One of the many adventures I had over the course of the past 48 hours was to join the Bloodstained Men in Omaha, NE. This is the second time in as many years I've gone to the Omaha protest.
I felt this year was received with more positivity than in 2015. Yes, I still got the "You people are crazy" and "Freak." I got flipped off a lot, as well as told to get a job (only I thought he said "Good job!" so my response was a little awkward :/ ) and my personal favorite - "Y'all are so stupid, ya make a box of rocks look smart."
But I also saw a lot of peace signs being thrown our way, as well as thumbs up, honking, and people actually stopping to say thank you for being there, more so than last time. I have to say, that was pretty cool.
I did have one woman get confrontational with me. I remained calm and tried to stimulate some sort of logical conversation with her. The man she was with was trying to talk, but she just kept talking over him, saying it (intact) was dirty and disgusting (the irony of that statement ... you have no idea ) and then dragged her (I assume) spouse by the hand across the street, away from where I was standing, yelling "It's a Parental Choice!" over her shoulder.
He actually came back about 20 minutes later, by himself. He intentionally crossed the street and chose to wait for the next cross walk on the corner where I was standing, but was avoiding looking at me. I approached him, and quietly asked if that now that he was alone, if he would like some information. He looked me straight in the eye and said, "Yes. I would." I gave him an information card and we ended up talking for another 10 minutes or so.
"I understand what she (woman he was previously with) was saying," he told me, " but I really wish I would have had a choice."
He got as many facts as he could in the window of time that he had, then put the card in his pocket and went on his way. I felt pretty badly for him, but I'm glad he had the courage to come back. I believe that speaks volumes about being headed in the right direction, even if it's one conversation at a time.
Thank you to everyone out there who is a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.