http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2720659Oh my.
wintersoulja (282 posts) Sat Jan-19-08 03:54 PM
Original message
Dont fear the FReeper
alright, in honor of someones request, Im going to twist some Freeper tales in a minute. I'll give DU'ers an idea of how mighty the FR presence isnt in Fresno. And maybe why people shouldnt extend too much credit to their fearless leader. First though, you should realize everytime the FReepers are mentioned here, some FReeper gets its wings. So I heartily recommend NOT pointing at them and remarking on their dystopian viewpoints. They are not worthy of note or discussion. Disdain, yeah, but free advertising? No.
But I will be back with some stories after this break for our sponsors.
DENNIS KUCINICH 2008!!
fascisthunter (1000+ posts) Sat Jan-19-08 03:56 PM
Response to Original message
1. I Had the Honor to Meet One in Person
he's on welfare (hypocrite) and posts daily over there. Real messed up folks.
I dunno. Isn't Jim Robinson of freerepublic paralyzed from the waist down or something?
At any rate, he's considerably less mobile than all the primitives on social security disability because of "depression" (quotation marks intentional; there is a difference between depression and "depression").
wintersoulja (282 posts) Sat Jan-19-08 04:01 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. is he a local/fresnan?
I can only speak of the local clan. A hate group that meets sporadically in opposition to peace rallies or regular appearances organized by Peace Fresno at the "Peace Corner"
fascisthunter (1000+ posts) Sat Jan-19-08 04:04 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. local.... he let me know
he posts often at that site. I found out from someone else that he uses the system collecting welfare while posting right wing garbage there and else where. A real loser... creepy as all hell too.
chimpsrsmarter (1000+ posts) Sat Jan-19-08 04:05 PM
Response to Original message
4. Placer county is the most populace republican county in california.
i know more freepers in Roseville then i do in Fresno.
wintersoulja (282 posts) Sat Jan-19-08 04:28 PM
Response to Original message
5. Freepers and Fresno
When the small group of Fresno area Free Republic friends and owners come out to counterprotest Peace Rallies and at times the regular appearance of peace activists in one location of Fresno, there almost always ensues some sort of lunacy, and Im going to plumb my faint memories and tell some of the stories and some of the special occasion events that I hope I'll never forget, that demonstrate the core beliefs and actions of the home front Freep team over the last several years. It probably is important just to put into perspective the mental state and social behavior of its founder and local activists.
Its sort of like the Bill Hicks joke about the Elite Republican Guard.
The Republicans made this shit up about there being any guard.
Much the same with the famous hate group, Fresno's Free Republic.
Imagine, if you must, a major commercial intersection, the busiest in Fresno it was said, 6 lanes wide, 4 equivalent corner sidewalk locations, and two parking lots on the SW and SE corners.
In 1990 in anticipation of the Persian Gulf War, people began gathering on the SE corner sidewalks to protest the military options escalation and the bombings to come.
In those days there was INTENSE opposition to the peace advocates, despite the fact that crowds in those days were very healthy and would range from dozens to hundreds, every night.
Bus and car loads of people would come by jeering, traffic was almost totally hateful, these were difficult protests.
Churches from 45 miles away would bring busloads of CHILDREN to counterprotest and witness the incredible tension and abuse, learning to participate that way thanks to their church.
Fast forward to post 9-11-01 Afghanistan and Iraq invasions.
Ten years later the corner is back in use and predictably a group formed on the other side counterprotesting the peace advocates.
This was the Free Republic, itself, and the guy in the wheelchair was Jim Robinon, who showed fairly regularly if not always, and along with their friends would often spend a lot of their time simply hollering at us, cute names Ive long since forgotten, and one I never will.
One bright night a few years back there was a healthy turnout on both sides, and public sentiment was more equally divided still. Some whackjob was on a megaphone for an hour. All he did was yell "Jew Haters" over and over again. Close enough to torture, but it was too dark for me to make out who the guy was that was doing it.
"Jew Haters" for an hour.
I really wanted to know who that guy was that was shouting that horrible slogan.
Another gag that took place commonly back then is they would send younger people across the intersection, the crosswalks keeping the rhythm of events as people came and went through the protest. As these kids would mingle and walk through, they would pick up signs that were brought by peace advocates, run into the intersection or out into the street and tear them up laughing and running off.
