After Action Report: 3/8/08
It was so important for me to be in Times Square on Saturday, that I would have done about anything. I went to bed the night before praying that God doesn’t let it rain on our parade. Later at the rally Chris Hill had a different approach in that the rain proves that God is alive, we wouldn’t be here without it. Either way, God shined on us this day, even if the sun did not. I never wanted to buy a pair of rubber boots so badly in my life.
I arrived on scene at just about noon, after having stopped for a sip of coffee. There were a handful of folks already there and to my utter astonishment, Dan Maloney arranged a tent-a huge tent- for us to be under while it poured rain. Essentially, it was like a giant block party, right there in front of the recruiting station. Only in New York! It was absolutely fabulous. Slowly, the crowds gathered in and by 1:00pm, we had a great size- maybe 60 people. In the pouring rain, proud patriots stood waving flags-some sans umbrellas, while some of us with paper signs stayed mostly under the tent to show the passers-by (It rained so much, that I considered going on a shopping trip for the CUBIT tool, to build an ark for us). I got a lot of pictures taken of my sign, which I’m used to- I like the one liner slap-in-the-face variety. My sign read, “Terrorism will NOT be tolerated”.
Many organizations came to support us and please forgive me for not listing all of them- there were just so many, including NJ and CT GoE, Eagles Up, Free Republic, Guardian Angels, Suffolk County Conservative Party, Atlas Shrugs and many others, and I know that we are so grateful for everyone’s support. People came from as far away as Philadelphia, Boston and New Jersey (per my discussions). The media that came was almost overwhelming, because as we Eagles are used to, they never come and cover us. They showed up almost in droves, as did tourist participators. I know I gave interviews with Fox, Univision, NBC, NY 11, NY 9, Daily Times, New York Post, but then had my picture taken by CBS and a couple others. I was flabbergasted. Dan and Jim Bancroft are both so great at giving sound bites to the media and explaining our organization in such a way that they won’t misunderstand what we’re doing.
My main statement to the media was how I truly felt about the bombing of this recruiter station. First, that if you disagree with the war, president, military, etc. that is fine, you are free to say so and express that view in any way and you are protected by the constitution. Blowing things up to make a statement is not one of those rights. Also, that this isn’t just a slap in the face to the military, but to everyone who loves New York. You do NOT go and bomb anything- especially Times Square.
At the peak of the rally I would estimate we had perhaps more than 120 people hanging around and expressing support. I asked many how they heard of the event, the media got press releases (many of them from Jim Bancroft), Some said they heard from Move America Forward, Free Republic, Michelle Malkin. There was even a guy from the McCain camp there. (How bout that Eagles!!!) He came out to support what we were doing. I talked to him and he kept politics to a minimum, and I respected that a lot. There were a whole slew of tourists and NYers passing through who stopped to see what we were doing and thank us. Many of them stayed for a while and waved flags or stood under the tent to talk with other folks about the bombing. We had no Moonbats come out to say anything. Perhaps they melt when water gets on them…It was a very cool experience standing with strangers with the same sentiment.
That sentiment is we will NOT be intimidated. Terrorism in any form will not be tolerated. This bombing will not go overlooked or forgotten about. We gathered as Americans to defend that place and to represent others who feel the same way. You are free to feel and express yourself however you want except for destruction. In the pouring rain, we united to say, “Not on Our Watch!!” The message we hoped to get across was that the bomber did not hit its target, but only served to royally piss people off, including all those that love New York. New York belongs to everyone, after all.
I would also like to recognize the mini-parade from the NYPD and FDNY. I talked to several NYPD today and they were all so grateful we came to support them and the recruiters-they are so tired of the anti-war Moonbats. I didn’t get a good count, but estimate 10 police cars, two fire trucks and SUV came rolling through a couple times, blaring their sirens and horns, flashing their lights (picture it- all the cabs had to get out of the way) and waving at us and giving us thumbs up. Getting recognized like that was almost like being celebrity. Only from real people, not Hollyweirds,
The NYPD is awesome and we love them. The recruiters in Times Square are very special to us- we’ve rallied there a couple times and, after all, they have seen it all. And New York, especially after 9/11, holds a very special place in all of our hearts. I was more than honored to stand up for NYC as well, as she is the greatest city in the world.
Thank you all again. You are all my heroes, and it was my pleasure to be with you. Until we rally again…
Jenny
CT State Coordinator
Gathering of Eagles
Sunday, March 9, 2008
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