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 Determined Patriot Succeeds Kentucky Derby's 'Bush Stole the Election' Banner Plane Flies Dramatic, Passionate Responses Greet Oral Majority Protester |
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By Wesley Gibbs
Louisville, Kentucky--Churchhill Downs—The Kentucky Derby, May 6
I left for the track at 9:45 am Parked and walked around for a while--I was looking for the anti-police brutality protestors to show up but I could not find them...went back to my car and drove around to different areas to see if I had the wrong address. I couldn't find them. I re-parked my car and started to walk up Taylor Boulevard towards my friend's house (he has a house directly across Central Avenue from the track.) I was hoping to rest a minute at his place and scope out the track when I looked up at about 11:30 AM and saw the plane flying! The Text Said "BUSH STOLE YOUR VOTE! ORALMAJORITYONLINE.COM" There it was flying low over Taylor Boulevard at Lincoln Avenue--and it was headed straight towards the track--I took off running and managed to get a couple of shots of the plane on my video camera. I think this was it's first pass over the track and I managed to film the plane flying over the famous twin spires. I was expecting this early flight time to be a disaster because we had some people with cameras coming down to take video and pictures but they were not there yet. In fact, this did not turn out so bad because tons and tons of people were coming into the track at this time. Actually hundreds of people marching down Central Avenue towards the track. At this time of the morning you might imagine that MOST of them are relatively lucid and sober. So I had one shot only with this. I had left my posters in the car far away but had 42 bumper stickers with "NO MORE BUSHIT." I was a little bit chicken at first to face all those people alone, but I plunged into the middle of the crowd holding the bumper stickers over my head and announcing "free bumper stickers" "no charge" get them while you can. Some people looked up and just scoffed or laughed it off but then a young lady with a nice hat in a beautiful derby dress caught up to me and asked if she could have a bumper sticker. So I gave her one. A young African-American teenage boy took one. He said "Cool". I pointed out the plane and told him about the message on the sign. He was impressed. Then several more young ladies in their early to mid-twenties--you might call them real Southern Belles--came up to me in a group. And they were all dressed colorfully and to the nines in derby finery with hats all around. All four of them very politely asked for stickers. I pointed out the plane to them as well and they were loving it and watched it pass over. I kept on walking straight down Central Avenue--right past the first turn on the track- by now the plane had passed a couple more times and was turning around to where I couldn't see it. Many More people asked to look at the writing on the stickers: NO MORE BUSHIT and then some bush people started to say "whatever" but then some people started to agree. I gave a bumper sticker to all of those people who wanted one and told them to look for the plane when it cam back around. Kudos and encouragement were offered from a few married couples. I passed a mobile TV camera guy from the local Faux station. I showed him my bumper stickers and pointed out the plane. The woman who was with him (not a reporter) started to grin from ear to ear and the camera guy pointed his camera towards the plane--I KNOW that man got some great footage of the pane on his cool TV station camera. Since it's FAUX news I doubt they'll show a millisecond. They didn't want a bumper sticker. Then, I went back up towards the main entrance to the track - gate 1 - GET THIS--->> A police man came up and asked for a sticker and he took it and looked at it and chuckled to himself. Then I pointed out the aerial banner sign on the plane and he looked straight back at me and he said "Right On" If nothing else happened this whole day that policeman made it worth the entire effort. Then I was back at the gate 1 entrance to the track and a man who turned out to be a Japanese tourist was taking a film of the plane on his video camera as it was passing over the famous twin spires. I took some video on my camera too because it was an AWESOME picture, COOL image, and an AMAZING sight to behold. Streaming Download 1.5 MB real media file All the while hundreds of people were walking into the track. I offered the Japanese man a free bumper sticker but he declined. I waded back into the crowd as other people were passing by and three younger guys mid to early twenties came up and wanted stickers....One of theses guys said to me I'm a Democrat and my friend here is a Republican-- he pointed to his buddy who just took the free bumper sticker and was now ripping it and throwing it to the ground. I just looked at him and said "whatever". I showed them the plane and smiled. Some Bush supporters or Republicans or whoever they were started groaning or saying things like "I like Bush" Then I went back into the crowd and started suggesting that the bumper stickers would make great mother's day gifts and absolutely free--no charge--free bumper stickers. When the plane went back by, I would point it out to passers by and offer stickers to people who were interested. Most of the takers at this time were women of all ages and many were very polite and courteous--and would usually chuckle