john_anderson_ii
09-10-2007, 12:21 AM
For my first meet up event ever, I attended the Crossroads of the West Gun Show today in Phoenix, AZ. The event was huge, and there were a ton of gun toting freedom lovers about. I arrived later in the day, I live very far away, and found quite a bit of attention at the Ron Paul booth. I had no clue what I was doing, so I introduced myself to Ed, our coordinator, then grabbed some slim jims and DVDs and headed out into the crowd.
Here's what I learned:
1.) People do not like to be bothered while shopping, so leave the guys haggling price and ogling goods alone.
2.) Lots of people have heard of Ron Paul, and not everyone likes him, some do, some don't, but most just know his name.
3.) Most Everyone is absolutely disgusted with our government and politics in general. They are very suspicious of any politician.
4.) Our meet coordinator is pretty wild and crazy, and that is a powerful asset to have when you are trying to get attention.
For the people who didn't know what Ron Paul is about, I gave a brief positive message, pro-gun related, and handed them a slim jim. For the guys that already knew him and liked him, I urged them to join the group and get active.
Out of literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of people, I ran into three people that disliked him. The first was an older woman who said she would vote for whichever democrat got the nomination no matter what. Then she said she liked Ron Paul a lot, but wouldn't betray her party no matter what. Don't know what to do with that one.
The second case was much weirder. An older couple approached the booth, and I asked the husband if he'd heard of Ron Paul. He said, "Yeah, I have, and he's an idiot." I asked him why he thought that way, but he wouldn't explain himself, and started ignoring me. His wife then said, "He doesn't support the Iraq war, and I can't vote for a man who doesn't." I asked her why she thought continuing the Iraq war was important to the U.S. Her response; "Because I know what my bible tells me." I wasn't prepared at all for that! I thought to myself, "Lady, I'm not touching your issues with a 10 foot pole." However, I said, "Ok, well if we end up staying, I hope we have some good luck." I left it at that.
People who are so disgruntled with the current state of America that they didn't even want to know were pretty common though. I just did whatever I could to get a slim jim and/or DVD into their hands, and tell them that I completely agree, which is why I was out there in the 109 degree heat doing what I was doing.
I can't help but to be optimistic. We got the raw information out to a whole lot of people. We got a few donations, and even got one kid registered to vote republican on the spot. Gun owners and Ron Paul are like peas and carrots.
Here's what I learned:
1.) People do not like to be bothered while shopping, so leave the guys haggling price and ogling goods alone.
2.) Lots of people have heard of Ron Paul, and not everyone likes him, some do, some don't, but most just know his name.
3.) Most Everyone is absolutely disgusted with our government and politics in general. They are very suspicious of any politician.
4.) Our meet coordinator is pretty wild and crazy, and that is a powerful asset to have when you are trying to get attention.
For the people who didn't know what Ron Paul is about, I gave a brief positive message, pro-gun related, and handed them a slim jim. For the guys that already knew him and liked him, I urged them to join the group and get active.
Out of literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of people, I ran into three people that disliked him. The first was an older woman who said she would vote for whichever democrat got the nomination no matter what. Then she said she liked Ron Paul a lot, but wouldn't betray her party no matter what. Don't know what to do with that one.
The second case was much weirder. An older couple approached the booth, and I asked the husband if he'd heard of Ron Paul. He said, "Yeah, I have, and he's an idiot." I asked him why he thought that way, but he wouldn't explain himself, and started ignoring me. His wife then said, "He doesn't support the Iraq war, and I can't vote for a man who doesn't." I asked her why she thought continuing the Iraq war was important to the U.S. Her response; "Because I know what my bible tells me." I wasn't prepared at all for that! I thought to myself, "Lady, I'm not touching your issues with a 10 foot pole." However, I said, "Ok, well if we end up staying, I hope we have some good luck." I left it at that.
People who are so disgruntled with the current state of America that they didn't even want to know were pretty common though. I just did whatever I could to get a slim jim and/or DVD into their hands, and tell them that I completely agree, which is why I was out there in the 109 degree heat doing what I was doing.
I can't help but to be optimistic. We got the raw information out to a whole lot of people. We got a few donations, and even got one kid registered to vote republican on the spot. Gun owners and Ron Paul are like peas and carrots.