to eat a box of macaroni that's filled with elephant and star shapes. I'm creeped out cuz there's this quote from Teddy Roosevelt they totally screwed with: "Speak softly, but carry a big bowl of KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese."

Just wondering...how the fuck did the box get here??? *stomach growls*

That is so weird. Do they make Democratic mac and cheese too, I wonder?

[Yeahman]

Also, the picture of the man with his daughter and her ripped sign, it looks like it was photoshopped there.
By the AP?
Again, the lengths people will go to to try to discredit a story is pretty amazing. Photoshop?
Everyone who knows the Parlock family is saying that the man who ripped up the sign is not a family member. But hey there's a young white guy in the family photo! It must be him!

But I didn't expect most people here to condemn the ripping of the sign. Free speech is only guarenteed if you're anti-Bush.

[ism]

By the AP?
Again, the lengths people will go to to try to discredit a story is pretty amazing. Photoshop?
Everyone who knows the Parlock family is saying that the man who ripped up the sign is not a family member. But hey there's a young white guy in the family photo! It must be him!

But I didn't expect most people here to condemn the ripping of the sign. Free speech is only guarenteed if you're anti-Bush.I got an invite to the Laura Bush appearance (the same one where they jeered and arrested that women whose son got killed in Iraq. And yeah, I'm hooked into the Bush campaign for these interesting tidbits of info) and the invite had a lot of stipulations. The one that caught my eye said that no signs were allowed due to "security concerns," and that signage would be available at the speech location. Looks like you get free speech only if you're pro-Bush, and even then, they put the words in your mouth.

You know what my first thought was when I saw the picture? Why is this man bringing such a young child to a protest, and why isn't he doing something about what just happened? One guy is next to him, still sneering, and he didn't put his daughter down to see if she was okay, or least to make them less vulnerable, or even look at the guy to make sure he's not going to do anything else. He doesn't look like he even cares about what just happened!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040917/480/wvrs10109170018

It's worse than that. He claims he'd been been assaulted at other rallies, in 1996 with Dole signs at a Clinton rally, and in 2000 at a Gore rally, with another girl on his shoulders. He's even been a victim of a drive-by shooting, at a GOP headquarters while watching the RNC, a few weeks ago, with a single bullet lodged into the side of the building. You've been assaulted, been assaulted while carrying a child on your shoulders, been SHOT AT, and you're going to bring your 3 year old daughter and son to a rally?

[Yeahman]

The one that caught my eye said that no signs were allowed due to "security concerns," and that signage would be available at the speech location. Looks like you get free speech only if you're pro-Bush, and even then, they put the words in your mouth.
Actually that's the policy of both Bush and Kerry rallies.

OK so he ws stupid for bringing his daughter to the rally. Still, is noone here going to condemn the sign rippers?

[bluemonq]

Come on, Kerry supporters are not the only ones who can be dicks. A woman whose son died in Iraq went to a Laura Bush speech and said her husband had blood on his hands. Well, the sensitive Bush-Cheney crowd, rather than saying they feel for her loss but sacrifices need to be made in the so-called war on terror, surrounded her instead and began chanting "Four More Years!" over and over. Then the Bush people ejected her and had her arrested. That is a perfect example of emotional intelligence right there.
as much as i hate to say this after comparing these two event, two wrongs don't make a right... but then, the sign-ripping you have to admit would be a few magnitudes less disgusting than the widow incident.

[A.R.A.M.]

By the AP?
Again, the lengths people will go to to try to discredit a story is pretty amazing. Photoshop?
Everyone who knows the Parlock family is saying that the man who ripped up the sign is not a family member. But hey there's a young white guy in the family photo! It must be him!

But I didn't expect most people here to condemn the ripping of the sign. Free speech is only guarenteed if you're anti-Bush.

Ye110man,

When I first read your post, I didn't think you were looking for a bunch of people to condemn this person's action. I thought you were trolling. You were not condemning this one particular action; you were condemnig those who support Kerry. Just look at the title you gave the thread: "Gotta love the Kerry supporters." Such a title lumps all the people who support Kerry into the same category as a person who alledgedly grabbed the sign. As if ALL Kerry supporters find exquisite joy in making little boys and girls cry. In fact, your post seemed to me to be yet another right-wing attempt to tar those who do not support Bush as "wild-eyed," "raving," or "part of the looney left." As if only the left is capable of such irrationality and violence. I think many people suspected that your motive wasn't to condemn this particular incident, but rather all those who don't support Bush, and they reacted to what they saw as your real motive. I certainly did.

