DC Observations of 9/24/05

I’ve had a history of staying out of politics. I’ve had a past of not reading the newspaper, of not watching the news, and also of not paying any mind at all to history and how it affects us today. My views have currently been changing, when it struck me as to how selfish and ignorant a stand such as this can be. Our government has been hard at work, not protecting our freedoms, but infringing on them, causing us to lose our rights and liberty’s bit by bit, law after ever restricting law. We can change this, if we all join together and stand for what we believe in.
Our government is run on collectivist theories, meaning that they pass laws and decide what to do based on what’s best for the ‘whole’. The question we must ask ourselves is, who is this whole that they are benefiting? The common man, or corporations? The victims of Hurricane Katrina, or the CEO’s of company’s like Halliburton? We must ask ourselves, as individuals of the ‘whole’, do we agree with the direction and management of our current government? