On October 3, 2000, the first U.S. presidential debate between Al Gore and George Bush was held at the University of Massachusetts Boston campus.
Having been briefed on what to expect by a fellow practitioner who had some experiences with such events, we knew media coverage would be substantial. We were able to have a practitioner cover the debate on the inside, but we also felt that it would be most advantageous to concentrate our activities outside of the debate hall. We had prepared several large banners and planned to be at the campus by 11:30 am, ahead of the 9:00pm scheduled debate.
It was a wonderful autumn day with bright sun and cool sea breezes from the harbor. Adorned in our yellow T-shirts, about a dozen or more of us divided our group into two locations. The first location had several large picture displays of Falun Dafa cultivation and persecution. We had two banners mounted on two poles we had brought along and it looked wonderful. Then the state police came around to inform us that we were not supposed to have metal poles in our possession. But they let us kept it up for half a day after we talked to them nicely. The group at the second location fastened the banners onto the barricade fences facing the traffic and then began their group practice.
Being early has its advantage, although there were not a lot of people around at the time, the atmosphere was relaxed and there were a number of reporters who was interested in taking pictures. They interviewed us about the practice and the persecution. At about 4:00pm, there began an onrush of huge numbers of just after-work workers. They came pouring in with very little regard for our presence, banners and displays. Instead they covered up our banners with their own signs and banners and asked us if we wanted them to remove our banners! Shouting and yelling slogans, they reminded us they were more of them than us. And they were not at all interested in negotiating or listening to our quiet requests. Helpless and overwhelmed by their sheer numbers and rowdiness, one of us decided that we backed away from the railing and let them take over our space. We then decided to display the persecution picture posters on the grass. That succeeded in drawing quite a lot of attention from the workers who came to look at the pictures and gave us the opportunity to explain to them what's happening in China.
The same situation happened at our second location. We had to request the assistance of the police to have them not cover up our banners. Some of us continued our group practice and made quite an impression on the cameramen of different media groups. By late afternoon, we were informed that we have been seen on all three local TV network stations. Large groups of people kept coming while others departed. This continued into the night. Overall there must have been thousands of people from different political groups lobbying outside. The newspapers had expected about twenty thousand to be rallying for the debate.
It turned out to be a very rowdy day but most of us felt that it was also a very good day as we were able to let the public view who we are as Falun Dafa practitioners and for them to know about the persecution in China. At one point a practitioner was practicing the fifth exercise alone for over an hour amidst the stampede. Other practitioners were concerned that she might get knocked over by the onslaught of people, but she was steadfast in her meditation and did not get perturbed by the noisy atmosphere. She completed her meditation without an incident. As we practiced into the night, spot lights from helicopters, police cruisers and camera lights flashed across our closed eyes. We sometimes felt the crowd was streaming in between us with all sorts of screaming, yelling, and banging. All was quite chaotic, but nothing happened. Even the photo-display, which occupied an area of about eight feet by eight feet on the lawn, was not disturbed amidst what seemed like a mob scene.
Many people had stopped to view the persecution pictures. Some, especially the younger generation, appeared to be more sympathetic to the plight of the practitioners in the pictures. Amongst the observers, two young people came up to talked with us and said, "I admire how you all are able to be strong and steadfast with your practice while some people around you are making some bad comments I am glad you are here, it makes a difference."
Submitted by a Boston Practitioner
Category: Parades & Other Community Events
