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News
Yippie Peace Bat Demonstration
August 10, 2008
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Chicago Tribune
Washington Bureau: The Swamp
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/08/yippie_peace_bats_up_today_in.html
Yippie: 'Peace Bats' up today in Denver
August 10, 2008 9:00 AM
By Mark Silva
The Yippies are at bat this afternoon in Denver.
Or at least a gang calling themselves Yippies Colorado is getting
ready to hoist some 42-inch inflatable baseball bats, red, white
and blue with obligatory peace symbols. They're planning some "street
theater'' for
the sort of demonstrations that could come in handy at the Democratic
National Convention at month's end, they say. Their rallying cry:
"Make fun, not war.''
The so-called peace bats are offered as nonviolent alternative
to the sticks used to beat back demonstrators at the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago 40 years ago.
"If the police used peace bats instead of billy clubs, no
one would get hurt and the laughter and merriment that would ensue
would be sure to cripple any thoughts of real violence on both sides,''
the group says in
a statement. These also should serve as an alternative to the militant
groups threatening disruptions in Denver, they say: "Most activists
want peaceful, nonviolent protests where nobody gets hurt.''
.
"The peace bat allows you to make your point without making
a mark," says Private Lee Pat McGroin, "national Yippie
trendmonger" for the Western Region.
Of course, th rhetoric has not been scaled back. Yippie Pieman
Aron Kay, of Brooklyn, known for placing pies in the faces of celebrities,
suggests of the convention: "Once again, the rich orgy of affluence
tries to give us another snow job. It's the same regurgitated circus
that we get every four years, a liberal facade called 'Yippie Presents:
America Up for Grabs.' No matter what, we still have to take on
the bad clowns and the bad circus being perpetrated by corporate
cartel. Are we Obamanable or will we suffer under four years of
Elmer Fudd McCain?"
Feedback:
Chicago Tribune
435 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
1-800-TRIBUNE (1-800-874-2863)
ctc-tribletter@tribune.com
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Rocky Mountain News
August 11, 2008
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/11/yippies-stage-quiet-riot-with-peace-bats/
Yippies stage quiet riot near DNC site with 'peace bats'
By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News
A quiet "riot" broke out Sunday in front of a convenience
store near the Pepsi Center, site of the Democratic National Convention,
when protesters, police and counter-protesters clubbed one another
mercilessly.
The incident was over in a matter of minutes. But when a group
of reporters and photographers arrived, the fight broke out all
over again.
This particular battle was waged with "peace bats," inflatable
42-inch red, white and blue baseball bats plastered with bumper
stickers that read, "Make Fun, Not War!"
As the combatants went at one other, a turntable played a vinyl
record called Your Living Bill of Rights - As interpreted by the
U.S. Supreme Court.
And while the record spun, a slight breeze animated the wooden
figures on a whirligig that featured two stick-figure cops alternating
between clubbing and kicking a protester.
One of the plastic bat-wielding "cops" was Greg Seaman,
a Boulder man wearing a scuffed but authentic Chicago Police uniform.
The protesters were self-described Yippies - aiming to poke a little
fun with some political street theater. The skit was convincing
enough that someone in the store called the real police.
When Denver patrolman David Granbery arrived, organizer Laura Kriho
explained that they were Colorado Yippies.
"Ever heard of Yippies?" she asked.
"No. I've heard of hippies," he replied.
Kriho added that they were all done. The group started breaking
up but not before one of them offered Granbery a "Peace Bat."
No thanks, he replied. "We're not allowed to accept gifts."
Feedback:
letters@rockymountainnews.com
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