Protesters greet Sarah Palin at book signing

Former Vice Presidential candidate, Governor and Mayor Sarah Palin was in Rochester November 21. A crowd of a thousand or more lined up outside Border's Books and Music in Henrietta to get an autographed copy of her new book Going Rogue: Life in America. Some had camped out overnight to obtain a copy. Those in line had some company. A loud and lively group of 75 protesters gathered to call attention to Palin's hypocritical and even dangerous policies. One marcher was even playing a tuba! The protest was largely peaceful. There was some heckling from both sides. One person was arrested after a verbal altercation with police.


According to the protesters, Palin is the epitome of right-wing America. Oblivious to the harm already done in her home state of Alaska by climate change, Palin favors continuing and increasing the use of fossil fuels. In order to obtain and transport those fuels she favors continuing and increasing military action in the Middle East, Africa and South America.


In addition to environmental and antiwar groups, there were also advocates for the rights of Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender people, womens' rights, and universal health care. Palin is opposed to GLBT rights and marriage equality based on her own personal religious beliefs. She advocates teaching her version of “creationism” in place of science and history. Palin is also staunchly opposed to a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, even in cases where pregnancy would endanger her life. She seems to believe that State control of a woman's body will somehow make the operation go away.


In a country where millions die from lack of proper health care and thousands more go bankrupt, Sarah Palin is staunchly opposed to Universal Health Care. In order to dissuade public opinion, she has masterfully spread lies that such a program would lead to Government “death panels” which would decide who gets health care and who dies. If she would only look, she would see that these panels already exist in the form of insurance companies. One of the goals of Universal Health Care is to eliminate them!


The protesters concluded their demonstration by holding up their signs and shouting “This is what Democracy looks like” and then pointing toward the store where Palin was and shouting “That is what Hypocrisy looks like.” Indeed there was plenty of hypocrisy in there. Ms Palin says she wants to be President, but couldn't even finish out her term as Governor. She claims to want to help American small business. How better to help than to absolve them of having to pay for employees' health care? The US is the only country in the world with that requirement. She claims to believe in an America with liberty and justice for all. Well, that includes pregnant women, sexual and religious minorities, immigrants, poor and sick people as well.


Perhaps nothing was more frightening than the number of people who believe the hypocrisy.