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Kicked out of a Bush Rally |
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by Nakba 48 |
01 Nov 2004
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Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Stephanie Bendeck and I am the president of Nakba 48. I was
kicked out of Bushs rally today. Let me tell you about my very political
weekend.
First, I must say that I am not endorsing either Presidential candidate.
Nakba does not endorse any political platform, and its members are drawn
from both Bush and Kerry supporters. (I myself like aspects from both Bush
and Kerry)
Last night, I was in Daytona with a friend of mine at a movie theater.
When we came out, John Edwards happened to be coming for a rally. I
decided to stay and hear it seeing as I was slightly undecided for this
election. Needless to say, it was a great speech, but I had yet to hear
from Mr. Bush.
A friend of mine who was volunteering (and shall remain nameless), was
able to get me a green ticket to go in to the event. I decided to wear
Nakbas Free Palestine shirt, knowing that it would make a statement but
didnt think it would cause any stir. Just in case, I packed a white shirt
in my car if security asked me to change clothing. The person I knew on
the staff had told me that it should not be too much of a problem. This
morning, as I was approaching the main area, someone from College
Republicans approached me and said jokingly, I see an infiltrator! Youre
not gonna cause any trouble are you? I chuckled and said Nah, I just want
to see what he has to say. After all, its a chance to see the President of
the United States. Here and he handed me a blue ticket. Whats this? I
asked him. Thats VIP, itll definitely get you way closer than that green
one. I have a whole pocketful of them. I thanked him many times over and
proceeded to the gates.
Approaching security, nobody in the crowds around me was really making a
fuss about my shirt. Some people read it but did not say anything to me.
As they were searching me and my purse, nobody from security asked me to
remove my shirt, or tore up my ticket, as I heard some people wearing even
a mere Kerry button were asked to leave the premises because of that. Of
course, I had no idea that ONLY Bush supporters were allowed in.
Apparently, Undecided voters were not allowed in either as I was forced to
learn the hard way.
The officer examining my purse saw that my keychain had the Palestinian
flag with Palestine in capital, bold letters under it. With it is a verse
from the Quran, in Arabic of course, that another friend gave me while she
was visiting Palestine. (Though I am not Muslim myself, I accepted it
because I liked the meaning of it). Still, nothing was said to me.
As I was going through the next gate to the seating, someone in one of the
orange staff shirts caught me. Hey you! May I ask how you got in here? I
thought it was odd that a fellow student would try to stop me when police
hadnt said a word. I told him that the blue ticket was given to me. Well,
I hope you know that you cant cause anything here. Youre responsible for
your behavior and we can throw you out if we want to. This is private
property. I told him that I was angry he assumed I was there to cause
trouble and that I only wanted to hear the President speak and
(sarcastically) that I appreciated him threatening me like that. I then
asked him to please not harass me and let me go on my way, and that I was
gladly going to let people know of his treatment. He said he did not mean
to harass me or anything and hoped that this would not affect my opinion
of Mr. Bush. He added that Bush was a great speaker and was sure that
those who were undecided would be convinced to vote for him. I told him
that Im sure Bush indeed was a great speaker, said it was okay that I
understood his caution, and then I went through the gate to seating
again, nobody saying anything to me about my shirt.
VIP had two sections, sitting and standing. It was a choice of sitting in
the sun for three hours or standing in the sun for three hours.
I chose to stand. I had my camera with me and wanted to get a good
photograph of the President, maybe even shake his hand. (I know some of
you reading this are thinking Why on earth would you want to do that My
reply: its the President of the United States!)
The spot that I got was about ten feet away from Bushs podium. A couple in
front of me asked to have their picture taken with me. I let them know
from the beginning that I was neutral. After that, I engaged in
conversation with them and another couple people around us nothing
regarding Palestine at all. I found out in conversation that only Bush
supporters were allowed in the rally. I was surprised and asked what about
the people that dont know yet or they want to see what Bush has to say? I
was standing for about an hour and a half until about five security men
came up behind me. One of them tapped me on the shoulder and I turned
around, half startled.