Now you whimper that only anti-Bush people are guaranteed free speech. As if FOX News isn't a Bush-Cheney mouthpiece; as if daytime talk radio doesn't belong to conservatives; as if there isn't a publishing industry out there still villifying the Clintons, creating hagiographies of Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush, and demonizing progressives. Yeah, you're absolutely right: pro-Bush people are being kept from exercising their rights to free speech. And if you want to talk about people being silenced, look at Kitty's post above: Pro-Bush people love to call people who don't support Bush traitors. Is that a ringing endorsement for free speech for all, or only those who support Bush?

as much as i hate to say this after comparing these two event, two wrongs don't make a right... but then, the sign-ripping you have to admit would be a few magnitudes less disgusting than the widow incident.

I'm not saying that two wrongs make a right. The original post didn't seem to demonize just this one event, but rather all Kerry supporters. And implicit in this demonization of the left is a contrast: while Kerry supporters are vicious, irrational fanatics who bully kids, Bush-supporters are rational and virtuous people who love kids, apple pie, and puppy dogs. Well, I don't see it that way. I agree that tearing down a sign from someone's shoulders and causing a little girl to cry is wrong, but I wasn't reacting to that. I was reacting to what I saw as the original posters ulterior motive. I wanted to make it clear that such behavior is not representative of the left, nor is it restricted to the left.

[Yeahman]

as much as i hate to say this after comparing these two event, two wrongs don't make a right...
There we go.

Instead of defending one and condemning the other, why not condemn then all? Why are so many so unwilling to do that?

I never said that the right doesn't have a voice. But the fact remains that many on the left want to squash the right's voice. And vice-versa. I was warned at one forum for calling Bush a liar and banned without warning from Howard Dean's forum during the primaries for implying that he may be unelectable.

I think many people suspected that your motive wasn't to condemn this particular incident, but rather all those who don't support Bush, and they reacted to what they saw as your real motive. I certainly did.
I think it's pretty obvious that I don't support Bush. See below.

[A.R.A.M.]

There we go.

Instead of defending one and condemning the other, why not condemn then all? Why are so many so unwilling to do that?

I never said that the right doesn't have a voice. But the fact remains that many on the left want to squash the right's voice. And vice-versa. I was warned at one forum for calling Bush a liar and banned without warning from Howard Dean's forum during the primaries for implying that he may be unelectable.


I think it's pretty obvious that I don't support Bush. See below.

By below, do you mean the Mel Gibson thread?

Well, you did say that freedom of speech is only guaranteed if you are anti-Bush. I took that to mean that you felt the left has suppressed the other side's voice. I apologize for the misunderstanding. In my defense, I didn't recognize in that statement that you felt the right has stifled, or attempted to stifle, voices from the left. But I'm glad you see that both sides have their problems.

I have had an experience similar to yours. At the height of the swift boat debate, I got into a debate with a rabid Bush supporter who cornered me by asking about Kerry's Vietnam war records. Stupidly I said that unlike Bush, Kerry had released them all and had posted them on his website. Well, I was wrong: they weren't all up on his website. Not willing to concede to this guy, I went over to Al Franken's site and asked the people there if they knew where I could find these records so I could show up my opponent. Well, there were a few people there who gave me suggestions, but none could point me to the records. And quite a few assholes were incensed by my asking this question in the first place because it made Kerry look less than perfect. Rather than admitting that Kerry has his warts too, they just attacked me. So I agree with you: both sides can be ideologically driven and blind to the faults of their candidate.

[Yeahman]

By "See below" I meant my sig.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

By "See below" I meant my sig.
You don't have a sig. Or at least I don't see it loading right now.

This is why I like HK so much better. The political parties divide along old vs. young lines. The old people don't run around waving signs, and they're too blind and illiterate to get pissed off enough by the young peoples' signs to go rip them up.

[SunWuKong]

You don't have a sig. Or at least I don't see it loading right now.


due to the size of the images in some people's signatures, signatures will only appear once in a thread. check the top of this thread and you'll see his signature.

[mndeg]

who cares, just a sign
good job making a media story because of a freakin kid