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Home Action News Summer 2004 truth4

Summer 2004 ACTION NEWS | VOL. XXIII NO. 3

NOTE: Due to its length, this article is split into four parts.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Face the Truth Puts Faith into Action, cont.

by Eric Scheidler

[FTT in Des Plaines]

Tour along Oakton Street in Des Plaines, July 16 [Photo by EJS]

Police Shrug at Gun Threat

Our second day in the northwest suburbs began at Arlington Heights and Golf Roads in Arlington Heights. We were joined again by a small group of counter-protestors. At one point one of the pro-aborts and I passed each other in the middle of the crosswalk, and a driver in the left-turn lane called out, "Good work!"

I had a hunch he was talking to the pro-abort, but I stepped over anyway to hand him a Face the Truth flyer. He swore and told me to get away from him "before I pull out my gun."

I stepped back, stood in front of his car, and photographed him and then his license plate. I shouted for the police officers on the opposite corner, stepped aside as the light changed and then chased his car through the busy intersection. He pulled into the gas station where the police were, apparently realizing that they would be after him if he drove off.

The police took both our statements but refused to do anything about his gun threat, which legally constitutes assault. The commanding officer said I shouldn't have tried to hand him a flyer, since we had agreed not to distribute literature in the street; it didn't matter that I was in the crosswalk with a walk sign. He said if he cited the driver he would have to cite me too. I told him that was fine, but in the end all they would do was fill out a report.

Later the pro-abort fellow who had passed me in the crosswalk asked if I was okay. His name was Kevin and this was his first protest. I thanked him for his concern.

No Pro-Abort Children Activists

The police at our next stop at Oakton and Lee Streets in Des Plaines were much more supportive. The officer assigned to stay on scene even told us that four out of five cops are pro-life.

For a while I stood near the pro-abort group and tried to talk to them. Some of them were relatively friendly, but one of them remarked, "You don't see any children out here holding our signs," meaning that we exploit children. I began to laugh at the irony of her comment -- no children holding signs in favor of killing children -- and thanked her for the quote. She didn't get it.

Our final stop of the day was one of the most hostile of recent years, Waukegan and Glenview Roads in Glenview. At first the Glenview police tried to keep the pro-lifers and the pro-aborts separate, assigning the small group of pro-aborts to one corner. Many passing cars responded to their "Honk for Choice" signs and rolled down their windows to cheer and shout. The effect was discouraging, especially since heavily pro-abortion Glenview is Ann Scheidler's home town.

I appealed to the commanding officer that in order to counteract the pro-abortion message we had to stand among them with our "Honk for Life" and abortion signs. I showed him photos on my digital camera of our peaceful interaction with the pro-aborts earlier in the day, and he finally relented. The honking and cheering quieted significantly after we posted our signs among the opposition.

A bright spot at this otherwise disheartening site was when two passing teens joined the Tour. Neil and Patrick were on their way to get a bike tire repaired when they passed the Tour and gave us a thumbs up. I invited them to join us after they had finished at the bike shop, and they did. John Jansen gave them information on our Generations for Life youth outreach program.
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[FTT in Evanston]

Dramatic Tour display along Ridge Avenue in Evanston, July 17 [Photo by EJS]

Sparks Fly in Evanston

We visited two sites in Evanston on Saturday, July 17, the final day of the Tour, starting at Central Street and Green Bay Road. The Evanston police officer on the scene was extremely cooperative. We set up abortion signs on Green Bay, but limited the signs on Central to born and unborn baby pictures, since a sidewalk fair was going on down the road. The pro-aborts amassed on one corner, where we overshadowed them with two huge third trimester abortion signs.

Next came the most exciting site of the entire Tour, Davis Street and Ridge Avenue. We lined six blocks of Ridge Avenue and posted extra Warning signs on Davis, a one-way feeder from downtown Evanston. Two dozen pro-abortion counter-protestors appeared, many of whom lived nearby the site, and police were present in force to keep the peace.

Some of the pro-aborts held window shades in front of our signs to block them, but volunteers foiled them by hoisting the signs up on their shoulders. One young woman tried so zealously to block Margie Mansko's sign that she kept bumping into Margie, who called me over to help.

The girl's father walked up with an eight-foot two-by-two to help his daughter hoist her window shade up. I immediately called the police about the hazardous situation, but before they arrived a more serious incident broke out nearby when a couple leapt shouting from their car on a side street and the woman began to beat the man. The police drove up and I waved them over to the violent scene. We never learned if there was any connection to the Tour.

[FTT in Evanston]

Craig Capizzi holds Honk and Jesus signs among the pro-aborts in Evanston, July 17 [Photo by EJS]

A moment later, a van screeched to a halt on Ridge and a man with an Australian accent jumped out and began accosting volunteer Noel Naughton, a tough Irishman. I shouted for the police while Tom Morrison videotaped the scene. An Evanston cop drove up and demanded in his strong Chicago accent that the Australian drive off and quit blocking traffic.

Meanwhile back at the corner of Ridge and Davis the main body of pro-aborts were chanting and cheering as pro-abortion Evanstonians encouraged them with honks and cheers of their own. Police insisted we not distribute literature at the chaotic corner, so our literature crew held Keep Murder Legal signs instead, and we doubled-up our corner signs, adding Baby Choice to the usual Jesus signs and flags. The display of abortion, Life and Help signs up and down Ridge was so powerful that despite the hostile public and jeering counter-protestors, the attitude among the pro-lifers was upbeat.

Tom Defends Face the Truth on WGN

Before leaving Evanston our group gathered at a lakefront park for a cookout hosted by Mary Higgins. En route to lunch, several Tour participants tuned into WGN radio to find a call-in program underway regarding the Tour site we had just left, which one of the hosts had passed on his way into work. Tom Morrison pulled over and called into the show. Tom gave an eloquent defense of Face the Truth, explaining why we must show America the victims of abortion.

A contingent of Dan Payne's family heard Tom's remarks on WGN and decided to come out for our last stop at McCormick Boulevard and Touhy Avenue in Lincolnwood. The busy intersection was peaceful, with dozens of signs spread far apart for blocks up and down McCormick and west on Touhy. A lone pro-abort named Julie stood on the corner; she was surprisingly friendly and I told her I admired her tenacity and wished she were one of us.

[FTT in Lincolnwood]

Joe Scheidler offers some concluding remarks in Lincolnwood, July 17
[Photo by Dan Gura]

Joe Scheidler closed the Tour with some final remarks to our group about the success of this year's Tour and the growing impact of Face the Truth around the country, followed by a final prayer. Joe invited everyone to the Scheidler home on Chicago's northwest side for a barbecue to celebrate the conclusion of our fifth annual Face the Truth Tour.

Faith Shines Through Tour

Every summer Tour has its own predominant theme or "flavor." What stood out about the 2004 Face the Truth Tour was the many people who dropped what they were doing to hold signs with us and show the truth about abortion. Between them and other new participants, nearly 100 people joined the Tour this year for the first time, the largest group of new faces we've ever seen.

We are grateful to them all -- the new volunteers, the stalwarts, those who joined us for one site or all twenty-six, our lunch hosts and those who just stopped to thank us. We are all blessed by their example of faith put into action.
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