Rockford Recap

Posted by Joe Scheidler (August 12, 2010 at 11:34 am)

Face the Truth Tour in Rockford, IL on Alpine Rd. [Photo by Sam Scheidler]

Our August Truth Tour in Rockford, Illinois on Tuesday in the scorching sun—temperatures reached 90′s—was one of the most exciting monthly tours we’ve ever had.

Irate Mother Abandons Her Children To Scold Pro-Lifers

With at least 40 sign holders at each of the three stops, we were able to reach drivers coming from all four directions and to hand out flyers that explain clearly and succinctly the purpose of our tours. These flyers describe each of the six pictures drivers are seeing as they pass by the large copies of these pictures.

At one stop, a young mother came up to me and asked me what organization was conducting the display. She was writing on a clipboard and I assumed that she was a reporter. I told her that we were the Pro-Life Action League from Chicago, and to put a hyphen between Pro and Life, which she did.

Then she told me that she had four crying children in her car (which she had clearly abandoned to come and talk to me) and that it was our pictures that had made them cry. She also said she was going to report us to the police.

Children Just Need a Calm Explanation

I told her that most children are curious about the pictures but that what they need is simply a calm explanation that these children have been hurt because their mother was either forced by someone to have an abortion or that she had decided herself that she didn’t want a baby. But, she should tell them, they were very much wanted and loved and that this would never happen to them.

I also told her that sooner or later they are going to be confronted with the evil of abortion, and having seen these pictures, they will most likely be pro-life.

I did fail to point out that we have warning signs before every set of signs, far enough away from the tour that anyone can turn to an alternate route. But nothing would satisfy her anyway, and that’s when she threatened to report us to the police.

I could have told her that it is criminal to leave four children in a car without an adult, but she was in no mood for that. So I simply said to try to understand that we must show the victims of abortion and that by far the majority of people we reach are adults, or they wouldn’t be driving cars.

I also told her we had already notified the police of our tour and that even they saw it as an exercise of our First Amendment Rights.

Foul-Mouthed Man Is Just One of Many Angry Rockford Pro-Aborts

In another public debate an angry man parked his car and approached one of our volunteers screaming foul words and reaching to take a camera away from one of our volunteers. When we said we would call the police for assault, he started to walk away, but quickly returned to rant until a police officer arrived and tried to calm him down. He was beside himself with hatred.

And what did some angry pro-aborts throw at us? Coffee, bottled water, and a can of pop. Those were some of the negative reactions.

The Flip Side: Positive Reactions Outnumber Negative

But there were also many thumbs up, people leaning over to say, “Thanks for what you’re doing,” and “Keep up the good work!” In fact, we had so many positive reactions, thumbs up and drivers telling our people handing out leaflets that they were already pro-life, that we think the positive reactions outnumbered the negative.

But whatever the response, we realize that we won’t find out until eternity just how much good we did in Rockford on that hot Tuesday. And that’s good enough for me and our crew of red-shirted volunteers.

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