Protest occurs; the Harangue gets humiliated!

Our series of protests against the teen behavior modification cult near Milford continued last night with our greatest demonstration yet!

A few folks actually breezed into the Cincinnati region from out of town for this spectacle, and they lodged at a Holiday Inn, of all places. In total, we had 11 - count 'em, 11 - participants.

Some of the out-of-town folks were protesting the facility early in the morning before returning to the hotel. But I got deployed to the scene in late afternoon, and that's when the real fun beginned (as I like to say).

We kept receiving thumbs-up from motorists who drove by - including a young man who said, "Fuck that place!" He was a former detainee of the program who had suffered under its tyranny. We were also photographed by a car full of individuals - who were probably supporters of the abusive program. That suits me fine, because I'm not in the least bit ashamed of these protests.

But the event will be forever remembered for our battle with the Harangue.

Now, every effective protesting contingent needs 2 types of people: It has people who, when confronted, simply ignore the confronter or reply gently. And it has people who respond in kind. Our group has both types. I happen to fit into the latter category - as the Harangue discovered.

The Harangue is our nickname for a high-ranking staffer at the facility. She's called this because she launched several harangues. She was immediately hostile, and didn't even attempt a friendly chitchat first like the man who ruled the facility earlier this year. Her first tirade transpired when she approached us and yelled, "You're on private property! You need to move!"

She was wrong, of course. We'd already established we were on a public right-of-way.

She also grabbed one of our signs that was laying there - which is theft. She then yelled that the police were on their way. To that warning, I responded with something like, "They won't do shit to me!" That's because I hadn't been breaking any laws.

The Harangue responded with something like, "Oh yes they will!" An evil hangman's grin appeared on that oozing hillock of flesh that's commonly referred to as her face.

With the Harangue's attitude, responding with profanity was 100% justified. I'd seen this attitude before, and that was with the director of special ed for my local school system when I was a teenager. Certain individuals in high places like to throw their weight around, and they love it when they think they've finally nabbed someone who they think they have authority over.

But it was not to be! About 10 minutes later, 2 Miami Township police cars arrived. The cops spoke with the Harangue out of our earshot, and then they drove up to us. A policewoman got of her cruiser and assured us that we were doing nothing illegal, and that we could continue protesting as long as we didn't block the driveway to the abusive behavior modification center.

It was clear the Harangue lied to the cops by telling them we were on their property. But I would have loved to see the look on the Harangue's face when the police told her we could keep protesting!

If anyone broke the law, it was the Harangue when she stole our sign.

Later, the Harangue reemerged from the building. And the police showed up again! This time, the cops left without saying a word to us.

When the Harangue was leaving work that night, she pulled her car up next to us and began scowling and beeping her horn like a maniac, even though we weren't blocking her.

At one point late in the evening, a young man pulling out of the facility warned us that the police had been called because we were videotaping our protest. Filming a public event on public property isn't a crime, moron.

The 11 of us were out there for hours upon hours in the stifling July heat. We downed gallons of ice-cold agua, and my back was sore from holding a sign above my head - but it was well worth the effort! After this hugely successful protest, we went to the Holiday Inn, ordered a big pile of pizzas, and partied!

After the total, complete, utter humiliation last night of not just the Harangue but the entire abusive program - and the fact that numerous locals pulled up for us to educate them about what's going on in their community - it looks like the tide has turned in my favor in my years-long battle against the teen torture racket. I think this particular concentration camp is almost finished now.

But not completely. So we will keep protesting until we know for certain the abuse has ended or the abusive facility is closed down.

(More info: http://www.isaccorp.org/kidshelpingkids.asp)