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Update From VCDL Meeting

John Pierce

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I just received an update. The meeting room is full to capacity with attendees and press. There is a small group of protesters who are setup in a "free speech" area outside the building and there are more pro-gun attendees than can fit in the room. The overflow people are being asked to congregate outside but everyone is comporting themselves well.

There is a LOT of press there. Mike is currently talking with the German press who, he says, are on the side of VCDL. :)

The only snag so far has apparently been the fact that the extra chairs and the podium that are usually in the meeting room were "accidentally" locked up and cannot be used.

I will post an after action report as soon as I get one from Mike.



John
 

John Pierce

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The meeting is over and a large group is currently at Fudruckers.

The drawing was a great success and there were no incidents with the antis. The press was there IN FORCE and treated this like a presidential press conference.

Score 1 for the good guys! Thanks to everyone who supported the gun dealers and who were able to attend tonight.

Expect a VA-ALERT from Philip with all the juicy details in the next 24 hours.

Bloomberg got served!!! :dude:
 

Hawkflyer

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Well the channel 5 news managed to catch the "flip off" presumably by the winner of the drawing. Very professional gesture. While I understand and agree with the sentiment, didn't the guy realize the impression that would leave on the viewers of the nightly news?

Regards
 

BobCav

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He folks, I was there and it was packed! There were protesters outside doing their own thing, but no clashes whatsoever. As expected and they were very strict about only allowing the max capacity (fire code) of 150 in the room and many people had to listen from outside through the open windows.

One protester sat inside and made only one "heckle" when we revealed the cake with Bloomberg's face on it yelling it was "sick". We ignored him and continued to applaud even more loudly for each new speaker and for the winners.

It was great to see everyone come together!

Here's some Post Articles I've found:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051601893.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051701386.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
 

vrwmiller

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Wow! What a great evening! I think it was a major success.

Tess, BobCav...it was a pleasure meeting you.

Somewhat disappointed in the gesture the first winner gave to the cameras. Personally, I think I would've chosen to say something different. However, I'm sure he was anxious and nervous and probably didn't know how to respond.
 

Citizen

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Well, Philip did say VCDL is made up of people from all walks of life. A few are going to be a little less sophisticated than others.

The best thing to do is be ready to counter any attempt at making hay. Praise the little guy. Point out that what Bloomy is doing can generate a lot of anger in freedom-loving people.Etc. I suspect the only people who will be "shocked" are people who are easily shocked.
 

HankT

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Sounds like a HUGE success. Kudos to VCDL, PVC, et al.

clapsmiley.gif
clapsmiley.gif
clapsmiley.gif






BobCav wrote:
... revealed the cake with Bloomberg's face on it...
LOL. VERY cool.
 

Hawkflyer

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The "Shock" in seeing the "great American bird" is not the issue. The issue is the image of average firearms owners it projects. Since many of us saw it presented in a fairly "Raw" form, we understand the context. You can expect that context to change in the editing room over the next few days, and the impression on the audience will be very different than it is among this group.

It was a very poor decision for someone to do that considering that the gesture is actually illegal in most jurisdictions. While there was obviously no way to have prevented it from happening, it portrays us all as ignorant, unsophisticated, and unfit for general audiences or polite society. It is on those grounds that I find the act offensive. That act was made to order for the anti-rights media.

I spent an hour today talking to a group of coworkers about this event and explaining that VCDL and Open Carry org are not populated by the kinds of people they thought they are. What am I supposed to tell them tomorrow?

Moreover, since the actual purpose of the event was at least in part designed to project the same gesture to Bloomberg, it was actually redundant.

Regards
 

Citizen

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Hawkflyer wrote:
I spent an hour today talking to a group of coworkers about this event and explaining that VCDL and Open Carry org are not populated by the kinds of people they thought they are. What am I supposed to tell them tomorrow?
Tell them the truth. VCDL has some earthy type folks, just like your employer does. The right to self-defense and life is not predicated on being a member of the elite, pretty, intelligentsia, or psuedo-sophisticates. Unless you work with some real idiots, I can't imagine you'll have all that much difficulty. You're pretty persuasive on this forum. You'll pull it off with ease.

Unless LEO229 is a co-worker. Then I could see it being a little difficult. :)
 
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