What’d I say yesterday?

I want to say VERY STRONGLY something I said further down in the post: Feelings were intense at the town hall but from where I was, locked outside, THERE WAS NO VIOLENCE IN TAMPA! I will leave to those who were inside to say what happened there because I have no personal knowledge. On the outside people were angry and they were loud. They were also WELL BEHAVED. I don’t know if reports to the contrary are from people who have an agenda BUT I would emphasize that any talk of violence or riots is far outside of the scope of my personal experience at the meeting.

I got to the “public” townhall sponsored by Rep. Kathy Castor and the SEIU an hour and a half before the doors were scheduled to open. Apparently, it would not have mattered when I arrived. We stood out in the 90 plus degree weather only to be told that that the hall had been filled through a side door and no one else would be let in.

The crowd surrounded the building. We stood in front of every door and window and chanted “just say no” and “live or die”. The crowd was well behaved but really worked up. I heard several people say that there were three thousand people outside. I can’t confirm it but I certainly don’t doubt it.

From time to time people would come outside from the building carrying Obama signs and yell at the crowd. A woman wearing a Obama tee shirt came out and got in to the face of an elderly man standing near me. I’ve got to give him credit, he held his own even when she was literally nose to nose with him. A policeman worked his way over and told her to move on. At another point, a man came to the doorway who had his shirt all but ripped off and bleeding from scratches in his chest. People rushed forward to find out what happened and I ended up so pent in that I couldn’t even raise my arms to get a picture. Despite how he looked, it didn’t appear that he was badly hurt because he was smiling and laughing while talking to the police. He was only a few feet away from me but I couldn’t hear anything he was saying. I have no idea which “side” attacked him.

There were a couple of women who had signs that said, “please fix health care.” Even when the crowd got loud, the women were treated with respect and everyone gave them room.

At one point someone in an Obama shirt opened the door that I was standing right in front of. Standing just inside was a union member that is affiliated with my employer. He saw me and took my picture. The man standing next to noticed and I explained the situation to him. Within moments I had several people ask me if I would be “okay” and I assured them that I would be. I was really touched that total strangers would show concern for me.

I am upset, like everyone else that showed up, that we were locked out of what was supposed to be a public meeting. On the other hand, I am really proud of my fellow citizens. We represented every age group, every race and ethnic group. Rep. Kathy Castor made it clear that she doesn’t represent us. That is okay. Next election, we will find someone who does.

And now, the liberal-media spin:

What was intended to be a town hall discussion on President Barack Obama’s health care reform proposal dissolved into a shouting match with shoving and scuffles in Ybor City tonight.

The event brought home to Tampa the recent phenomenon of angry opponents of Obama’s proposal disrupting town hall meetings by Democratic members of Congress during the August recess.

Castor tried to speak for nearly 15 minutes but the crowd drowned her out, chanting, “You work for us,” “Tyranny, tyranny,” and “Read the bill.” She ultimately left the meeting early, further angering some attendees.

The problems began when a crowd of around 500, many of them recruited to attend by interest groups both for and against the proposal, sought to enter the meeting room. The room, in the offices of the Hillsborough County Children’s Board on East Palm Avenue, has a capacity of only about 250.

Several hundred people, mostly opponents, wound up outside or packing a hallway leading into the meeting room. Some scuffled with members of the sponsoring groups who manned the doorway.

Among the crowd outside, opponents and a smaller number of proponents got into occasional shouting matches.

And more:

Inside, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa and State Rep. Betty Reed barely made it through opening remarks before angry protestors began shouting and interrupting their remarks.

Moments later, violence broke out just outside the main auditorium doors, prompting police to close off the meeting room. A freelance photojournalist was among those roughed up suffering damage to both his glasses and camera equipment.

“That’s the most violent anyone has been towards me,” said Mark Bishop, who drove from Orlando to video tape the event. “It was surprising to say the least.”

Not long into the meeting, Rep. Castor was escorted out of the building after being encouraged by an event organizer to leave. It appeared the congresswoman gave up on trying to get her points across after the crowd inside grew unruly.

Those on all sides of the issue say people were so passionate and outspoken about healthcare reform, it was hard for any one person to speak.

“They think they’re exercising their right to free speech, but they’re only exercising their right to disrupt civil discourse,” said George Guthrie, who drove from Largo to attend Thursday night’s meeting.

I don’t think any of you really need me to go into a lengthy interpretation of the liberal media’s reporting on this. Suffice it to say that the gauzy picture painted here is of beleaguered supporters of the Big Takeover desperately needed and extremely popular reform of the broken health-care system being hugely outnumbered by the unruly mob of professional agitators; honest and dedicated public servants trying to engage in constructive dialogue with their constituents on this absolutely essential reform being shouted down and unable to engage in the civil discussion they desired, in the end having to to be escorted away from the scene of the right-wing carnage by police; and a couple of poor victims being assaulted by the angry mob — at least one of whom actually happened to be an opponent of socialism who was roughed up by the Obama supporters (who had been sneaked into the building to stack the phony deck, which you won’t see mentioned at all), and who shoved him into a wall and literally slammed the door in his face. Curiously, this guy wasn’t identified in the second report cited above as an opponent of Obamacare at all — and he most likely won’t be in subsequent ones, I’d bet.

This is only the beginning of it, folks. As Allahpundit says:

The toll: “At least one fistfight” plus “shoving and scuffles.” No word on who started it, how many people were involved, etc, but if the left can turn a memo sent to 10 people by a guy who’s not even a Republican into a nationwide GOP astroturfing conspiracy, surely it can turn some chanting and a fistfight into Kristallnacht. I look forward to MSNBC’s coverage tomorrow.

From what I can tell, it was a protester who got the worst of it. The Teamsters’ handiwork, perchance?

Maybe, maybe not. But if not this time, soon enough. Gird your loins, people. We have not yet begun to fight back.

(Via Insty)