Media-Fed Protests Demoralized Troops

In the face of a virtual national media blackout, patriotic rallies drawing tens of thousands of people were held in several cities as the U.S. prepared for war with Iraq. But the “anti-war” demonstrations organized by communist enemies of America and demoralizing to American troops were still getting most of the press attention.

“You can’t imagine how it makes us feel to see Americans protesting what we’re doing,” a 20-year-old Army Ranger deployed to the war front told his mother, Cindy Ralston. “As a mother, that just broke my heart,” Ralston said.

This is why, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cindy Ralston and others like her turned out in Atlanta on March 15 for a “Rally for America.” Ralston wore a T-shirt that read, “I’m a military mom and proud of it,” and her sign read, “Troops: you make us free, you make us proud, you make us brave; We love you.”

But on the March 15 NBC Nightly News, anchor John Seigenthaler noted that yet another so-called anti-war rally had been held in Washington. “About 25,000 people marched through downtown Washington, D.C. today to protest the Bush administration war policy against Iraq,” he said. “The gathering in the nation’s capital was among the largest of several similar marches….”

Seigenthaler failed to note that the communist Workers World Party had organized the event and that banners and signs at the rally depicted President Bush as a terrorist.

But he then mentioned in passing that in Atlanta “thousands of flag waving people chanting pro-administration slogans gathered at Centennial Olympic Park to show their support for the White House campaign against Saddam Hussein. The event was part of a series of Rallies for America that have been held last month in different U.S. cities.”

These two brief and dismissive statements were how the NBC Nightly News covered a dramatic series of patriotic and pro-American rallies that had been held in cities across the U.S., including Atlanta, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Omaha, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Houston, Nashville, and Richmond.

While much of the national media failed even to cover the patriotic protests, conservative talk-radio helped turn people out for the pro-America events. National radio host Glenn Beck helped organize several of the rallies, while activists associated with The FreeRepublic.com Internet site were instrumental in arranging others.

But when Newsmax.com tried finding pictures of the patriotic rallies from the professional photo service agencies, none were available. On the other hand, there were plenty of photos of the January 18 and March 15 anti-war rallies held in Washington, D.C. These anti-American protests were covered by the national television networks, including C-SPAN.

AIM Report editor Cliff Kincaid covered both rallies and took photographs that you didn’t see in the major media-photos of many large communist banners and signs, some of which openly expressed support for Iraq and North Korea. Photos in this issue of The AIM Report are from the March 15 demonstration. Others are available on the AIM web site, www.aim.org.

The organizers of the Rally for America in Atlanta attracted 25-30 thousand people, some of whom were increasingly angry over the national media attention given to the anti-war side.

Fortunately, local reporters covered the event. Jennifer Brett of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution described the scene this way: “Thousands of flag-waving, Bush-backing, troop-loving patriots came from all around metro Atlanta on Saturday to cheer for their country at Centennial Olympic Park.” She said “signs tended to fall into one of two categories-God Bless the U.S.A. or Down with a. France, b. Hollywood, or c. the Dixie Chicks.”

A member of the Dixie Chicks band had said in London that she was ashamed of President Bush because of his anti-Iraq policy. She later apologized.

But the apology didn’t come quickly enough to avoid boycotts of the all-girl band by radio stations and consumers. Some outraged Americans even burned their Dixie Chicks CDs.

Article courtesy of Accuracy in Media
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