My wife and I went to what was supposed to be a one-on-one with your Congressman in a supermarket. When we arrived the little eating area in this local market was packed with all types of folks. You could tell the right-wingers because they generally looked pissed off and were always muttering under their breath something about obamacare or socialism.
It was pretty evenly split between pro and con, but the nastiness was out in full display. I decided to walk around politely talk to folks, particularly challenging them as pleasantly as possible on the misinformation they had on their signs or in their arguments. Some of them exhibited fascinating contradictions:
- one woman said she had recently lost her job and her kids were on Medicaid but she didn't want the government controlling her health care! When reminded that Medicaid was "single payer" she said she'd rather not have her kids on it but she had to! Well, at least she could have that.
- Another guy was complaining about VA health care and all the cuts, I reminded him that we just had an historical increase in VA health and other benefits, he retorted that was for young vets and he wasn't going back to College. I questioned whether he wanted to help out vets coming home from Iraq/Afghanistan and he drifted off muttering of course.
- Another woman who had a sign that said "obamacare supports abortions and euthanasia" had an appeal to Senator Donely (sic), which was both misspelling his name and mistaking him for a Senator instead of a Rep. When I pointed out that the misinformation in her sign matched her knowledge of the Representative, she quickly lowered it in embarrassment. Later, I noticed she had torn off his name and title, and was holding the sign a little lower.
- I often used the phrase that "you are entitled to your own opinion but not to make up the facts" which seemed to really stun them. They were confronted with a view that someone respected their different views but challenged them on the misinformation and really couldn't respond to it.
- Many of them acted as if everyone held the same opinion as they did, and when I politely said I did not, it seemed to genuinely surprise them. In their circles, they don't know anyone who has a different view and who doesn't just nod at the same misinformed view they have. I always corrected them if they came up to me talking as if I agreed with them which happened at least a dozen times. They just assumed I was there like they were and for the same reasons.
Also, it worked very well when some started to act out and yell or carry on loud conversations to disrupt, to challenge them on how you were there to find out what the Rep. thought and they were interfering with my right to do so. That generally either shut them up, or at least made others next to them move away so there was noone to talk to. Some continued talking to themselves!
Don't forget to ask a question that gives the Rep. an opportunity to talk about the substance of the plan and support things that may relate to even the hard-core opponents' lives. I asked a question about a real health care issue with my family on denial for pre-existing conditions which allowed my Rep. to talk about his experiences in obtaining coverage. Most of the crowd was very subdued and even aeemed to agree that it was outrageous to be denied insurance for a health care condition.
There were a lot of boos, a lot of anger, some racist remarks (which I also challenged directly which made them quieter), and a lot of derogatory remarks to the Congressman.
Rep. Donnelly (a bluedog Dem, I might add) held his own, defended most of the proposed plan, even trying to explain a public option, and generally did an excellent job of trying to be respectful of the audience yet controlling the outrageous comments and noise. By the end, the crowd was actually subdued and seemed to actually be listening to his responses, and I believe that some were thinking about what they had just been told, and came away with some new info which they may factor into their thinking.
I don't know if any minds were changed but they seemed genuinely surprised to be challenged and to actually meet people with different views than they had. And as I talked to some of the more hardcore, I knew others were standing listening intently to us. So hopefully, some good was done, maybe some minds were changed and it was definitely worthwhile that many of us showed up to provide support for our Rep. and to not be silent but to make the case for supporting reform and correcting the lies.
A larger group stood outside taking on the other side with signs and chanting "health care now" to show that we were there in force. It worked and it was a great experience, although unnerving to be in the midst of such angry, nasty, mean-spirited people.
UPDATE: here's a video of the forum. Read the comments below the article and you'll see the irrational fear we're dealing with. Feel free to add comments at this TV website to carry on the educational process! You CAN participate from afar. Correct the lies by commenting on the sites below
http://www.wsbt.com/...
http://www.wndu.com/...