They were small in number, but the protesters believe they're starting a new movement for truth in news reporting in America. And they gathered in front of the Boston Globe in an effort make something happen.
The Media Is the Fringe
Event organizer Edie Lekites says it’s time for a ground-up effort to stand for truth in the media, “This is my first time to organise one of these. I called the Hear Us Now headquarters and asked if I could organise and event and they said yes."
As to why she is getting involved, she says, "We want to be heard, the media is the fringe. The media doesn’t hear anything we say.”
“The largest march in Washington in a long time was the Tea Party March on Washington on September 12 and the media tried to ignore it,” Ms. Lekites explained. “There was about 1-point-6 million people and the networks said there were only 40 thousand. They never heard us.”
Activist Tim Roesch says he came out because he's tired of change, "I came out because I'm tired of seeing America being changed quickly into a country it was never meant to be. The turnout's not bad to me because this is liberal Massachusetts."
Norman Simpson agrees that something has to be done about what she says are the media's inaccuracies, "I listened to what Obama's been saying and I just don't like the way he's handling things."
"He's avoiding the best way to fix one of the major issues and that's the issue of health care," Mr. Simpson said. "That's why I came out. I want to voice my opinion that Obama's not doing what's right and the media are covering for him."
Marcher Peter Skudlarek said he was in it because he still believes in America, “We’re the people who believe in this country. We’re the people who believe in what this country stands for."
Someone interrupted his speech on the megaphone by shouting, "We need people to know that we're not the weirdos!"
Mr. Skudlarek replied, "Absolutely, we're not. We're the people and we're the people who believe in this great country!"
Some of the marchers were disappointed by the low turnout, but were hopeful that this march was the beginning. Marcher Bill Duggan wants to see a groundswell, “Yeah, someone may see us and say, ‘What’s that about?’ They’ll look it up and get involved and maybe bring someone else.”
A Peaceful Event
Except for the tense moment, the rest of the protest went smoothly with dozens of cars driving past waving, extending ‘thumbs-up’ and honking in agreement.
The public response might have been positive, but event participant Jack Dee said his kids gave him a hard time about it, "I told them I was going and they said, 'Are you doing it because you used to be a hippie?' And I said, 'Don't laugh, I'm doing it for your generation."
The Boston protest was one of 125 similar events around the nation on October 17.
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