AntiWar Protests in DC: 9/24 /2005
We were there in DC, Me and my Mate, recovering from vicious Poison Ivy attacks we slept most of the day and then went into town with Boo's parents on Sat night for the free concert - wheee! What a mass of tatooed drunk high and normal-looking (wehatever that is) young people
Jello Biafria calling upon us to look back at the Washington monument:
...ever get the feeling youre being Watched? I do, look at the Great KlansMan in the Sky, with his Pubic Flags, a giant Phallus of Whiteness yeah, I know I said I would keep it clean but Im sorry, I just cant resist, I mean, LOOK AT IT! etc etc much laughter
hes still pretty damn cool and Punk Rock all these years later.
Fave Memories:
I Actually *loved* the Inter-Faith Gathering on Sunday night - it was open out under tents like an old timy revival to strengthen the resolve of protesters who signed up for and were educated as to procedures and peaceful non-violence for the Monday am arrests at the Whitehouse gates.
Togetherness and Support:
Priests, a Muslem Imam, Two Jewish Rabbis, many sorts of Christians, our Irish Catholic Sistah who won the Nobel Peace Prize back in the day, an elder from New Orleans, a representative of the Hip Hop Contingent who gave a most elegant prayer, the founder of TIKKUN Magazine who spoke on economic warfare and the need for a spiritual left response to the pain and spiritual hole in Americans living in the capital value system...
it was so special when up stood our elegant Buddhist brothers (one of whom was born on the death-day of Harriet Tubman) and one Japanese Buddhist Monk proceeded to knock Cornell West and all of the rest of us off our chairs with his spirit-channeled deep voiced and loudly sung
"Go Down Moses" - you had to be there, so incredible!
Much Drumming and chanting with israli and Arab brothers and sisters we slept over their place singing late into the night Shalom Salaam Shalom Salaam... much beatboxing and free styling too... someone slipped us some magic brownies too.
Marching Monday:
the next am we arrived from our DC Transit station just in time to join the front of the right hand flank of the marchers (Who parted in the center to surround the Whitehouse with our march and chants) then re-joined at the front, we marched to the Pharaohs gates (thinking of Go Down Moses...Let My People Go... Bring the Troops Home Now)
We were met at the White House by all manner of performance artists, flower-carrying tall hot young men (wild!), anarchist youth, teenagers looking for the party, babies and mothers, nude babes being Breasts For Peace, priests and clergy of every sort of denomination and affiliation, old Vietnam Vets who broke down and shouted out their stories of rehab and madness and post-traumatic stress (not shown on the TV news)
The brave mobilized once more with prayer and the Imam chanted and the Rabbis sent forth with blessing and the Christians called upon Christ for help, and they went to the guardhouse led by Cindy Sheehan.
They were of course tuned away, a giant Code Pink contingent ran up and delivered a giant stack of "Reasons to Get Out of Iraq" and folk turned left to the front of the gate before the Whitehouse facade.
They began hanging the nameplates from around their necks upon the gate - soon the Whitehouse black iron picket fence was full of names of Iraqi and US dead, along with banners, and people clinging to the iron bars, people sitting down in front of the gate and the horses of the mounted police snorted and stood in line. (They seemed ready to charge at one point but turned back after much vigorous chanting of "Get those Animals Off those Horses!" tactical change with the Press right there to witness things - much chanting of "The Whole World Is Watching" )
Prayer broke out with Cornell West and the Imam and the Rabbis kneeling together. 3 Iraq Vets Against The War stood in a handsome tableau in front of the gates and behind Cindy Sheehan.
I joined a Black clergyman standing behind the Press corps in singing with much feeling "Oh Freedom" and "We Shall Overcome" w many many joining us on "we shall Live in Peace/This Day..."
Then the anarchist youth activists jumping around in a happy circle singing "Arrest Bush! Arrest Bush!" noticed the snipers on the roof behind us to our right (we had all already seen the snipers and secret service on the white house roof & walking near us in their "I'm just a Tourist" dark sunglasses shorts , radios cell phones earpieces & fat bellies)
sigh.
We were a bunch of kids, grandmothers & grandfathers, Cindy Sheehan, some chicks in pink and a whole bunch of reverends and other holy people : you sure need to point so many guns at THOSE people, dontcha. "what is this, today is Kent State day?", I thought
But thankfully, it was not.
These people "in power" are seriously crazy.
