Local Rally to Restore Sanity in the works for Oct. 29

If you’re a fan of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, you’ve probably heard of Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity event coming up in Washington D.C. later this month.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to show up to thes rally on the National Mall, and yesterday, we learned that UA students Roger Haak and Michael Baker Brown are organizing a local version on Friday, Oct. 29 at Wilson Park here in Fayetteville.

For those who aren’t familiar, Stewart announced the rally on his show on Sept. 16. The idea is to host a non-partisan gathering for the “70 or 80 percenters” in America who, as Stewart put it, don’t have the time, or the “theatrical flair necessary for today’s 24-hour a day, 7-days-a-week news media.”

From the website:

Ours is a rally for the people who’ve been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs) — not so much the Silent Majority as the Busy Majority. If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence… we couldn’t. That’s sort of the point.

Since Stewart’s announcement, other rallies are being organized around the country for folks who can’t make it to D.C., including three in Arkansas.

Poster for the event

The Fayetteville version will follow a similar format to Stewart’s, Haak told us.

“We’ve got some people in mind to come speak, and we’re contacting some others,” Haak said. “People can come in costume if they want. Also, we hope people will bring signs.”

“I disagree with you, but I’m pretty sure you’re not Hitler,” “9-11 was an outside job,” and “I’m not afraid of Muslims, Tea Partiers, Socialists, Immigrants, Gun Owners, Gays, but I am kind of scared of spiders” are some of the signs Stewart suggested for the rally.

Afterwards, a local version of Stephen Colbert’s “March to Keep Fear Alive” will make its way down the trail from Wilson Park to Dickson Street.

Haak created a Facebook event with a bit more information. He is still looking for speakers for the event, and you can also email [email protected] to get involved.