If you saw the story about Nashville's anti-war demonstration in the local Southern Baptist Times, or the Tennessean, don't believe it. According to the paper's brief account, only 80 people showed up to protest the Bush War. Yet, the always more credible, Channel 5 reports that "hundreds" of Tennesseans turned out to protest the war on its 3rd anniversary.
This is standard operating procedure for the Southern Baptist Times. For example, when Bush visited Nashville, two tv stations estimated the protesters numbered 200, yet the Southern Baptist Times called it at 100. I attended the Bush Visits Nashville Protest and counted approximately 200 protesters, as did Chris Lugo at Tennessee Independent Media.
The Tennessean is not called the Southern Baptist Times for no reason.
Apparently, the author of the Tennessean story - Natalia Mielczarex - showed up for 5 minutes at the end of the demonstration, and did not even bother to read the Nashville Peace Coalition's press release. She failed to note that the demonstration started at Music Row and that protesters marched to the downtown Federal Building.
Mielczarex failed even to interview any of the organizers of the event. She did, however, end her brief and erroneous account with a snide quotation about the miserable showing of only 80 protesters.
You would never know from reading Mielczarex's account that the majority of Americans want the troops home within a year, and two-thirds of Americans say Bush is mishandling the war.
Channel 2 has a video.
Blogger is acting up again today, and won't let me post photos. So it looks like a slow blogging day. I hope to have some photos of the Nashville anti-war protest later, and I hope blogger will let me post them.
Anti-War Protest Peace March Iraq War Bush Nashville Tennessee Tennessean Southern Baptist Times Media
