I took another significant step forward in my freethought activism yesterday by participating in my first real protest. I was one of a dozen freethinkers, predominantly members of San Francisco Atheists and Sacramento's Atheists and Other Freethinkers, who stood with signs of protest outside Sacramento's Arco Arena, where the Promise Keepers were holding a rally.
We met in the parking lot of a nearby Starbuck's before heading to the Arena. Since I just moved to town a few weeks ago, I had yet to meet any of the local freethinkers, and the only familiar face I would see would be that of Dave Kong, of San Francisco Atheists, whom I met in January at the Regional Atheist Meeting in Salt Lake City. So I stood in the parking lot, looking for him.
During this wait, two guys in a pickup truck started a conversation with me, upon reading the different freethought buttons I was wearing. I told them I was there for the protest of the PKs, and they asked why. I told them a few things about the PKs, such as the things I wrote about here, at which point one of the men said, "You should call my wife."
"Is there a reason I should call your wife?" I asked. And as I said this, I noticed something sticking out of his pocket. It was a little plastic tag, and on the end of it, it said, "PK2000." I was talking to a pair of Promise Keepers.
"Call my wife and daughter both," he said. "They'll tell you what a change in me they've seen since I joined."
They both urged me to "get to know" the organization, rather than just protesting what I think it's about. I explained that I've read enough about it to know that it's not what they claim it is. I know it's anti-women and anti-gay. I know their record on racial justice is rather hazy. I know it is a manipulative organization, catering to male vanity and playing on male insecurities. I know it is a threat to the separation of church and state. And, like all religious organizations, I know it offers simplistic solutions to complex problems, and therefore causes more harm than good when trying to solve such problems.
But all in all, the conversation I had with them was civil, if not friendly. Such civility was not to be found in many of the Promise Keepers we saw later.
We had virtually no interaction with individuals during the actual picket. We were posted near a main entry gate of the Arena, and cars and trucks just breezed on past. But they saw the signs. Some of them laughed at us. Some yelled out "Jesus Loves You" and other such inanities. Others displayed a hand gesture that I think is supposed to indicate the horns of the devil. And others displayed a much more familiar one-fingered gesture, the meaning of which was abundantly clear.
Such nice Christians they were...
One driver stopped near me and yelled out, "How can you picket God?" My response was a simple, "There is no God!" To which he said, "You're atheists!" (as though this was some sort of surprise to him).
Another driver stopped and spoke at length to another small group of us. I'm told it was fairly non-productive, unsurprisingly.
And, sadly, that's my general assessment of the whole thing: non-productive. In that location, the only people we saw were those going into the forum for the rally, unless you count one Arco Arena employee who put up traffic cones, and one lost couple looking for the road to the airport. There was no foot traffic, no bystanders to talk with, to answer their questions on why we were protesting. And that's really the point to a protest.
Oh, sure, the PKs in attendance who saw us realize that there are people who don't like what they're about. But they'd know that whether we were there or not. The real purpose for a protest, like the real purpose of this website, is not to confront the believers, but to educate those who are looking for information. As such, yesterday's protest was predominantly a waste of time.
Nevertheless, I'm glad I went. I met some great folks and at least dipped a toe into the protest pond. And I didn't get shot or arrested, though I'm sure I saw the temptation to commit vehicular homicide in a few drivers' eyes.
I'm sure my protest days are just beginning. I just hope next time to be able to educate, rather than just hold a sign.
