I need help and fast, I posted what happened in Dallas over the vigil.

[anarchy1999]

I need the long post I put up about being there and I can't find it. Is there anyone out there that has is and can send it to me? Thank you in advance.

[movonne]

1. What happened.

[salvorhardin]

2. This one?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2359199

[anarchy1999]

3. No, not the one. It was from last Thursday night. In LBN first and then

showed up in GD. I thought I bookmarked, guess not. It was a very long first person account.

[lostnfound]

4. Here's what you wrote.

DALLAS (NBC5I
A candlelight vigil took place Wednesday night to remember U.S. war dead in Iraq during the week of the 1,000th casualty. One North Texas family, whose relative -- Chad Drake -- was killed outside Baghdad Monday, was among the mourners at Dallas City Hall Plaza.

Drake's mother reportedly left the event in tears. The family attended the vigil because they thought it was meant to honor U.S. casualties. The event was organized by the Dallas Peace Center, which opposes the war. The Drake family was upset about the antiwar tenor of the assembled crowd. The director of the Dallas Peace Center said the event was not intended to be an antiwar rally, but said e-mail notifications of the vigil were sent to a broad audience. Because the venue is a public place, he said, a variety of people with various views on the war in Iraq attended. He also said the event was planned to include political overtones, but the Drake family should have been informed.

The center, however, did issue an apology to the Drake family.
****************
and a post from a person who was there:
anarchy1999 (1000+ posts) Fri Sep-10-04 04:16 AM
Response to

9. I was there and here is a 1st hand account of the whole day!

I was there. As many of you know I am an activist in the Dallas community and I helped to organize this vigil yesterday. If you go to Texas in State and Country forums you will see where I posted info and invited DU'ers to please attend.
The Dallas Peace Center, MFSO, Vets for Peace, NTJP (North Texans for Justice and Peace) and several church leaders from the Community were sponsoring the vigil. I spent all day speaking with media, recruiting people to attend, answering questions, delegating tasks some of which I had to do myself, including finding someone who could be there to play taps (thank god for cell phones). I arrived at City Hall around 5:30 pm. I called the NBC 5 reporter who was covering the event to let him know I had arrived, he told me of this family and I offered to call and reassure them of what this vigil was to be about. (I had been in constant contact with who I was helping).

The message was that this was to be strictly a memorial for our fallen soldiers and the wounded. This was not to be a rally, nor a protest and no politics, just a space for everyone to come together and to be able to grieve together and try to start the healing process this nation needs. I called Chad's sister and spoke with her, she had been reassured by the woman with MFSO (well-known coordinator), she had been reassured by the reporter and I was reassuring her. They said they wanted to come, but not if was going to be anti-war or anything. They agreed to come en-masse (at least 10 showed up).

As different people showed up with signs, banners, hand-outs I monitored each one. Vets for Peace just had a banner that said Vets for Peace, okay on that one. Someone else had a banner "end the occupation of killing", ROLL IT UP and put it way, thank you. There was not lots of media, but plenty enough, Channel 5 had already left. Right around 7:00 a leader with NTJP showed up with a picnic basket and I welcomed him as I tied a black banner around his arm. I looked down into the basket and he had fliers about a future action re: "Our War Crimes President" and I explained to him he could not pass these flyers out here and repeated the message. As he was saying okay, I turned and Chad's family was upon me. I met Chad's mom, she was crying and several members of her family gathered around her. As I was talking with them one of the family members looked down and saw above mentioned flyer and picked it up. I reassured them this person had just arrived and I had been in the process of telling him not to pass them out and that I had made them a promise and it wouldn't be broken. Okay, so far, so good, that was smoothed over.

I earlier had met a couple who's son is in Iraq and had been injured a few months ago, severely enough to be flown to Germany, recovered well enough to be sent back. I had arranged to have them meet with Chad's family, as I was escorting them to this couple we walked past a small group that were softly playing drums, a tune known as Heartbeat (?). The group playing are part of an organization called Drums Not Guns (they go into schools to teach non-violence, pick up and drum don't pick up a gun). I was ahead of them, one of the members of the family read the logo on the shirt, read it off to Chad's mom and all hell broke loose. Chad's mom started screaming we were all liars and I really don't remember what all else, she was very upset. Channel 23's cameraman closed in (remember, ugly is good), the family surrounded Chad's mom and I went after the cameraman, whose reporter had run up yelling "she just went after my cameraman", repeating just doing our job, and so on. I told them to have some respect and get lost.

I just got off the phone with the Board member from the DPC I was working with who was also in the melee only at a different moment and place. There was one woman, very long standing member of The Dallas Peace Center who had no clue as to what was happening, but when Chad's mom started screaming she did ask her to settle down, Chad's mom started to lunge towards this elderly woman and said above member stepped in between them. I heard no booing, no hissing and he agreed with me, he did not either. The most aggressive and ugliest in the whole scene was once again "the media".

I spent most of this morning talking with the woman from MFSO (her name is known to many of you here), and trying to reach the reporter at NBC 5. Someone was supposed to return my call within 10 minutes, they never did. By the way the reporter covering it yesterday was not there today, someone else was doing the follow-up.

We all feel REALLY Bad for what happened and in my conversation with MFSO she and I both agreed we both made a grievious error. We should have both not encouraged them to come to this event where there would be strangers and the MEDIA! Bad mistake and we learned from this lesson. This family needed to have been at home with friends and family, the pain was way too raw.

So far as for Lon Burnam and his remark: "He also said the event was planned to include political overtones, but the Drake family should have been informed." This is an issue being addressed right now. Lon did not help to organize this, was not in attendance and I will be getting to the bottom of it tomorrow. The Board Member I work with was so fearful of my upset over this he was afraid I would not be in attendance at tomorrow's event in front of BELO Headquarters where we get to meet up with the Protest Warriors. (I'm still making up my mind).

So there you have it guys. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
I'd really like to hear from Mari333 and VetWife.
Thanks.

[anarchy1999]

5. Thank you ever so much. I don't know how I lost it. Thank you and

thank you again.