Even Stevens? Maybe Not.
Submitted by Ben Stallings
Gun d’Alene takes place on August 13th in North Idaho.
Do we counterprotest?
There are a lot of different perspectives on this topic. Some may feel compelled to attend and raise an opposing view, that’s ok. Nothing specifically compels me to confront Gun d’Alene’s attendees. They absolutely have a right to organize peacefully and share ideas. It’s our hope when groups feel disenfranchised they use such an opportunity to express themselves in a safe and meaningful way. I hope that no group is deprived of the right to self-expression even if that’s taking a knee or waving a sign.
Democracy functions by having two views and working towards the best possible outcome. If we look back to our recent Pride event, it’s an absolute travesty that people were made to feel scared, unwelcome, unsafe, or attacked. I’ve known people afraid to express ideas and thoughts because it may negatively impact them at church school or in their workplace.
I had a job and heard the words “If one of my employees had an Obama sticker on their car, then they would be looking for a new job.” At that time I drove the company’s truck so the “ObXama” sticker on my personal vehicle never became an issue. OBX stood for Outer Banks North Carolina.
At Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, I was approached by a member to figure out if the sticker was for or against Obama. It was a message to me, at church, your politics matter. It was so many years ago I can’t remember what I said. I probably picked what I thought they wanted to hear.
On one hand, if nobody came out to protest Gun d’Alene they might feel a little silly. On the other, we already know they are.
