Mars Hill to Crones at Southcenter

[Annie]

New blogger here and a bit nervous, but I’ve been following the Mars Hill/Tripp thread and wanted to share a couple of things. When I read that only a few showed up Friday night to protest, I was disappointed. I would have been there except I was at a conference where a few people made a lot of difference and I’d like to share that with you. Also, I want to give a hand to those few who did show up at Mars Hill as we know a few people or even just one, can have a big effect.

Here’s my story.

This happened last week-end at a conference of older women, called “Crone’s Counsel.” Crone is a national group of older women who hold an annual conference as well as several local activities. The annual conference was held last week at the Double Tree hotel in Southcenter.

On Saturday another group came into the hotel to set up a psychic fair in another part of the hotel, totally separate from the Crones’ Counsel. As they were setting up, a group of “Christian” protesters arrived with signs and t- shirts adorned with flames and sayings, such as “Repent or Perish,” “Know your Bible. . .,” and began shouting hell and damnation at those setting up for the psychic fair. This group was perceived to be angry, aggressive, and “in your face.” The first mistake in responding was that the psychic fair people started shouting back. At this point one of the crones, who just happened to be in the lobby, went over and made the second mistake, trying to reason with them, even to the point of quoting some bible verses back at them. A hotel security person arrived, urging the protesters to leave but meeting resistance.

Then the miracle happened. Without a word and with no pre-planning, all the crones in the area – either having lunch or visiting in the lobby – went over, linked arms, and stood quietly between the protesters and the psychic fair folks. These women quietly stepped toward the angry protesters, whose leader was even nose to nose with one frightened woman. The protesting leader shouted at the security guard, who found himself in between the 2 groups, “Don’t shove me, don’t you touch me!” The guard replied, “I’m not shoving you, sir, the women behind me are pushing me.”

The women continued to step forward and the protesters had no option but to back up. So without a word a group of 10 to 12 women herded the protesters out the door and a volatile situation was averted.

So what’s the West Seattle connection? I’m proud to say that seven members of a small West Seattle group of crones attended the conference and, though they were not present at the confrontation, they are empowered to using peaceful responses to violence. So whenever you see gray haired women out and about, give them a nod. Old and young, few or many, we do matter and can make a significant contribution toward a peaceful world.

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[Zenguy]

Thanks for a great example of how a few can make a difference and welcome to WSB.

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[WSratsinacage]

Cool, thanks for sharing. I too was disappointed at the low turnout in West Seattle. I too applaud Jan, JoB, and Kat. Being brutally honest here, I could have gone to the Mars Hill protest in WS but I did not go. Not sure why.

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[ellenater]

Thanks for the story, Annie. That’s divine. Have you ever read Marshall Rosenberg’s (sp?) books on nonviolent communication? I have always wanted to.

Great work!

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[andrea]

that was an awesome post Annie. a very big thank you to you and your fellow crones for making a differnce in this world of ours. peace and understanding through nonviolence is a beautiful thing when it happens!

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[Erik]

Marshall Rosenberg’s ‘the jackal’ and ‘the giraffe’ characters are wonderful teachers wrt non-violent communication.

Annie – thanks for the inspiration, I’ll have to dig up that book.

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[ellenater]

Thanks, Eric.

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[Erik]

Ellenater – I just got back from a bike ride and found my copy of Marshall’s book. In it is his website, there is a short video of him on the main page. I remember seeing this video, but I mostly remember the other longer video of him with his jackal and giraffe sock puppets…lol.

http://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/

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