August 22, 2017
The Smedley Butler Brigade, Chapter 9 had about thirty members on the Boston Common on Saturday to oppose those participating in the so called, “Free Speech Rally”. Led by their new Coordinator Dan Luker, they hustled from one hot spot to another all day long. Over forty thousand counter-protesters turned out to say loud and clear to those participating in the Alt-right rally, “your messages of hate, bigotry and racism are not welcome nor tolerated in Boston”. A group of about forty protesters held their rally under intense police security.
The stated intent of the Smedleys was to make sure the event stayed peaceful. The Smedleys actually protected some of the protesters from counter-protesters and lead them to safety, the whole time shouting “no violence” to everyone around. VFP members were shown great respect from the crowd as they tried to maintain the peace and often were applauded by the crowd. WGBH the local public radio station ran a segment mid-afternoon about the work Veterans For Peace were performing on the Common. As Police Commissioner Bill Evans said in a press conference, “99.9 percent of the counter-protesters were peaceful.
The Smedleys carried some of their flags without poles, since the poles were not allowed. They all wore VFP shirts and either VFP hats or hats depicting which war they were in. Attached is the poster many wore around their necks. All in all, a good day for Boston, a good day for the Smedleys and a good day for peace.
Written by Pat Scanlon
Coordinator Emeritus, Smedley Butler Brigade
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