I spent the last 3 days in Salt Lake City surrounded by about 4,000 of some of the kindest, gentlest people I’ve come into contact with in my 65 years. I wasn’t really surprised; I’ve spoken to many over the phone and have been in contact through letters, pictures and packages with many more.
Smiles came easiest from babies only weeks old when I stroked their cheek. The pre-teen boys all stood in clusters with hands in pockets wondering who the stanger in their midst was. The girls too were in bunches of 4, 6 and 8, usually all dressed in the same color dresses. They stood a little further away, but clearly curious as well. From the adults, I received a “Good Morning” if we made eye contact, but little else.
At 6:00 in the morning on Wednesday, I walked up to the Courthouse and sat down with probably 100 FLDS members already there waiting for the doors to open at 8:00. We all waited to go inside and get one of the much treasured “Passes” that Denice was going to give out, and everyone knew that the FLDS would receive a certain amount, and the “General public” (Read that non-FLDS) would get theirs.
Quite naturally, I volunteered to go as one of the general public and then hand my pass over to a member of the FLDS who wanted to speak. So there I was, in short pants and short sleeve shirt sitting on the steps of the Courthouse, looking as general public as I could with a whole lot of eyes occasionally looking at me. I now know what a nudist would feel like at a black tie dinner.
I did ask a question of one man who seemed to know a great many of the people there if he had seen the people I deal with in the FLDS, and he looked at me strangely. Who are you? He asked. “Bill Medvecky” came my response. “Never heard of you.” I was told. I smiled at the candedness of the comment, and tried to pick my ego off the steps of the Courthouse. Here I came 2,000 miles, and I’m a stranger!. Oh well, I sat back down and tried to cover my bare knee’s with my newspaper.
Just before showtime in the Courthouse, my first adult smile came my way in the form of Merrill Palmer from Bountiful. From that point on, The smiles, the handshakes, the introductions to the newborns, and the picture taking began in earnest. Shorts or no shorts, I was acceptable.
Once the game with the passes were over, I left for my hotel and got into something a little more uncomfortable in the desert heat and sun, but certainly more non-threatening to the 4 to 14 year old set. Once back at the Courthouse, I met Pliggy and 1,356 of his closest relatives. I spent pretty much the rest of the day outside the Courthouse meeting and shaking the hands of people I had only known by name up to that point in time, and without exception, they exceeded my expectations of what these people were about, and how cohesive they were as a group. I was genuinely honored to meet them all.
As for the demonstration itself, according to Denice, most of the thousands of people who showed up had no idea why they were there. How utterly insulting. My hope is that the moron made that statement on the record. It shows her ignorance and total lack of understanding with what she is dealing with. She’s destroying people’s lives without a clue of what’s happening around her. One has to wonder if the bottom line isn’t a kickback from Bruce.
To educate you Denice; folks don’t pack up their families in the middle of a work week to stand in the sun in front of a Courthouse and not know why they are there. They don’t drive hundred’s, and even thousands of miles, just to have the honor of pissing you off by their mere presence. Contrary to your obvious mind-set, they are thinking people, not robots who will do other people’s bidding on a lark. You threaten to steal their land, their homes, and their way of life. Yet it amuses you to believe they’re just stupid fools. To me, the word “Pathetic” comes to mind. I pity you for your ignorance. Bruce does this for the dollar, you do it out of ignorance and are a disgrace to the Bench.
A little over a year and a half ago, I was disgusted and sickened, but not surprised, by the assault on the Ranch and the kidnapping of inocent children. I wasn’t surprised, because some 30 years age, CPS stole 2 of my children. As I watched the scene in Texas unfold, extremely bitter memories came flowing out long after I thought they were buried deep in my soul. I knew precisely how shattered and miserable the parents were. What was worse, I also knew what confusion, hurt and terror the children were going through.
My worst fear was another Waco. We can thank the parents and Heavenly Father a blood-bath did not occur in spite of every provocation to the contrary by the Texas Rangers and especially the local keystone kops.
I know it is unfashionable to defend child molesters once the mere charge is levied, no matter how baseless the charges. Naturally there was a media frenzy, after all, sex sells big in America.
What I did not expect was the general acceptance of the obvious persecution that was going on against the Ranch by the LDS Church leadership. I would have thought the learned from 1953. Mormon children were being persecuted and abused, and yet, somehow that was OK… I would have thought that after all the persecution the LDS went through they would have been the last to pile on with the rabble.
It took the concerted effort of decent people around the world to see all 465 children returned to their homes. With Merrianne’s freedom, that battle is won. Now, the battle shifts to the children’s future. If Denice, Dan, Bruce and the rest of the vultures have their way, the children have no future. The goal is to strip them of their land and their homes.
Make no mistake; once they decimate the FLDS, they will be coming for the rest of the Fundmentalist Mormon’s, even those who currently aid in this fight against their parents, their relatives and their neighbors. The targets are those that follow Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. To me, that’s a mighty strange statement to be making in Salt Lake City.
Constitutionally, Denice and Bruce will not prevail. Even Mark Shirtleff knows that Denice stepped over the Official line in her zeal to do Dan’s bidding. He is no friend of the FLDS, but he does want to become a United State’s Senator, and to completely ignore, as the Utah Attorney General, the Constution just won’t get him there. The bottom line is that he is a politition and knows when the ship is sinking and it’s time to leave.
Just as we did in Texas, the matter of the U.E.P. will have to be heard in a real Court of law. Until that happens, and until the men of the Ranch are exonerated and Warren Jeff’s is freed from prison for a rape that never was, I’ll continue to be a thorn in the side of ther bigots and the haters.
People kept asking me what I thought at the Rally. After 65 years of traveling to every State in the Union, Canada, and every Country from the Bahama’s to Brazil, my impression was that the FLDS has it all, and maybe that explains why so many folks want to destroy it, or have it for themselves.
Again, it was an honor to meet all those I came into contact with, and a few thousand more I stood with in solidarity against an American travesty that will not stand.
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds
BlogoSquare
24 Comments so far (Add 1 more)