I live in a very upscale, very conservative, community in one of the most conservative states in the country, Texas. My local democratic club is very active and we have participated in the July 4th parade for at least the last 5 years.
We have always gotten a generally good reception, with many people cheering us and some even laughing and saying they had thought they were the only democrats in town? However, we have also been plagued by several loud, outlandish, sometimes threatening, and always profane hecklers.
Last year, as we were handing out candy, a woman grabbed her child by the arm and jerked her painfully back while yelling "we don't take candy from democrats". My club has not been dismayed by the hecklers, because you often see the disgust on the faces of nearby parade watchers and even their own families at their outrageous behavior.
This year it was different! From the beginning of the Parade, everybody was waving and smiling at us. When we reached the most crowded areas, all I could see were people jumping up and down, applauding, yelling "go democrats" and several even screamed "save us democrats". I'm sure not everyone was behaving this way, but those that were had such animation that it seemed like everyone considered us to be conquering heroes or something! Near the end of the parade, a woman ran up to me making a hideous distorted face. I thought, OK, I knew this was too good to be true, this is it! I'm done for! I remember thinking; this was not the way I had expected to depart this realm!
She pushed her face to within an inch of me and screamed, "I hate Bush". I stammered something brilliant like "what?" and she screamed even louder, "I hate Bush". I then stammered something equally brilliant like "that's good".
After the parade, I looked at my fellow democrats and asked them if they were as shocked as I was? All had noticed the marked change in the parade watchers demeanor this year. We are hoping that people are waking up to republican corruption and deception. I guess we will find out in the general election next year. I think the moral of this story is that deceitful, lying bullies will not always get their way. Keep working for the rights of your fellow citizens. Deal honestly with your fellow man. Never give up! Ostracized today? You may be treated like a hero tomorrow!