by
Melinda Pillsbury-Foster
The
first time I encountered talk of 'domestic terrorism' was in
September, 2007. This was not what I expected at the monthly meeting
of my local National Federation of Republican Women's Chapter in
Porterville, California.
The
luncheon was catered, featuring a tasty chicken salad. The ladies at
my table chatted about local elections, the local women's club, and
church activities as we caught up with personal stories and shared
photos of our children and grandchildren.
I
had not paid any attention to who was to speak for the program, which
always took place after lunch. Having been a program chairman any
number of times myself I knew it would not be anyone from the 'A'
list.
Just
as I was about to ask a shortish, uniformed fellow walked into the
room. His gestures strongly suggested he was to be our speaker. His
topic, I soon learned, was how law enforcement copes with gang
activity. Settling back into my seat I sighed, prepared to listen
politely but not with great interest.
Using
his tipsy screen, which would not stay put, the lecture was
illustrated with nasty looking tattoos, strange hair-dos and sad
looking young people.
This
changed about a third of the way through the Deputy Sheriff's
remarks. Having dealt with the problems of graffiti, chronic absences
from school, petty larceny and drug dealing the officer moved on to
the heavier stuff.
The
real problem, he told us, was domestic terrorists. He went on to
enthusiastically describe how these groups and individuals could be
identified.
I
sat up, attention riveted. The ladies around me were looking at him
quizzically, too. It seems domestic terrorists were likely to be
found carrying around copies of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights
and even the Declaration of Independence. They had also been known to
own and use guns.
I
looked in my purse. There was my little booklet which included the
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The
chat at our table earlier had included pictures of grandchildren
proudly displaying the deer they had shot. Were Elvira's grandkids
domestic terrorists?
The
ladies were polite, clapping when the Deputy finished talking. Few
questions were asked. Of course, it seemed like no questions were
really necessary.
Federated
Women is a hotbed of Domestic Terrorism. Strange. I thought I was a
Patriot. Oops, that is another word for terrorist, isn't it?
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