Protest at Lake Eola

There was an insignificant protest both for and against “health care reform” at Lake Eola in beautiful downtown Orlando. Florida on 12-8-09. It was at 7:00 PM on a Tuesday night. Much too early in the week for the regular working folks to take much interest in. The cool people don’t show up for political events until Thursday at the earliest. And if the protest doesn’t involve a plane ticket to DC then maybe for the beautiful people it really isn’t an event worth participating in. But there was a protest Tuesday next to beautiful Lake Eola in downtown Orlando in front of Florida Senator Bill Nelson’s office at Landmark Two, 225 East Robinson Street across from our gorgeous lake. It did take place and it was real for the peasants.

Pro Health Care Reform protesters at Lake Eola

I parked my car on the wrong side of the lake as usual. As I was walking to the lake I noticed a large group of odd looking people seated at the informal seating area located at the south east section of the park. This is away from the main band shell area where the big events take place. It is conveniently a short distance away and sheltered from the main jogging path the young executives use to both recreate and make a statement that they have arrived and they run around the lake in circles displaying their youthful vigor and energy. The “I have arrived” path for the young executives.

Was this the demonic opposition camp? I stopped and listened to a young black man poring out his soul to the crowd with every ounce of strength and passion he had. He looked like a Jamaican Bob Marley type but from his dialect it was immediately clear he was as American as I was. Behind him seated at a table where members of what I guessed was a local church. Mother, daughter and father looked at the young preacher delivering his sermon waiting eagerly to assist in any way possible. As I listened to this young man pour out his soul to the audience I felt ashamed. He was not there to preach about health care or some other politicians’ cares but to deliver the word of God to these homeless men and women in our mist. Even though I never said a word I felt like apologizing to the man and the crowd right then and there. I was there for a political game and this man was trying to comfort the homeless and helpless as they face another night without food and shelter. God please forgive me for prejudging this man. I walked silently away absorbed in shame.

I arrived at 225 East Robinson Street on the east side of the lake and on the west side were the anti health care protesters. I was immediately questioned if I was for or against “heath care reform”. I told them I was a Libertarian and was against it. They breathed a sigh of relief and asked me where my sign was. I told them I forgot my “Don’t Tread on Me” flag that had flown over Washington DC on 9-12 so they assured me that they had an extra sign for me. Maybe they didn’t hear that I was a Libertarian the first time?

The “Move On” crowd on the opposite side of the street had maybe 30 people. We had eight. I quickly moved over to the “Move On” side of the street and took some pictures of this occasion and quickly scuttled back. One of the things that always strike you at these events is the smell of alcohol on both sides of these off Broadway protest. Seems to make the event more interesting.

Our side accused the other side of paying their protesters. Maybe this was true maybe not but we were both kind of peeved to be on a sidewalk on a beautiful Tuesday night in downtown Orlando screaming at each other. Maybe they were paid and maybe we were not but either way this was going to end in one hour not two. Let the union pick up the other three hours of the four hour minimum.

We got down to business yelling slogans at each other. “Health care now”. “Socialism now”. “We want health care now”. “What do we want?” “Health care now!” “Socialism”. “Fascism”. “Communism.” And so the idiotic diatribe went as planned. If Senator brain dead old fart ex astronaut Bill Nelson had a video feed he surly went to sleep after the second rendition of the back and forth. One of “our” guys had a megaphone. They didn’t. To bad for them. Get a job and buy one next time. So our guy had the amazing technology in his hand able to replicate with volume their more intense shout downs. Hey who ever said numbers count never fought a real battle.

As the night wore on the insane slogans wore on and became boring to even the most partisan among the bunch. We actually began yelling coherent sentences at each other like “there will be a $1,000 dollar fine if you don’t buy health insurance.” “Who do you think will go to jail?” “I would gladly go to jail for health insurance”. Most of the zombies regurgitated the party slogans from the left and right with no thought. As the yelling went back and forth one of the opposition smart guys accused the Republicans of blowing up the budget deficit!

And I agreed.

I said “Yes the Republicans are guilty and so are the democrats” or something to that effect. Gasp! The Republican next to me immediately stood up to me and read me the riot act. “Do you want to be over here or over there?” “Get over there if you want to be on their side!” Did these guys not hear me when I told them I was a Libertarian? Guess not.

One of their guys on the other side was actually a thinker and he asked for what reform we “Republicans” would push for to make health care more affordable. I told him “repeal the anti trust exemption for insurance companies” referring to the FDR era McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1944. He was thinking but didn’t know how to respond. Of course he didn’t. Like all thinking Americans he has been manipulate with misinformation from his political party. Same as the Republicans with their supporters and their equally narrow minded crap.

The Republicans on my side of the street looked at me like they wished they could pummel me. Maybe with three of them they could. The other side looked on in awe as they saw division in the opposition ranks of only eight opponents! The majority of idiots thought this was great but the 10% on the other side had to wonder why there was division in the ranks. Maybe someday they will break out of the lock step of fascism and learn about the politicians money grab for health care. Maybe? Maybe not. There is always hope.

By the end of the protest both sides pretty much despised me. Libertarian and proud of it. Always alone against the majority. So sayeth the lord.

This brings me to the saddest part of the protest. All this time while I was arguing over the $1,000 fine that would be imposed on those who didn’t have health insurance. I was thinking of those homeless souls at the south east section of the park praying to our lord. Am I a religious man? No, but I know Gods mercy when I see it. Do I crumble before God? Of course I do. I am nothing before God like the entire human race is nothing at the hour of judgment. We all die and it doesn’t matter in the end if you dined at Bennigan’s or had a peanut butter and jelly from the Church of Christ. We all die sooner or later. I realized these homeless people in the south east section of Lake Eola would be the first ones to end up in jail under Obama’s health care “reform” bill. Just as the elites in Washington DC envisioned. No justice for the poor.

Some beautiful young lady, “big boned” with an eastern European genetic blend in there somewhere came over to our side. She claimed to be a graduate from the University of Florida. She asked me and others on the “opposition” side rhetorical questions. Her mother was 62 years old and needed insurance. When I suggested getting a federal, state, local government or privet sector job she dismissed it. When I suggested as a business owner getting a health saving account she dismissed it again. When I told her I was forming a company in January and I would hire her mother if she was good at secretarial work she insisted her mother was unqualified because she was a psychologist or something. Finally I gave up. Clearly she was a tape recorder looking to capture “dumb” republicans making stupid comments for some political web site. Yea lady there are a lot of dumb comments on both sides but if you really graduated from the University of Florida you would understand catching dumb comments means nothing to anyone but dumb people. Maybe the University of Florida has the “cool” people but the University of Central Florida has people who think. I gave up and drove off.

In this health care debate what is lost on the left are the hundreds of thousands of homeless who will be thrown in jails for not paying their $1,000 fine. What is lost on the right is the injustice of the 1944 FDR anti trust exemption for the health insurance companies. Both are injustices brought about by both parties. Why do Republicans defend the insurance companies? Why do democrats defend a plan that would imprison hundreds of thousands of defenseless homeless people? Both parties are equally sick in the head and both parties need to be destroyed. So sayeth the people.