A primer on picket signs for Catholic, pro-life and pro-marriage activists
Ole Q hasn't given a primer on picket signs lately, so here's one right now.
If you're a veteran picketer, you know that a necessity is that your signs are large enough, noticeable enough and legible enough for passing cars and people across the street -- and a TV newscast audience -- to notice and read them.
Rookie picketers make the mistake of having tiny signs, even pieces of paper, and writing on them in tiny script that nobody can see even inches away.
So, first, get heavyweight poster board or foamcore, about 22 x 28 each, from a drugstore or art supply store. White, "fluorescent" lime-green, and Day-Glo yellow are excellent colors for premium noticeability.
Then get really big, wide felt-tip marking pens. Black and red are great for maximum visibility.
Then think of short slogans, of literally no more than three or four words, and outline them in block letters, ALL CAPS, on your sign, and then fill them in.
Examples of signs for one currently topical issue might be:
MARRIAGE: SACRAMENT, NOT SODOMY
TOKEN WORDS NOT ENOUGH
CDL. MAHONY, REALLY DEFEND MARRIAGE
MARRIAGE CRISIS: WHERE'S CDL. MAHONY?
CDL. MAHONY, START LEADING US
(These are just examples of signs about one particular current issue. You can think of similarly short slogans on issues such as pro-life, Latin Mass, etc.)
Of course, don't picket by yourself or with just one or two others. Get at least a dozen people together, and more if possible.
You want your picket signs to reach literally millions of people, so about a week in advance of your picket, BE SURE to call up all the TV stations, TV network outlets, and newspapers, ask for the news editor, and tell him or her where you'll be, when, and why.
I think that in most cities, as long as you're on a public sidewalk, you don't need a permit to picket. But it's best to check with the police department ahead of time.
During the picket, be sure to hold your signs high and facing the street. Be sure to keep moving at all times. These tactics attract passerby attention.
Do not block the sidewalk, of course; always leave lots of room for others to get by easily.
If you're a veteran picketer, you know that a necessity is that your signs are large enough, noticeable enough and legible enough for passing cars and people across the street -- and a TV newscast audience -- to notice and read them.
Rookie picketers make the mistake of having tiny signs, even pieces of paper, and writing on them in tiny script that nobody can see even inches away.
So, first, get heavyweight poster board or foamcore, about 22 x 28 each, from a drugstore or art supply store. White, "fluorescent" lime-green, and Day-Glo yellow are excellent colors for premium noticeability.
Then get really big, wide felt-tip marking pens. Black and red are great for maximum visibility.
Then think of short slogans, of literally no more than three or four words, and outline them in block letters, ALL CAPS, on your sign, and then fill them in.
Examples of signs for one currently topical issue might be:
MARRIAGE: SACRAMENT, NOT SODOMY
TOKEN WORDS NOT ENOUGH
CDL. MAHONY, REALLY DEFEND MARRIAGE
MARRIAGE CRISIS: WHERE'S CDL. MAHONY?
CDL. MAHONY, START LEADING US
(These are just examples of signs about one particular current issue. You can think of similarly short slogans on issues such as pro-life, Latin Mass, etc.)
Of course, don't picket by yourself or with just one or two others. Get at least a dozen people together, and more if possible.
You want your picket signs to reach literally millions of people, so about a week in advance of your picket, BE SURE to call up all the TV stations, TV network outlets, and newspapers, ask for the news editor, and tell him or her where you'll be, when, and why.
I think that in most cities, as long as you're on a public sidewalk, you don't need a permit to picket. But it's best to check with the police department ahead of time.
During the picket, be sure to hold your signs high and facing the street. Be sure to keep moving at all times. These tactics attract passerby attention.
Do not block the sidewalk, of course; always leave lots of room for others to get by easily.
posted by Quintero at 3:41 PM
12 Comments:
CDL. MAHONY, REALLY DEFEND MARRIAGE
MARRIAGE CRISIS: WHERE'S CDL. MAHONY?