pretty well when they saw the plane.. I knew I had to move quickly as I was running out of time and the plane would be gone. I ran back in the direction of my friend's house on Central - (I told them the day before this would be going down). Several out of town visitors had spent the night in his house and some were up, hanging out on the front porch in the back yard and drinking coffee or having lunch etc... I ran to tell them and then I stood out on a traffic landing in the middle of Central Avenue while filming more footage of the plane. One person on my friend's front porch was whooping and hollering "Whoooo Hooooo!" I managed to give out a few more bumper stickers - "Get one for your grandma--get one for your mother--a great mother's day present!" :-) I managed to hand out my last stickers to a Latin guy --about 20 (he took the sticker and said thank you but he split before I could tell him that Caesar Chavez changed my life. Now the plane had made it's last pass and gone and one last finely dressed young woman asked for the very last sticker--and then this part of the day was over. Now I went back to my car and picked out my cardboard signs and started walking back in the low income neighborhood next to the track--many people were out in the yard or on the sidewalk--cooking food--grilling out barbequing etc.... So here I am headed down the street in this neighborhood--with my signs all folded up--and one guy about my age is sitting at the side of his yard. He looks up at me and says "Hey man, what you got there?" I open up the sign that says Bush Stole the Election. The guy got real serious for a minute and said--"He sure did". I talked to him and sat down with him for a minute and he told me that he agrees 100%. He says sometimes he thinks about what happened (with the vote) too much and it gets so bad that he can't stand it. I showed him the signs and he said he wanted one to put up in his yard. I asked him to take a picture of me. He looked over the signs and chose the one that said "My Vote Was Forgotten at the Finish Line." He did not want his picture taken. We got to talking about a lot of things - I still had a bumper sticker stuffed in the bottom of my bag and I showed it to him, and he was saying "Sh*t happens" He covered up the BU on the NO MORE BUSHIT bumper stick and said - "you know what I mean??" We talked about the police announcing that they would arrest anyone who took action or protested on Derby Day. The police announced on TV they would especially act swiftly on any of Louis Coleman's "followers". (Louis Coleman is a tireless, hard working Civil Rights and Consumer activist in Louisville. He was the first African American baseball player at my alma matter back in the 60's. Rev. Coleman is also a minister and you can count me as one of Louis Coleman's "Followers"). My new friend agreed that statements like this from the police were not cool and he said that he was having half a mind to grab this sign and walk up to the track after the race and hold his sign and damn it all and go to jail if that's what it takes. He looked at the signs and shook his head and said : "There's nothing we can do--we're stuck with Bush" I offered to him that "We can vote in the next election and this time make sure it counts. With a big enough majority we can impeach him." This guy was and is totally cool and I told him I was going to walk up by the gate and show a couple of signs to the crowd before the track got filled up (which I did). We shook hands and he said stop back by any time and we'll talk about democracy. Boo YAH!
The weather was perfect and sunny all day--about 75 degrees--and a couple of whispy clouds over the track. I was chilling in my friend back yard sipping cold pineapple juice and picking the ponies. My choice for the Derby was KEATS. Good thing I didn't bet. I video taped the stretch run on my camera: http://www.booksellersunion.org/realaudio/Unnamed_005.ram Kinda odd that there was a steward's inquiry (just like the election) at the finish of the race. We had to wait about 5 full minutes for the steward's inquiry and the official winner. One person who watched the race closely says to me later: "hmmm....fixed" I didn't get a real good look so I don't know. You thought this was good so far, now the real adventure begins. People are starting to pour out of the track and onto the streets. Some of the out-of-town visitors were having fun, doing mock interviews on the sidewalk with people coming out of the Derby and video taping the whole thing. So I go in the back and get my signs--and go out onto the sidewalk with them and they start interviewing me and video taping each sign. I told the woman interviewing me I was about to go on a protest action. This was unlike any of her other interviews and she was impressed. She says to me "Go for it." She took these photos of me: So I take my signs back down to the front gate, and by this time thousands of people are heading out of Churchill Downs in gigantic masses. Every couple of minutes they have to stop the traffic on central avenue and pedestrians cross the street in great waves. I walked right up to the south side of the central avenue sidewalk--just across the street from the main gate. Traffic is speeding down Central Avenue and I am looking across the street at about 1000 people standing over on the other side waiting to cross. I was right there and I raised up one of my signs high over my head: "YOU CAN"T BUY DEMOCRACY" I switched a couple around and showed them "BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION (stop thief)" Just as all those people walked straight towards me. I held the sign over my head and just smiled as people swarmed around me. I kept switching the signs around "MY VOTE WAS LEFT AT THE FINISH LINE" "IMPEACH BUSH". "I WANT AN ELECTED PRESIDENT" Some people cheered other people were saying "Bush Rules", "Get A Job" and other clichéd Republican put downs. I held my ground. When the wave of people had passed and I walked back on the sidewalk a little. A group of deeply religious young men came up to talk to me. They were handing out leaflets promoting Christian beliefs. They had one person holding a 15 foot banner that said "Heaven or Hell : Your Choice"
