I just returned from Sarah Palin's event at the Civic Center in Asheville, NC. I'm a juggler and a street performer. This was also Asheville's Annual Zombie Walk. The combination couldn't be more remarkable.
I positioned myself near the entrance and entertained the line of Palin supporters as they slowly trudged by. There were quite a few kids tagging along and I think bringing a little levity to the environment was good for all. I regularly requested that they be nice once they got inside so as not to give Asheville a black eye by yelling “kill him” or something. Most people agreed. I did encounter a few who got mad, but most were nice.
Then came the zombies.
Follow me below for the sheer horror of Palin and the Zombies.
There was a contingent of pretty rude yellers at the corner that the folks encountered right before they met me, so my plea was often answered with comments about them. I re-assured these mostly gentle folks that they shouldn't associate Obama with the rudeness of the few people who were shouting and being unkind. Most of them nodded their head and shugged their shoulders in a "I know, what are you going to do?" response.
Other highlights:
• A guy playing like a street preacher with a sign that read “God Hates Zombies”
• A zombie holding a sign that read “I would vote Republican, but I need Brains”
• Zombies for Palin shirts
• A guy picked up my juggling pins and wouldn’t give them back because I was obviously a Democrat who was there to make fun of Sarah (I got then back)
• A guy who got really mad when I asked him to be nice
• There were thousands of Palinites and hundreds of zombies
• McCain-Palin vendors were thick. My favorite product, camo Palin ball caps
• A lot of Zombie dogs. Hey, this is Asheville...