Peace & Keep On
Amatul
We were there in DC, Me and my Mate, recovering from vicious Poison Ivy attacks we slept most of the day and then went into town with Boo's parents on Sat night for the free concert - wheee! What a mass of tatooed drunk high and normal-looking (wehatever that is) young people
Jello Biafria calling upon us to look back at the Washington monument:
...ever get the feeling youre being Watched? I do, look at the Great KlansMan in the Sky, with his Pubic Flags, a giant Phallus of Whiteness yeah, I know I said I would keep it clean but Im sorry, I just cant resist, I mean, LOOK AT IT! etc etc much laughter
hes still pretty damn cool and Punk Rock all these years later.
Fave Memories:
I Actually *loved* the Inter-Faith Gathering on Sunday night - it was open out under tents like an old timy revival to strengthen the resolve of protesters who signed up for and were educated as to procedures and peaceful non-violence for the Monday am arrests at the Whitehouse gates.
Togetherness and Support:
Priests, a Muslem Imam, Two Jewish Rabbis, many sorts of Christians, our Irish Catholic Sistah who won the Nobel Peace Prize back in the day, an elder from New Orleans, a representative of the Hip Hop Contingent who gave a most elegant prayer, the founder of TIKKUN Magazine who spoke on economic warfare and the need for a spiritual left response to the pain and spiritual hole in Americans living in the capital value system...
it was so special when up stood our elegant Buddhist brothers (one of whom was born on the death-day of Harriet Tubman) and one Japanese Buddhist Monk proceeded to knock Cornell West and all of the rest of us off our chairs with his spirit-channeled deep voiced and loudly sung
"Go Down Moses" - you had to be there, so incredible!
Much Drumming and chanting with israli and Arab brothers and sisters we slept over their place singing late into the night Shalom Salaam Shalom Salaam... much beatboxing and free styling too... someone slipped us some magic brownies too.
Marching Monday:
the next am we arrived from our DC Transit station just in time to join the front of the right hand flank of the marchers (Who parted in the center to surround the Whitehouse with our march and chants) then re-joined at the front, we marched to the Pharaohs gates (thinking of Go Down Moses...Let My People Go... Bring the Troops Home Now)
We were met at the White House by all manner of performance artists, flower-carrying tall hot young men (wild!), anarchist youth, teenagers looking for the party, babies and mothers, nude babes being Breasts For Peace, priests and clergy of every sort of denomination and affiliation, old Vietnam Vets who broke down and shouted out their stories of rehab and madness and post-traumatic stress (not shown on the TV news)
The brave mobilized once more with prayer and the Imam chanted and the Rabbis sent forth with blessing and the Christians called upon Christ for help, and they went to the guardhouse led by Cindy Sheehan.
They were of course tuned away, a giant Code Pink contingent ran up and delivered a giant stack of "Reasons to Get Out of Iraq" and folk turned left to the front of the gate before the Whitehouse facade.
They began hanging the nameplates from around their necks upon the gate - soon the Whitehouse black iron picket fence was full of names of Iraqi and US dead, along with banners, and people clinging to the iron bars, people sitting down in front of the gate and the horses of the mounted police snorted and stood in line. (They seemed ready to charge at one point but turned back after much vigorous chanting of "Get those Animals Off those Horses!" tactical change with the Press right there to witness things - much chanting of "The Whole World Is Watching" )
Prayer broke out with Cornell West and the Imam and the Rabbis kneeling together. 3 Iraq Vets Against The War stood in a handsome tableau in front of the gates and behind Cindy Sheehan.
I joined a Black clergyman standing behind the Press corps in singing with much feeling "Oh Freedom" and "We Shall Overcome" w many many joining us on "we shall Live in Peace/This Day..."
Then the anarchist youth activists jumping around in a happy circle singing "Arrest Bush! Arrest Bush!" noticed the snipers on the roof behind us to our right (we had all already seen the snipers and secret service on the white house roof & walking near us in their "I'm just a Tourist" dark sunglasses shorts , radios cell phones earpieces & fat bellies)
sigh.
We were a bunch of kids, grandmothers & grandfathers, Cindy Sheehan, some chicks in pink and a whole bunch of reverends and other holy people : you sure need to point so many guns at THOSE people, dontcha. "what is this, today is Kent State day?", I thought
But thankfully, it was not.
These people "in power" are seriously crazy.
Peace & Keep On
Amatul