If ever there was a time where any deity showed active protest and disdain for an event, September 2nd certainly qualified. Rain poured indiscriminately on Ku Klux Klan members, Nazi supporters, fierce protestors, onlookers, and journalists alike for the entire day.

Still, the cold rain and inclement setting did little if anything to halt the proceedings. In fact, it may have thrown more fuel onto the fires of already irritated people.

I, myself, braved the weather (and possible danger, about which I was sure there would be plenty) and found myself on the great Battlefields of Gettysburg.

Surely, there are many things I enjoy doing on rainy Saturday afternoons that do not involve hatred and protest. Though, I must say, once I was there, I could barely bring myself to leave.

Throughout the rally, the KKK did much as they have always done. They spouted foolish rhetoric such as African-Americans are “taking over this country,” and spent very little time actually discussing the Iraq war.

Though they had a permit for one hundred people to arrive as Klan members, less than a dozen actually donned the white robes they are famous for.

In creative protest, a group of Civil War reenactors stood nearby with their backs to the KKK, singing southern songs such as “Dixie,” in an attempt to silence the racist rhetoric.

Overall, I met many outstanding people, all characters in their own right, on both sides of the spectrum.

In the beginning, most of the protestors I met were older, more my father’s age than mine. But, what they lacked in youth they made up for easily in both veracity and philosophy.

Dan Hocker and Jeanne McCarthy, for example, emphasized that this nation and everyone in it should be united as a country and as a people. Hocker sported an American flag and flashed his middle finger to the KKK every time they chanted “White Power.” McCarthy clasped her rainbow-coloured umbrella solemnly, choosing to play a less active role in the protest.
“It’s about love,” said Hocker slowly, adding that people such as the KKK could never understand how life should be.

Another older man spent much of his time shouting obscenities at the Klan until he could barely speak. Of his many colourful insults, “These are a bunch of sorry ass, white trash, mothaf***ers!” stood out amongst the rest.

After a short time, more youthful protestors appeared on the scene. They came in a much larger number, sporting a bullhorn, a rainbow flag, and other implements of protest.

These were a diverse group, hailing mostly from Maryland, and many were professional activists. Several of them covered their faces with bandanas for fear of later persecution.

Ellie L., a 27-year-old activist, manned the bullhorn, inviting others in the group to scream at the KKK from across the field where we stood.

The KKK, in turn, shouted racist and prejudicial insults, utilizing a loudspeaker.

Another prominent figure in the activist group was Nelson M., whose spiked red Mohawk and aggressive demeanor separated him from the others. He took many turns with the bullhorn, shouting “Casper is supposed to be friendly!” amongst other clever statements.

One member of the group jumped the barricades and ran around in front of the KKK, proudly waving a large rainbow flag behind him in support of gay rights. The police chased him in a large white SUV and arrested him. This resulted in chanting from the protestors to the tune of “Free Gary, free Gary!”

Some protestors stole a Nazi swastika flag from some Nazi supporters (of which there were far more than anyone expected) and ripped it up. These same protestors, or ones like them, later damaged a Nazi supporter’s car.

The protest moved inevitably to a closer vantage point near the end of the rally, reaching a climax that seemed close to a riot.

Daryle L. J., head of the “One People’s Project,” which advocates violence as a consequence for racism and hatred, threatened a Nazi supporter when the two types of people clashed.

During this final stretch of the rally, dozens of police officers lined the small strip of land between the KKK and the protestors, batons out and hands on their sidearms.

The rally ended with little violence, however, though the potential for it remained high the entire time.

In general, the rally struck me as largely dishonorable to the 51,000 people who died on the very ground we walked on. Moreover, I could neither believe how backwards and hateful the Klan was, nor how driven to violence the protestors were.

Klan-supporting mothers brought their children to the rally, and protestors threatened bodily harm on Nazis.

Whether or not their opinions are hateful, both groups of people justified their actions with contortions of the First Amendment. As a journalist, I value the First Amendment higher than perhaps any other principle that can be applied to my field.

I cannot help but wonder if the founding fathers saw this coming when they gave us the right to Free Speech, though the loss of this right would surely mean the end of everything this country holds dear.