CDL. MAHONY, START LEADING US
Forget about Cdl. Mahony; he is useless. He will do nothing to endanger his political ties or political influence. Rather, have the priests organize to petition Rome to remove this malfeasant incompetent. If you really want change, that's the best way to start.
Quintero, I know you don't have the guts to publish this, but that doesn't mean I'll quit speaking the truth -- here or anywhere else!
Good luck with that-
I just saw our adulterous Catholic mayor, the most honorable Antonio Villaraigosa, marrying the first gay couple married in L.A.
Performed the ceremony himself at city hall.
Our adulterous abortion-supporting gay marriage-performing communion-taking Catholic mayor.
*Si se PUEDE!!!*
We can do whatever we want!
Everyone in L.A. will say something about this before our good shepard Mahony does...
Quintero, please accept my apologies for saying that you don't have the guts to publish what I submit. I was wrong.
joseph d'
you don't seem to know Q very well and certainly that's no way to treat such a gracious host-
I'll testify that Q's courage has never been an issue for me- whenever for instance we've had issues he's always been very clear about his side of them- nor has he in any of my experience (which goes back YEARS) ever shied away from controversial or uncomfortable or unpleasant topics.
I just don't get the "guts" crack but I will thank you for the opportunity to stand by Q and I hope in some small way to show my admiration for him and his mission and an appreciation of 1LAC.
Dear Joseph,
The point of such slogans is that they tell the public what should be done and who should be doing it.
Cardinal Mahony has been here in L.A. for nearly a quarter-century, so his behavior patterns are familiar to all of us. We know he is not going to suddenly start acting conservative. But that does not mean we should stop telling him, and the public, what he should be doing.
Why wouldn't ole Q "have the guts" to publish this comment of yours?
On the rare occasion when ole Q does not publish a comment, it is almost always because of bad language, name-calling and so on.
Dear Dave,
Today I've done two posts about the Villaraigosa "ceremony" and what the Cardinal should say.
Dear Joseph,
Thanks for your kind and courageous apology, and don't worry, Ole Q understands that we all get frustrated sometimes.
The situation in our archdiocese and other dioceses is frustrating to all of us when we do not see our leaders publicly leading us in these times of genuine peril for the Church and all civilization.
Dear Dave,
Thanks for your very kind words. Your friendship means a lot, and I feel the same about you and the times you make comments here.
I'm sure that by now you've seen Joseph's also kind comment here, a courageous and gracious move on his part. Joseph is a friend, and we can all understand commenters' frustration with the state of things in L.A. and around the USA.
I appreciate Joseph's visits here and his comments, and everyone's. Hello, Joseph -- please keep visiting and commenting here!
Thank you again, Dave, for being such a good friend. You're a good guy. Thanks and God bless!
Yes Q and Joe
I AM angry. And I'm not even Catholic. But my wife and children are and I can't stand to see such perverse and schizophrenic behavior by Catholics in the public eye and the clergy acting as pure facilitators and enablers.
I'm so angry.
I have to explain this to my children and every time I see things like this (and it's WAY too often) it just means I have to prepare and deliver another lesson, all the while terrified that the lure of the world and the message of our shepards will prove more convincing.
I'm SO angry...
Pray hard and often-
Quintero, thanks very much for your own gratiousness and understanding. Keep fighting the good fight; it seems that nobody else around here is. :(
Dear Dave,
Maybe a good thing parents can tell kids is that they should never let any faults and failings of other Christians make them lose their faith. Neither scandals nor anything else should ever come between us and Jesus.
Just because somebody else is imperfect does not mean we have to punish ourselves by not staying close to Jesus and the Sacraments.
Kids and the rest of us will be in good shape if we focus on the love and the deeds of the countless heroes of the Faith through the ages right down to today, and if we also concentrate on staying close to Jesus and His Mother.
Dear Joseph,
Thanks for the encouragement! It's always good to know you and the rest of our visitors and commenters care so much about the Faith and the right to life.
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