A message from Upstate South Carolina Green Party Co-Chair, Gregg Jocoy

I week or so ago I got a call from my friend Lydia and she told me about a sign she has seen about a "Pro-Trump Build the Wall" rally to be held at the federal courthouse, and should the Green Party do something about it?

I didn't respond for a day or two, and then I saw a sign. I looked on Facebook. Nothing... I looked on Startpage.com. Nothing... I used a more common search engine. Nothing... This was starting to look like a small turn-out event, so Lydia and I decided to print up a flier to hand out to any actual observers who might show up. It was something to hopefully engage them in conversation.

I discussed this also with Freedom Fighters, and again felt good that we had a solid group going with.

I reached out to Max and he said he'd be there. This was looking like a good opportunity. None of the folks I knew were coming were "looking for a rumble" but none would put up with bullshit either.

When Lydia and I arrived we could see two...yes, two, people out setting up in front of the courthouse. One was, I believe, Robert Clarkson and the other his apparent employee, Nelson Waller.
http://www.patriotnetwork.info/Leaders.htm

By the time we got from the parking lot to the courthouse their crowd had grown to perhaps six and the counter-protesters were about 15. Max was already in place. So was Efia, whom I didn't contact in advance. But the vast majorities were people I didn't know.

That makes sense because their side was all...ALL old white men and our side was mainly young people of all sorts. I didn't know the people on "my side" because I am 60 and they are 20s.

I was SO GLAD!!!

One of the young folks hollered across the street, "Soon you'll all be dead!"...and after a second or two I hollered across the street "To be clear, she said that because you're old, like me." At least I *think* that's what she meant.

Anyway, their crowd grew in size to perhaps fifteen. On at least one occasion a few folks attempted to go through our side of the street to get to the other side and were turned back. Not sure if they found another way there or not.

The youth were pretty adamant. Swearing and cowbell ringing and air horn honking abounded. Invitations to "meet me afterward" were tossed about, but in the main the other side had little enthusiasm. They really only seemed to engage when we attacked their actual premise, that building a wall would protect US jobs or protect us from dangerous aliens.

They are spinning this as a "win"...get this...because the COUNTER-PROTEST was so big.

Right! By that logic, the size of the Clinton vote proves how powerful the Green Party is! But the newspaper allowed his silly words to be printed.

My Freedom Fighter family did arrive, but since I was still folding and handing out Green Party literature, I didn't put on my FF shirt. I wanted to hand them all out first, then put on my FF shirt. I am a member of both, but they are not in cahoots. The crowd on the other side was so small and old that Traci didn't want to really go after them...I mean, they were REALLY old...like brittle bones and such...and after an hour or so they went off for a meal. I didn't realize they had gone, so once I handed out my last flier, I slipped on my Freedom Fighters shirt.

Lydia left shortly thereafter, and I was gone by about 3:15. Their side had dwindled to perhaps eight and the counter-protesters to twenty.

All in all, a great endeavor.

Gregg