Protesters make point of diminishing event

By Bryan McKenzie

Published: July 4, 2008

Monticello’s Fourth of July presidential event was a success for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, a feel-good opportunity for the president and a lesson in losing friends and influencing your enemies for shouting protesters.

By the time the president opened his mouth and the first protester tried to shout him down, We In The Crowd were already tired and surly. After all, the morning began early with a 45-minute wait for a five-minute school bus ride up the mountain to Monticello followed by a 10-minute wait at the battery of portable potties.

On the grounds by 8 a.m., people declared their places according to their position and influence: Red tickets got red seats within public-address distance of the president’s voice. Blue tickets, the riff and the raff, got blue seats at the back of the lawn but closer to the kiddie fruit juices and snacks under the concession tent, a mere 30-minute wait in line.

Roof dwellers

Around 9 a.m., spotters – they looked to be snipers, toting large, cello-sized bags of what appeared to be heavy equipment – crawled onto the Monticello roof, moved their gear around and took up place with very large binoculars.

At 9:15 a.m. everyone was in their places with slowly sun-burning faces as the Charlottesville Municipal Band shared time with bits and snippets of Thomas Jefferson’s thought.

At 9:30 a.m., helicopters flew by, sounding for all the world like God’s own weed whackers. At 10 a.m., President Bush was announced in a hail of “Hail to the Chief” and 4,000 or so folks sat down to get on with what they came for.

The first shout came with the first sentence, a hoarse, almost shrill cry that went something like “gammagobulin makes peach parchment paper interminable.” Attendees in the back of the blue seats strained their heads, eyes and ears to hear the president and see what was going on.

“Shut up,” some said.

“Sit down,” said others.

‘Go away’

Shortly thereafter, another shout came. The Blue Seats were not amused: “Go away,” said several, as others gave suggestions on where the shouters could go.

By the fourth shouting insurgent and presidential interruption, people were getting angry.

“Police state! Police state!” shouted one man being escorted off the grounds by local police.

“Taze him, bro!” one in the crowd encouraged the cop.

By the last shout, several of the Blue Tickets were ready to commit great bodily harm on the protesters. None did, however. In the end, the attendees’ attitude toward the protest was best summed up by a guy who brought his young son to the event, hoping it was something the boy would remember when he is a man.

Instead, the father had to explain why behavior the son was forbidden to commit was tolerated at the public event.

“I understand why they did it, but I wished they hadn’t,” the father said. “It was just plain rude.”