David Soumis and Lars Prip from No Drones Wisconsin greeted visitors to the largest airshow in the country -- EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin* -- on Saturday, July 28, with the 1/5-size replica of a Reaper drone (which the recently obtained from Know Drones) and signs that said "Flight Emergency: A Drone Impacting Your Aircraft," "Fly Safe in U.S. Airspace: NO DRONES," and "No Drone Eyes in Our Skies."
"Overall, a great success," said David Soumis. "We had a lot of people riding by in cars, buses, trucks, and golf carts. A lot of thumbs up, a few one finger salutes, a lot of questioning glares, and tons of people that could only see the hood of their car."
"A few people stopped by to talk to us, and one guy had his grandson deliver some pecan pie to us...very cool."
"I think the best one of the day, after standing in the hot sun for about 7 hours, with at least 40 EAA security guys going by us, probably at least a dozen or more sheriffs and city police, a guy yelled to us, 'HEY!! Are you protesting on private property?' I yelled back, 'NO !!! we're protesting on public property! Since 9 this morning!' And he says, 'Well good for you ....' mumbling and walking away!"
Be sure to get in touch with David Soumis ( davidso1 [at] chartner.net ) about participating at upcoming No Drones Wisconsin demonstrations -- at the Saturday, August 4, Farmers Market in Madison, and at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee on Saturday, August 11!
*For more on the Oshkosh airshow, see WIRED magazine, "Inside the World’s Busiest Air Traffic Control Tower," from which the image below was taken.
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Coming off our experience this past weekend once again protesting against drone killing, drone surveillance, and related acts of militarism at the Chicago Air and Water Show, I am more confirmed than ever in my view that air shows are a very effective place to get our message out to the public.(See Why Air Shows Are a Very Effective Place to Protest Drone Killing and Drone Surveillance )
Year after year, hundreds of thousands of people from Chicago and the
surrounding area gather on the lakeshore to watch aerial displays by an
array of planes. Most don't suspect that they are being subjected to an
intense propaganda effort by multiple branches of the U.S. military.
The Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo views this as a perfect
opportunity to engage with the
public and enlist them in the growing movement against U.S. war,
torture, surveillance, and other crimes. We will join activists from
many other peace and justice groups who have had a growing presence at
this event in recent years.(See August 16-17: Protest U.S. Kidnapping, Torture, and Drone Assassinations at the 2014 Chicago Air and Water Show Protest )
(See Taking the NO DRONES! Message to the Masses at Chicago's Air & Water Show for full details.)
August 19, 2013 -- We had an outstanding day on Saturday at the
Air and Water Show! There was an antiwar presence in at least three
distinct locations: east of the North Avenue Bridge with the Free
Bradley Manning Contingent, representatives of the Anti-war Committee of
Chicago, World Can't Wait, and allies from the north and west suburbs
on the west side of the North Avenue Bridge, and members of Occupy
Chicago on the bridge itself, as well at various places along the beach. (See We're Pushing the Chicago Air & Water Show to be "War-Free"!)
So are you folks against hobbyists flying quadcopters in their own backyards or public parks like the DJI Phantom 2 or just war use by US Military? Not sure I understand. Thanks.
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