BOSTON -- 'Mr. Wake Up America' says it's time for all Americans to stand up and fight terrorists.
'I want the terrorists to know that we're not going to take it,' Arthur Stivaletta said Wednesday. Stivaletta, 49, a real estate developer from suburban Dedham, founded his 'Wake Up America' campaign 17 years ago to focus public attention on American POWs in Vietnam.
'The people in the USA are outraged,' he said. 'We're not going to take any more blackmai,.'
He has burned Iranian flags in protest of the 1979 hostage crisis and launched a bracelet campaign to show support for Vietnam POWs.
Last week, Stivaletta rented a plane and towed a banner over Massachusetts beaches from Scituate to Salisbury.
The banner read: 'Mr. Wake Up America says, 'Let's kick ass with terrorists.''
Another banner-towing plane will take off Saturday declaring war on terrorism in response to the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and the 40 American passengers held hostage in Beirut.
Stivaletta said in an interview the response to his latest campaign has been 'overwhelming,' with calls coming from individuals and radio and TV stations from as far away as North Dakota and Los Angeles, all asking how they can help show support for the hostages and their families.
Stivaletta's advice: 'Tie a yellow ribbon on your radio antenna and put one on your front door.'
He also suggests Americans drive to and from work with their headlights on to show support for the American hostages and put 'Fight Back' signs on their houses.
Stivaletta's campaign caught on in Dedham and the neighboring community of Norwood Wednesday, where residents tied yellow ribbons to trees, street lights and parking meters.
'The USA has become known as a paper tiger. It's time we started roaring like a tiger and fight back,' he said. 'We can't be humiliated any longer, or else these terrorists are going to keep blackmailing us for years to come.'