This made an obvious impression on one guy who wanted to talk. He said he supported Bush because abortion was wrong. I told him that I have tremendous respect for his belief but I have different ideas. I told him that he has every right in to come down here and say what he wants to say. We found an amicable common ground on free speech. He shook my hand and wished me good luck. Now the traffic was stopping and another bunch of pedestrians was about to cross the street. I held up my signs again and people were going wild. I decided to stick with IMPEACH BUSH which one guy who passed says was a great choice. A mid-twenties couple went past me and looked real closely at the sign. The guy started saying "What's this? blah blah blah..." He's giving me a real negative vibe when his girlfriend smiles at me sweetly and reaches over and says to me: "you're right" and she gives me a real friendly goosing in my rib cage right in front of her boyfriend. A lot of people saw that and the crowd goes bonkers and some people are cheering and others are saying nasty things. Some pro-Bush people try to put their hands over the sign while what seems like Millions of people are walking past. Then, out of the blue I get blind-sided by four young Republicans who throw water on the signs and one guy grabbed at the signs and had half of them in his hand and he was trying to rip them up but I grabbed the signs back and fought with this guy to keep a hold of my signs. One of his buddies is actually knocking me down and swatting at my head--but he manages to knock me and my signs away from the guy trying to rip them. My camera fell out of my pocket and hit the ground and broke. One of them took my cool San Diego Zoo baseball cap and a neat bandana I bought at the Grand Canyon. I had my signs (only ripped a little) in my hand and I turned around to face these dummies and four of them are looking back very threatening. I said: "Give me my hat" One jerk says to me: "That's what you deserve" I could not take on all four of these guys so I I looked at the people around me who had witnessed this and said to them "Did you see that???" Two other chumps out of the crowd then started grabbing at my signs and I managed to dodge away from them, turned myself back around and stuck the IMPEACH BUSH sign back high over my head. Said to myself: "Bite crank bullies." No one else messed with me, but those idiots stole my cool cap. Typical Republicans. Pardon me while I digress: (You nutty freaks - you must have made your mamma, your party and George Bush so proud today. ) Ahem..... I went back to where the Christian guys were standing and told them what happened and they just shook their heads. So by now I'm pretty discouraged ... but one fellow comes up to me and says go stand by the fence towards the back and just hold your sign--nobody will mess with you--he tells me that other people did something like this last year. He says: "Everyone comes out of this gate and everyone will see it." And then he tells me--"Go On Up there and Do It!" So I head to the fence and manage to find my Grand Canyon bandana on the ground. I got to the fence and held the sign right there where everyone could see it for about 7 passes of pedestrians across Central Avenue. I mostly held up the IMPEACH BUSH sign. Zillions of people were seeing the sign and all kinds of folks were giving me the thumbs up--big smiles--right on, plus a few nasty remarks which I blew off. Then these well dressed gents in blue blazers and khakis came over and said "Why impeach Bush?" I said I disagree with him on almost every issue. He asks me "like what??" He says "You have to know the issues if you are going to disagree." I tell him that a woman has a right to do with her body as she sees fit and I don't want Republicans messing with any woman's body in any way. Now this guy has two lady companions in his group who look over at me--and I said "because if they can mess with a woman's body then mine will be next." And then these young women say loudly "RIGHT! YES! WE AGREE!" I gave them the big thumbs up and their date or whoever this guy is ...he's highly annoyed. As wave after wave of humanity gets to see and ponder IMPEACH BUSH, I stand there as the family of the people I'm talking with gathers around. One guy comes up and tries to stand in front of the sign so I move down where people can see it even better. One woman --maybe mid-50's--in an elegant white dress and hat smiles and nods at me and she clenches her fist quietly in solidarity. Then the whole family is gathered, and they ask me to take a group picture of all of them with about 5 different cameras. Which I did. As they were walking out I told them I hoped they had a really nice time at the Derby. Now the crowd had thinned down to just a few folks coming out of the track and I knew I had more