Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Thursday, July 22, 2004
Tackling the issues
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then it is worth at least half as many gestures.
On Wednesday afternoon, a caravan of three trucks from the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, an anti-abortion group, drove around Winona showcasing pictures of aborted fetuses on the side of vans with the word "choice" next to the graphic images.
As the caravan drove near Winona Mall and other high-traffic areas, motorists craned their necks, did double-takes, mouthed words, shook fists, gave thumbs up, gave thumbs down and even gave the middle finger to the group.
"That's a pretty normal reaction," said Paul Kulas, a Fountain City, Wis., native who is logistics coordinator for the CBR.
The campaign is going to 22 states, considered swing states, through November.
Though Kulas has lived around the world since leaving Fountain City, he believes the traveling vans will be well-received in Winona. Earlier in the day, the vans were in La Crosse, Wis. Today, they head to Rochester.
"We can't endorse one candidate or another. Our purpose is to engage voters to think about the issue of abortion when they step into the voting booth," Kulas said.
Voters seem to be engaged.
In the heat of Wednesday afternoon, drivers slowed down and pulled alongside the vans to look at the graphic images. People pointed. Some shook their heads. A mother who sat on the bench outside of the Winona Mall told her children that they better leave because "here comes that van again."
Kulas said he understands the reaction but believes the message is appropriate, even for children.
"They are graphic, and they are disgusting. That's the whole point. We're not shocking to shock. We're trying to show this as an act of violence against an unborn baby. That's shocking," said Kulas, the father of three girls, the oldest of whom is 7.
He said each of his children has seen the advertising on the vans. Still, the vans usually don't circle around elementary schools or day-care centers.
"We are concerned with the feelings of born children, but we're more concerned about the lives of unborn children," Kulas said. "She (Kulas' oldest daughter) has seen it, and she has not had to go to any psychiatrist."
He said angry parents often call the 1-800 number or e-mail the group's Web site. In fact, he believed by the time the group parks the vans for the night, the e-mail account and voice message mailbox will be full of callers and writers.
The group cruises with a fleet of up to six vans and six "security" cars. The cars are Ford Crown Victoria models similar to what law-enforcement officers routinely drive. They are outfitted with the same grill guards, the same floodlights, the same backseat cages, even down to the camera on the windshield where a radar gun might be mounted. The squad cars, he said, serve as a deterrent.
"We have recorders ready if someone tries to damage the trucks," Kulas said. "Most people, when they see them, don't act in an anti-social behavior."
While many people just hurl epithets or make gestures, a few resort to aggressive behavior. About the most extreme was a woman parking her car to block one of the vans in Minneapolis, Kulas said.
Just to be sure, the drivers of the vans wear bullet-proof vests.
The vans are always moving.
"If we sit in the same spot, it invites problems. Someone might want to do something bad to us," Kulas said.
It also helps the group get more exposure. That exposure is working, Kulas said. For example, one woman in Cleveland came up to him and told him that seeing the images alone changed her mind. Another woman said she decided not to have an abortion after seeing their vans.
"It's kind of anecdotal any way you look at it," Kulas said.
The group receives emails and phone calls from almost every location they stop.
"People may be mad at us, but we're not in a popularity contest," Kulas said. "We're more concerned about what it does to a baby. Even though people are mad, we're delivering a message that helps change minds."
And turn heads.
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