Maam, are you a Bush supporter? I said Yes, sir.
Do you have a ticket?
Yes, sir.
May I see it please?
Yes, sir. I was a little scared at this point but figured they thought I
sneaked in. How did you get this ticket? I explained to him how and he
asked for the names of the people. I was able to give the full name of the
one who gave me the green ticket but not the blue ticket.
Thats what I figured. Youre going to have to leave. You dont belong here
I dont know how you got these tickets. You arent supposed to have these.
Let me see your ID. I started to shake at this point simply because my
paranoia set in. They checked it and handed it back to me. You can either
go to the green section or leave. I did not want to go to the very back of
the crowds and asked if I could stay in the place where I was. Isnt there
anyone I can talk to? Sir, I dont understand. I didnt cause a riot. I dont
want to cause any trouble, Ill go if I have to, but I wasnt here to cause
trouble. I just want to hear the President speak. I wasnt causing any
trouble with these people. I just want to know why I am being asked to
leave.
Maam, we were just told to take you out of here. I heard some of the
security people saying that I had the opportunity to be taken to the green
section but rejected it. It wasnt that I was rejected to hear the
President totally. I just had a right to be where I was because I didnt
break any rule, and I thought it wasnt fair to me to undergo this
treatment. I wanted to know if I could get back into the blue section.
He said to me as we were approaching some additional security that I could
try talking to them. The officer there took one look at me and said Take
her away, get her out of here.
I was appalled. I never thought that in the country I was born, the
country that my parents came to find a life in, that I would be asked to
leave when I was about to hear its leader speak. I felt rejected and
humiliated and came to a harsh realization that there was no room for free
speech, even on a t-shirt. Ironically, I and my whole family supported
Bush four years ago, as did many people with our sort of background.
I was really shaken by the whole ordeal. I am embarrassed to say I was
trembling from it. They sent five people to take me, one person, out. As
soon as I left the gates and reached emergency services, I cried a little
bit. A couple people there were asking me what happened and said that if I
could get back in somehow, and just change my shirt, that I should be
okay. They were really surprised about what happened. One of them got
security to come talk to me.
I sat there, waiting, without a purpose for about fifteen minutes. Two
from security came again and I started shaking. They looked at me and
asked if everything was okay. I told them what happened and they said they
would send someone from staff to talk to me because they had no power to
let me back in. I waited for twenty minutes without a word from anyone.
I was going to wait longer but didnt know what to do. It didnt look like
anyone was paying much attention. I called the friend who gave me the
green ticket and he said, No worries! I got another one for ya. Just
change your shirt and Ill get you in. The man next to me from emergency
services also told me I should change and go.
I called my family for advice but they told me to stay away completely. My
mother said, If they know your face, and if they catch you again, they
might do something worse. To go back in is to ask for more trouble from
these people. Its not worth it. I was paranoid about being caught again
and being asked to leave. I remembered how the first one from security
changed his position and said I was not supposed to have any ticket at
all, so I called my friend back and told him that I was not coming in.
I stayed around for a while near the Kerry supporters, reading their signs
and talking to a Republican woman. When I told her what happened she, too,
was shocked and was sorry that I had to go through that and that it wasnt
right, and that if people were that sensitive, they should not be in any
sort of position of power at all. She was on my side.
I saw Air Force One fly in with the crowds cheering. I left them all
behind me as I walked to my car, sad that I missed such a wonderful
opportunity to see the Commander-in-Chief, and angry that I was removed
because of my shirt. Even though I had not caused any sort of stir, I was
taken away, barely given a chance to explain myself, and denied a chance
to talk to anyone else about it. In the country I was born and raised in,
as a registered Republican (again, not supporting either side), and as an
American trying to give some sort of remembrance to her ancestral country,
I was tossed aside like yesterdays garbage. Walking back to my car,
passing all of the Bush supporters, for the first time, I felt afraid to
wear the shirt.
-NAKBA '48-
Raising Awareness About Palestine |
See also:
http://grove.ufl.edu/~nakba48
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This work is in the public domain |