to do. I got together a sign that says "HONK IF BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION" I held the sign down and walked up to Taylor Blvd. where traffic was backing up like crazy: See pictures here: I walked way down Taylor Blvd. holding the sign HONK IF BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION sticking that sucker up high over my head. People started honking as traffic moved and I got a few catcalls from bush people "Put that down" etc... Then something happened that I can only say was amazing I was standing on Taylor Boulevard--where the road curves at the laundry near Queen Street and walking with my sign. People had been honking and waving off and on. Some would honk--other people wouldn't. Then there was a few seconds when something really cool happened--an African American driver in a Ryder Truck saw the sign and laid on his horn and just laid on it and he waved at me--he wouldn't let up. I was thinking to myself--go on with it brother--...when all of a sudden all these other drivers heard him and looked up and read the sign. One by one each one of them started honking their horns right in the middle of a traffic jam where nobody was moving. Just laying on those horns and making some noise. One after another horns lit up and people were going wild and waving. So now I'm just standing there on the curb holding up a sign that says HONK IF BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION and I'm surrounded by maybe 20 cars full of people several car lengths back on both sides of the street ... All at full stop all looking at my sign and waving and looking at each other and some people waving arms around and saying YES! and laying on their horns at full blast. If any Republicans were somewhere in or near this crowd they would probably have passed out or been tossing the cookies and tossing them good. This only lasted about 15 seconds--but those 15 seconds gave me more hope for the fate of the planet and humanity than any other 1/4 minute so far in my short life. At Queen Street I chatted with an older working man who was showing his years and he loved the sign. Just then Queen street opened up and about 7 limo-sized SUVs with tinted windows drove past me and I gave them the sign "YOU CAN'T BUY DEMOCRACY" right in their windows as they passed. I continued on down the back streets, heading back--when I passed a house with a big party--maybe 40 people on the front porch and front yard--a 20 something guy was on a microphon--blasting his voice around the neighborhood--doing some kind of master of ceremonies bit. The people at his party pointed at me and my sign. This MC guy--right in the middle of his fully amped schtick--turns around and reads my sign out loud over the mike: "Honk If Bush Stole the election" I'm sure this guy was a Bush supporter because his guests started cracking up and he looked very sullen and embarrassed and became suddenly very quiet. I headed back down Taylor Boulevard towards Central Avenue and kept the sign high in the air. About 3 different African American women--in different cars with their families looked right at me and said emphatically YES! about 10 different people I passed walking on the side walk looked at the sign and then looked at me and said "HONK HONK" I met up with a young boy --maybe 13 or 14 and he says he's a Bush supporter and wants to see how many honks I get. After a minute one car gives a short blast--then another--and another--and I say to him: See....People will honk. Then he asks me why I'm doing this and I stop and try to explain: I think that it will make a better future for him--for the health of the world and our environment--No War--less pollution--less arsenic and he said he was aware of the arsenic issue and said he did not like Bush's stand on this. We talked for a few minutes and I was still getting honks. We continued down Taylor Blvd. and ran into a some young ladies who started proclaiming themselves "Lesbians for Bush," and waving their arms around. We walked on to the corner of Taylor and Central where huge crowds were standing around. A couple of guys--one African American & one Caucasian--in a gold colored Ford Explorer pulled up right next to me a rolled down the window --the driver started honking and the guy in the passengers seat was giving me thumbs up cheering and saying YOU'RE RIGHT. My young friend standing next to me said that he's had a change of heart. He's impressed and says he is with me and wants to help--he grabs the sign that says BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION. He says he's going to hold up the sign and talk to people. We had to split up because the traffic cop tells me that the cars honking are driving him crazy and he can't do his job. So by now I am exhausted and sore and ready to call it a night. My little buddy shakes my hand and wishes me well and heads off into the crowd with his new sign --BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION. I wanted to end up right by the front of the track where all the big shots are leaving in their limos and I walked on this little patch of pavement right past a dozen stretch cars. The first person rolled down their limo window and started giving me raspberries but then 2 other limo windows opened up and people started cheering and one driver honked!! Finally made it back to my buddy's house, and came home. I'll say that this was the best Derby of my life. Peace, Love and Power from the Derby City
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