Jun 11, 2012

Much Ado About Nothing

I'm pleased to report that things went very well at the ElkFest. There were about two dozen protestors there but for the most part they kept to themselves. At the start of the auction the protesters were wondering around the Square and passing out flyers. I took all the flyers that were offered to me and none of them had graphic images or were offensive. At about 10:30 they gathered at the northwest corner of the Square and they started their protest.
One by one they stood up on the base of the antler arch and they read aloud from the Bible. Some of them read mild passages in a normal voice. And some of them read hellfire and damnation verses in a loud voice. The Square was crowded but most people ignored the protesters. Except for the Mets fan.

One guy showed up in a Mets jersey and was holding a cardboard sign that said, “Let’s Go Mets!” Every time the protestors got loud he started to yell, “Let’s Go Mets! Let’s Go Mets!” And the locals would yell with him, “Let’s Go Mets!” The Mets fans were louder than the preachers and the effect was rather amusing.

I spent most of the morning talking to individual protestors to try to understand them and their motivations better. It was obvious to me that someone had made the decision to not disrupt or disrespect the Boy Scout’s antler auction. As they were wrapping things up I went to their leaders and thanked them for being respectful. They appreciated my comments so much that they called all their members over and had me repeat my comments to the entire group.

The leaders told me that they never intended to use their graphic images, flyers, and aggressive tactics in Jackson. They said they love the Boy Scouts and thanked me for the BSA’s decision to maintain its membership standards. (They said some unkind things about homosexuals.) They told me the only reason they got so aggressive last year was because they were told they could not protest and they felt like they had to make a point and exercise their constitutional rights.

So, everything turned out fine. The Elk Antler Auction went well, the weather was fantastic, and the protestors had a minimal impact on the ElkFest.