August 12, 2009: Folk Singer Defuses Potential Confrontation at Idaho Health Care Reform Rally

Folk singer Joan Baez discusses health care reform with a reform opponent. [Source: Dutch Shots]Folk singer Joan Baez, who made a reputation as a staunch progressive anti-war protester in the Vietnam War era, confronts angry health care reform opponents at a pro-reform concert and rally in Idaho Falls, Idaho, with composure, successfully defusing what could have been a potentially harsh situation. According to a writer who attends the forum and later posts his account on the liberal blog Daily Kos, Baez conducts herself “according to [her] unshakeable ideals of non-violence and compassion.” Some of the protesters bear signs accusing Baez of supporting killing children and accusing her of committing treason during the Vietnam War era. Before the concert, she approaches the protesters, who themselves are more reasonable than their signs may indicate; one of the first things said to her is, “We appreciate the work you did on civil rights and women’s rights.” Baez listens as the protesters, many of them Vietnam veterans, express their feelings of betrayal by anti-war protesters, and assures them that she stood by the veterans then and now. Baez is supported by her merchandise salesman, Jim Stewart, himself a Vietnam veteran. Though some rather heated words are exchanged, as the writer notes, “Joan’s continuing acceptance of their stories and her willingness to hear them out began to melt their anger.” Some even ask her to autograph the posters that vilify her; she says she will sign the back but not the front of “those horrible things.” One protester, carrying a sign accusing her of killing babies, says he will remove her name from the poster if she signs it, which she does. During the concert, Baez dedicates a song to the protesters, and says: “You know, they just wanted to be heard. Everyone wants to be heard. I feel like I made four new friends tonight.” The writer concludes: “She took the high road, as always. It wasn’t my name on those signs, yet I gave in to anger. She never did. As we deal with tea parties and increasingly violent right-wing protests it would do us all good to remember the example of non-violence and compassion that Ms Baez has exemplified for the 50-plus years of her career.” [Daily Kos, 8/12/2009]