Whether the event was truly effective or historic is debatable – participants tended to shout more than talk to one another – but if nothing else, it stood as a testament to the tremendous freedom of speech we enjoy in this country: Last week, right in President Bush’s own back yard, in the parking lot of the Crawford High School football stadium, a couple thousand or more folks from Central Texas and beyond watched Michael Moore‘s blockbuster anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. The event was spurred by an editorial in the Waco Tribune-Herald complaining of F9/11‘s absence in area theatres, a situation remedied by activists from Dallas and a production crew from Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse.
Although definitely outnumbered by lefties, star-spangled T-shirts and stickers reading “Bush” and “W” were in abundance. Most everyone was well behaved, although there was the one jerk who stood at the back blasting an air horn during the opening scenes of the movie and yelling “Lies! It’s all lies!” He was quickly reprimanded by the very professional Crawford Police Department, who maintained order in a most unbiased fashion.
We ran into Mr. Air Horn – aka one Ryan Wooley, a 23-year-old supplier of medical equipment from Shreveport, La. – outside the parking lot, mingling with other pro-Bush protesters who were chanting, “No more Moore!” and, “A vote for Kerry is a vote for terrorism.” The protesters were too distant to noticeably disrupt the movie, although they were quite a bit closer than any liberal protesters have ever gotten to Bush. We decided to balance out Moore’s domination of the night by giving a Bushite the final say:
The Austin Chronicle: Have you seen Fahrenheit 9/11?
Ryan Wooley: I have seen parts of Fahrenheit 9/11. Absolutely. Obviously I didn’t pay for it, because I wouldn’t support something that’s based on lies. But I did walk in there for a few moments, and what I saw, when I saw that the people that were watching the movie refused to stand up when we were giving the Pledge of Allegiance and talking about our country, they sat down, I figured I’d step back and walk out of something that didn’t support my country.
AC: I must have missed that. I saw a lot of people saying the pledge.
RW: Well, that was something.
AC: So you’ve seen parts of it, but you’re not willing to watch the whole thing? Don’t you want to see it just to be able to argue against the talking points?
RW: Absolutely not. But I’m pretty sure I could argue against the talking points.
AC: I’ve heard some people in here yelling that anyone voting Kerry is a traitor, or that if you’re a liberal you’re a traitor. Do you believe that? That they can’t be liberal and a patriotic American?
RW: I won’t state that in the sense of being liberal-thinking, meaning being tolerant to some degrees and open to some other thoughts. That doesn’t necessarily make you a traitor or try you for treason. But when you begin to base your arguments upon lies, and you begin to say that the president himself is sending our men and women over for a lost cause, I think you should be tried for treason.
AC [a bit stunned]: But … that’s just speaking your mind.
RW: You’re more than happy to speak your mind. I understand the point in saying that. But I guess objectively, I’m referring to the point that, we say that we’re going to war for oil, we’re going to war for all these other things, but to not unite behind your own country – yeah, we were founded on freedom of speech or I wouldn’t be here talking to you today, obviously. And this movie would not be playing today if there was not the freedom of speech. So argumentatively, I’m with you, okay? But objectively, I still have to say that when you stand against your president – and I’m not referring to a dictatorship, I’m referring to when you begin to argue lies, you begin to say we’re going to war for oil, you begin to say it’s because of our Saudi ties, we send all this money to Saudi Arabia – where’s the proof? Give me the proof.
AC: One more question: Were you the fellow with the air horn in there?
RW: Yes I was.
AC: Why try to disrupt the event? Why bring an air horn in and disrupt other people from watching the movie, including some Republicans who were trying to watch?
RW: Well, I understand. Sure, well there were some [Republicans] that were in there, unfortunately. Surely they didn’t stay in there. [Ed. note: Actually, quite a few obvious Bush supporters stayed until the end.] But it’s important to know that … unfortunately, I don’t have a microphone, and I don’t have the money today to bring to myself a gathering. So for me to, necessarily being a disruption, would to me, inevitably, attack with the truth. And it gives me the opportunity, for those around me, to speak the truth to them. And that way – hey, they listen to liberal media like yourself every day, who are slant[ed] to the left, and not to the right, much less the middle, so I figured I’d get my opportunity to speak at the same time.
This article appears in August 6 • 2004.