The freepers could be counted on to have dozens of people on their corner on good nights, but they did that by bringing children. Families rather than sunday school kids, mostly.
wintersoulja (282 posts) Sat Jan-19-08 05:26 PM
Response to Reply #5
7. the following week or so on Valentine's Day
One of the main themes Freeper protestors try to inflict on their victims (besides the insanely clever "Freedom isnt Free!") is that opposition to war was opposition to US troops.
Support the Troops being the $7 million dollar word from last time, this time being opposed to attacking Iraq in retaliation for 9-11-01 obviously meant you were spitting on the troops.
The underprotected, unarmored troops dying in humvees because Freedom isnt Free.
In order to capitalize on Valentine's Day to express their personal love for the troops, the Freepers invited the local Republican Party out to thicken their numbers and give thanks on this particular candy hearts and flowers kinda day.
Well, there certainly was romance in their air that spring, because in the time preceeding the FReeper's Ball on Valentine's Day, local Republican Clovis Assemblyman and man about town Steve Samuelian was caught driving around a neighborhood of motels (not his first time apparently) looking for or maybe caught driving with a hooker. I really dont recall those details.
When that story got out, the local Republicans were outraged (this was before gay and child sex scandals were pish poshed as they are now, and marriage values were being defended vociferously).
Somehow I instantly knew what needed to be done on Valentine's Day.
I spent a few days looking through seedy thrift stores for flashy hooker wear, some sort of a skirt and maybe a gold lame blouse. A wig was prohibitive, so a nice hat became my bonnet. Some pink pantyhose and once I was dressed, the intent was clear. I left the SE corner and crossed West to the freepers spot well before they arrived. (Their counterprotests started an hour later so they could stay alone after the peace advocates regular departure time.) I made a machine printed sign for the occasion, and in the spirit of the time, (which included some really crass Environmental attack legislation at either the Federal or State level raising hackles and lowering life expectancy, I suppose)-which read-
REPUBLICAN TRICKS
PROSTITUTE
THE ENVIRONMENT
and so I stood on their corner for maybe a half hour before any of them arrived.
I do believe I engendered quite a few astonished guffaws on that sidewalk then with traffic stopped at the light and having plenty of time to read the sign.
It was even more fun when the FReepers assembled.
wintersoulja (282 posts) Sat Jan-19-08 06:09 PM
Response to Reply #7
8. The worlds ugliest transvestite prostitute
Well, most of the freepers were nice enough not to try to date me, maybe it just wasnt dark enough, or they were with their wives, but once a few belligerent monkeys arrived it got a little more interesting. I was thoroughly enjoying the riotous laughter of passing traffic, especially when they began to realize what I was really doing and who I was doing it too. But for the freedom minded freepers, they seemed to think I needed to pay for my deeds.
One loud mouthed fella got directly in my face and promised to find me later if I wouldnt go around the corner right then and there. I take it back, maybe he was looking for some action, but he sure came across like a violent date.
I dont know if he beat his wife/SO who was a regular and REAL whackjob. It would be cruel to name her outright, lets just say she was well known, and the gossip and real stories were all pretty unkind. Lets just say she went down defending Samuelian while the mob bayed for blood, and salute her solidarity. In fact, I was later told that in some political campaign around San Jose she had advocated arming transvestites, and I dont mean limb prostheses. REAL strange lady.
SO, perhaps for she and he it was a particularly unpleasant gag, and maybe he was just showing her how much he cared by threatening me so explicitly.
Either way I had no intention of leaving. It was too nuch fun. It didnt take long for the freepers to call the police, who showed up after a fashion and talked to the complaining parties.
After which they questioned me as to my name and so forth, where I insisted they keep those facts from the person who had just threatened me explicitly. The policeman inferred I had started or participated in "words" when I had only stood there listening to the threats. Yadda yadda, they asked if I wouldnt consider going back to "my side" of the street just to keep things calm.
Solely because I thought it would look better if I cooperated, I went back to the other corner and found out that the fella threatening me was the jerk on the bullhorn shouting "Jew Haters!" for an hour. It shook me to realize how differently things could have gone if Id known that when the jerk was in my face.
