Politics at Its Finest...

Melissa Erin | September 17, 2004
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Scott Hardie | September 17, 2004
I assume you're disappointed in the act of politics and not in the act of parenting; for me it's the latter. The father should have expected a hostile response from the crowd, showing a Bush-Cheney sign at a Kerry-Edwards appearance. The daughter would not understand that the hostility was political in nature; she would likely interpret it as meanness directed personally at her father. How is it wise to show a child something like that?

Melissa Erin | September 18, 2004
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Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
Uh, Melissa, this isn't the first time this guy has been in the news for this:

Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia)
October 28, 2000, Saturday
SECTION: News; Pg. P1A
LENGTH: 861 words
HEADLINE: Signs for Bush taken at rally, father, son say
BYLINE: SAM TRANUM

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.

Gore's West Virginia campaign said Bush-Cheney signs were not welcome, but physical confrontations to eliminate them would not have been condoned.

Parlock, a real estate agent, thought it would be at least as educational for his son to spend the morning at the Gore rally as it would have been to spend the day at school. So the two got in the car and drove from Huntington, arriving in Charleston about 9 a.m.

Parlock said he was a volunteer for the Bush-Cheney campaign. He is listed on the West Virginia Bush-Cheney Web site as the Cabell County contact for the campaign.

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And before that, same guy, again, in 1996:

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.

So basically, this guy does this ALL THE TIME, and gest in his local paper for it all the time.

Fishy, at best; at worst, an idiot using his 3-year-old daughter in a grotesque way.

Jackie Mason | September 18, 2004
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Melissa Erin | September 18, 2004
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Scott Hardie | September 18, 2004
I was wondering when that accusation was going to be made. Please, give us a little credit.

Melissa Erin | September 18, 2004
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Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
I think Scott was chiding me, not you, Melissa.

This isn't a case of a guy not being too bright. This is a acase of a guy who knows that he's doing something to provoke people in a big, charged-up crowd, and after twice before getting knocked on his pins -- an action I don't condone, mind you -- brings his three-year-old daughter along.

There's a differendce between "not too bright" and this. The people who took the sign from the little girl are jerks. Insensitive jerks, and I want no part of them. But neither do I want any part of this man's deliberate provocations, carried out with an oblivious disregard for the child.

Politics in this country, on ALL sides, is becoming a real asshole contest.

Basically, no one except the little girl is a good guy here, or much of a victim.

Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
And as if to prove my point....

Anti-Bush Protestor Pulled to Floor, Kicked

WARNING: News program movie file, may load slowly.

Scott Hardie | September 18, 2004
Actually, I was responding to Melissa. :-)

Maybe I shouldn't be so brief. I do agree with you, Melissa, that the sign-rippers were cruel to do that to a three-year-old. I think we all agree about that. Assuming this guy wasn't being disruptive in any other way than holding the sign, he should have been ignored by the crowd, or at the most booed. The girl holding the sign should have been ignored entirely; she has no idea what it means.

But, I just couldn't help but think additional bad thoughts about the father for intentionally putting his daughter into that situation. He has been physically attacked twice when doing this in the past; what, was he hoping the presence of a child would dissuade people from harming him? (Hey, it worked.) He's as much of a shitbag as the people who destroyed the signs, behavior that he knew was going to happen, behavior that he knew was going to affect his daughter emotionally. If we can blame strangers for traumatizing the girl, why does her parent get off the hook?

On the other hand, I wonder how many such events this guy has attended in protest, and not run into trouble. The previous incidents that turned violent are being reported in the news, but there are probably dozens more where he was ignored like he should have been. I can only hope that he was expecting the incident on Thursday to be like those; to show his kids the value of peaceful protest.

And I'm glad you take the accusation seriously, Melissa. It's one that gets made too often, in more arenas than just politics. Simply put, because one has an ulterior motivation to say something has nothing to do with whether their claim is correct. For the record, I never thought about this in terms of Democrats attacking a Republican or a Republican provoking Democrats; they're just plain jerks all around.

Anna Gregoline | September 18, 2004
Reading the first responses, I feel like Scott and Melissa said the same thing.

And please, give us some credit. We wouldn't have condoned it the other way around either. We're not monsters.

Anthony Lewis | September 18, 2004
At least the man was allowed to even attend the rally. He didn't have to sign a "loyalty oath" to attend the way the Bushies require you to. He could say what he wanted to say and do what he wanted to do. He didn't get arrested like the lady at Laura Bush's speech the other day. She was led out of the rally by cops to the chant of "Four More Years" while protesting her son being killed in Iraq. Then she was cuffed and thrown in the back of a paddywagon.

Sad.

Melissa Erin | September 18, 2004
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Kris Weberg | September 18, 2004
How about the woman in the news report I provided, the one who showed a sign and got herself dragged to the floor and kicked at the RNC?

Melissa Erin | September 19, 2004
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Anthony Lewis | September 20, 2004
But is what that woman did worth being handcuffed and thrown into the back of a paddywagon? If she was thrown out, that's one thing. Arrested? For what? Protesting? C'mon now.

Anna Gregoline | September 20, 2004
"I missed that....that's pretty bad. People on both sides of the fence are acting like idiots....it's just POLITICS, for heaven's sake. We don't need to kick people, we don't need to rip up signs held by children. Jeez."

I agree things get out of hand, but it's not just politics to these people, nor is it to me. Bush is responsible for thousands of people DYING, and that is a huge deal. Not to mention all the other things he's done. It gets certain people, including me, upset, and while I would probably not behave like these people have done, I can understand how seeing the man in person might make me snap, and I haven't even lost anyone personally in the war.

Anna Gregoline | September 20, 2004
In good news...Woman fired for her political affiliation gets hired by Kerry.

Melissa Erin | September 20, 2004
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Anna Gregoline | September 20, 2004
No there isn't any excuse - I wasn't trying to excuse them. But I completely understand the sentiment behind such behavior. Bush and his policies/actions are that rage-inducing. I can't see how they couldn't be, but that's just me.

Of course, now I could bring up the protester that had her hair pulled after being pulled out of the Republican convention...it's wrong on both sides once again.

Melissa Erin | September 20, 2004
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Anna Gregoline | September 20, 2004
I would like to bitch-slap a Republican, but to do so would probably cost me my life. =)

Jackie Mason | September 20, 2004
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Melissa Erin | September 22, 2004
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Jackie Mason | September 22, 2004
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Jackie Mason | September 22, 2004
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Melissa Erin | September 23, 2004
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Anna Gregoline | September 23, 2004
You know I was talking about the Prez, right?

Melissa Erin | September 23, 2004
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