Well, this weekend I went out and struck a (small) blow for liberty, activism-style. Overcoming numerous obstacles, Amy and I cruised down to Philadelphia, site of the 2000 Republican National Convention, where we joined a small but vocal counterprotest held in response to the 2000 anti-freedom, eco-fascist, Mumia-freeing leftists organized by Unity 2000 to protest their usual causes.
Amy and I arrived on the late side and without any idea where to go (Libertarian central planning and organization being what it is...), but we knew our people would be close to the protest and wearing orange shirts with big L's stamped on them. We homed in on them by asking the ever-present pro-life protesters if they'd seen a rampaging mob of socialists passing through, and tracked them to Ben Franklin Ave. Once we got within a few blocks downwind, we were actually able to find the main body of protesters by smell alone. These guys seemed to hate showering as much as they hate individualists...
Once we hooked up with the counter-protesters and procured appropriate L-stamped orange attire, Amy and I waded into the fray. We wandered around passing out some flyers explaining in bullet-point form how free trade saves lives in 3rd world countries and sparked the occaisional debate. I doubt we made any converts, but we gave a lot of people something to think about and showed the flag for TV. Some of the group were even interviewed by MTV-- I hope that they wind up in the coverage.
The causes and speeches gathered at the rally ranged from the comical to the downright evil. There was one guy Amy and I passed who vehemently insisted to anyone passing by that the solution to all of our problems is a $500/week government handout. Another guy walked around in a suit with rod attached to his back that dangled a couple dollar bills in front of him; he wandered around the protest like a zombie, grasping for them. If I'd had the chance I would have thrown on a Red Army uniform and followed him around chasing Amy with a bayoneted rifle to demonstrate the alternative. Just to make it clearer, it would make sense to have a third person carrying a big sign with Franciso's money speech from Atlas Shrugged on it. The anti-corporate welfare contingent set up a pretty impressive display-- unfortunately the people involved were using it purely as a forum to spew venom on free markets and globalization. One wonders if they even understand that corporate welfare is anathema to free enterprise. I have to admit though, that the brainless hippies chanting "Free Mumia Abu-Jamal" slogans brought back fond, nostalgic college memories.
The Unity 2000 Call to Action includes a list of their objectives. The vast bulk of them are purely collectivist and anti-freedom, and those that don't have hidden anti-freedom subtexts. Next time we have a similar counterprotest, we should separate those 2 groups of issues when we prepare hand-outs. The brazenly collectivist issues need to be thoroughly dismissed, and free-market, individualist alternatives to the other issues need to be persuasively presented.
All in all, Philly was a blast. Amy's almost done with Atlas Shrugged now and it gave us a lot to talk about on the drive. It was great to see people I met at IHS last summer and it's always a treat to see intelligent people working hard to get our ideas out there. We'll definitely have to do something comparable here in Boston this year.
---Will Serwetman, 7/31/00