Im sorry to say the guy never crossed my path again.
wintersoulja (282 posts) Mon Jan-21-08 09:21 AM
Response to Reply #8
10. Grim freaper
One lovely night as we were leaving the Fresno County Fair the local Republicans for Bush were handing out nice Bush/Cheney 04 signs, so I took a few and knew again what I must do. To the Halloween store and the reaper costume with demon scythe, there was a Freeper event of some sort ahead of election day. I added the death toll (paltry 1,111 or so) and some acronym for the latest slaughter, put on the costume and a backpack holding a cd player, some headphones and maybe some Rundgren. Most people seemed to think I was a straight supporter at Halloween, I guess.
Even the first herd of Freepers didnt know for sure, but eventually they got unfriendly, approaching me and hollering stuff. With my headphones on and the mask stifling, they were wasting their breath. I moved further up their sidewalk where plenty of traffic was stopped to read the sign.
My reflection in their windows scared me, but Bush/Cheney in 04 scared me more.
Now its not even funny how many people have died, and I cant see the point in wearing the outfit and making light of it.
Unless, Hillary came to town...
wintersoulja (282 posts) Tue Jan-22-08 12:36 AM
Response to Reply #10
11. $60,000 statement
It pays to have friends in City Hall.
One of the most amazing hustles went down over the internets a few years ago.. Despite the televised evidence of Freeper attendance on C-SPAN nowhere near Million Man March levels, for some reason the
sense on the internets was that FR was of considerable size and import(if only as a warning to other civilizations), so when the local posse announced another annual picnic in the nice white Park, somewhere on the internet, something stirred...
Now that the cart is in front of the horse, let me fast forward through the relevant backstory.
Apparently because local activists took anti-war resolutions before the City Council, one of the most openly FReepish Councilmen fired his representative to the(now defunct)Human Relations Comission. Having a problem in the past with police shooting and killing quite a few people in the community, the HRC was formed by the City of Fresno in lieau of any more serious civilian oversight, and instead of the oft demanded Independant Police Auditors found elsewhere in civilization.
By firing his delegate to the HRC, said Councilperson landed in the newspapers across the State, and purchased himself a number of angry peace activists who held nothing but respect for the wrongly discharged HRC member.
This meandered into an email scandal involving this councilperson's threat to use "one dirtybomb to wipe out half the liberals in Fresno" or some such. Another member's assistant emailed something to the effect "If they get unruly Im gonna call the cops and have them cap someone"
More scandalous headlines going around the nation and all the while, FReeperdom is planning a picnic.
On an earlier version of the local Indymedia site there appeared a story about the FR picnic and a series of comments suggesting violence of one sort or another on the part of who is not entirely clear, nor is the identity of the posters who began suggesting a pre-emptive assault or a series of false mimic posts and odd suggestions, clearly some of them coming from the deadly danger Fresno Freeper Squad.
Because the posts on Free Republic itself, in monitoring the thread typically invoked ammunition and 2nd amendment rights mixed with a little divine retribution, people were concerned some sort of brawl might break out, not considering the low historical brawl rates among peace activists, there were people who might make the mistake of going to the park to see what would happen...
So thats when a member of the HRC circulated a memo, without approval of other members perhaps?
Stating to basic effect that the Free Republic was a known hate group. Something youd only know if you read their posts and frequent allusions to moving target practice and towel heads. Hate Group is exactly right, but how dare she warn communities of color to beware the right wing gun loving violence advocating Free Republic posters and their ballyhooed picnic plans published among threats on both Indymedia and FR?
The terrorist threat emailing councilperson had the past distinction of standing with the FReepers on their corner, a bold statement no matter how dumb you are (look who's talking?)and when the FR started to complain they were labeled a Hate Group, the city cut Jimbo a check for 60K and he promised to use the money driving his RV across country. The city council ran the HRC out on a rail, starting with the lady who sent the memo, and the citizens of Fresno have no one representing them against the police departments abuse, anymore.
And its good to have friends in City Hall.
I dunno.
As my fellow alum Skins frankly admitted, freerepublic is the 900-pound gorilla.
Love freerepublic, hate freerepublic (I myself happen to love freerepublic), it's the grandfather of all political web-sites on the internet, and by far the largest.
Anybody want to rate any of this as a bouncy? Some thing seem credible, other things not.
