Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death (2)
I was definitely nervous rolling up to LU. There was a lot of media and a very visible police presence. The chief of the Lynchburg police made a very fair statement to us before we got off the bus, and the head of the Liberty police force (like DOPS), told us we might face a year of prison and was basically not very nice about the whole thing. We were told to keep to a long sidewalk that circles around the front of campus. On the other side of a chainlink fence were the athletic fields, including a football stadium emblazoned with the legend "Home of the Flames" (tehee). It was a gorgeous hot and windy day. Luckily a couple of us found some sunscreen but most of the group is now rather lobsterish.
We lined up along the sidewalk holding a banner and standing vigil more or less silently, and then Jake and Haven spoke to the press for a few minutes. Someone's Sister performed again, which was nice. Several students came out and spoke to us, not so much in support of our cause as to say that we should have been at least allowed on campus. After the press conference we stood in vigil for another 45 minutes or so, singing and talking to students who came out. Maybe a half dozen cars drove by yelling slurs. That was harder for me to deal with than I expected it to be. Next those who were prepared to be arrested went to the front of the group while the rest of us hung back. Jake started by attempting to step on the property to give a speech. When he was arrested (both for trespassing and inciting to trespass) the person behind him continued reading from the speech where he left off, and when they were silenced the person behind continued, and so on. As we had about 25 people prepared, that process took a while. The police also came into the crowd to arrest Bill and Phil on charges of inciting to trespass. When they did that the rest of us dropped farther back and continued to sing.
When it seemed like they were beginning to transport people to the police station, a small group of us piled into a car to meet them there. We stood outside the doors and clapped as our group members were taken from the squad cars in plastic handcuffs. Everyone handled it really well and stood with dignity. We as a group truly stand in the love of our Creator and the grace of truth, let me tell you. Anyway, that whole thing took another big chunk of time, as we had to wait for everyone to be processed through the magistrate's office and all that. People started to be released at about 3 or 4 o'clock with their summonses to appear in court on April 3. We hugged them and congratulated them and gave them milk and cookies. The rest of the group who had stayed at the school joined us and we all had a big celebratory reunion.
Then it was back to the hotel for some showers and rest, and then to dinner at Mel White's house. We hung out and had some destressing time, which was certainly necessary. Even though I guess as I describe it it seems kind of boring, it was a really intense experience. Maybe I'll try to express that better in a later post. This whole thing though is amazingly transformative and empowering.
Today has, thank goodness, been a very quiet day. We've done some work on presentations and prepping for later stops, but also just eaten and slept and wandered the Lynchburg mall looking for sunglasses and shorts. Tomorrow we're going to church and then on to Virginia Beach, home of Regent University and Pat Robertson. As you may have heard, they have decided not to speak to us after all and may be planning to arrest us if we attempt to enter campus. I am prepared to be arrested Monday, as I certainly view Pat Robertson and his views as some of the most dangerous and hurtful in this country today.
Any questions? Make a comment below and I'll answer!
We lined up along the sidewalk holding a banner and standing vigil more or less silently, and then Jake and Haven spoke to the press for a few minutes. Someone's Sister performed again, which was nice. Several students came out and spoke to us, not so much in support of our cause as to say that we should have been at least allowed on campus. After the press conference we stood in vigil for another 45 minutes or so, singing and talking to students who came out. Maybe a half dozen cars drove by yelling slurs. That was harder for me to deal with than I expected it to be. Next those who were prepared to be arrested went to the front of the group while the rest of us hung back. Jake started by attempting to step on the property to give a speech. When he was arrested (both for trespassing and inciting to trespass) the person behind him continued reading from the speech where he left off, and when they were silenced the person behind continued, and so on. As we had about 25 people prepared, that process took a while. The police also came into the crowd to arrest Bill and Phil on charges of inciting to trespass. When they did that the rest of us dropped farther back and continued to sing.
When it seemed like they were beginning to transport people to the police station, a small group of us piled into a car to meet them there. We stood outside the doors and clapped as our group members were taken from the squad cars in plastic handcuffs. Everyone handled it really well and stood with dignity. We as a group truly stand in the love of our Creator and the grace of truth, let me tell you. Anyway, that whole thing took another big chunk of time, as we had to wait for everyone to be processed through the magistrate's office and all that. People started to be released at about 3 or 4 o'clock with their summonses to appear in court on April 3. We hugged them and congratulated them and gave them milk and cookies. The rest of the group who had stayed at the school joined us and we all had a big celebratory reunion.
Then it was back to the hotel for some showers and rest, and then to dinner at Mel White's house. We hung out and had some destressing time, which was certainly necessary. Even though I guess as I describe it it seems kind of boring, it was a really intense experience. Maybe I'll try to express that better in a later post. This whole thing though is amazingly transformative and empowering.
Today has, thank goodness, been a very quiet day. We've done some work on presentations and prepping for later stops, but also just eaten and slept and wandered the Lynchburg mall looking for sunglasses and shorts. Tomorrow we're going to church and then on to Virginia Beach, home of Regent University and Pat Robertson. As you may have heard, they have decided not to speak to us after all and may be planning to arrest us if we attempt to enter campus. I am prepared to be arrested Monday, as I certainly view Pat Robertson and his views as some of the most dangerous and hurtful in this country today.
Any questions? Make a comment below and I'll answer!
posted by Di at 4:32 PM
1 Comments:
Q: Hey, can you call me soon? (that's my question)
Comment: I read about your group people's arrests on the advocate website (www.advocate.com) - it was on the front page and has since been made the leading story.
Comment: oh, advocate.com says it's going to start having weekly "blog-type" entries from riders starting monday... are you going to write one, because that'd be hecka cool.
love ya!
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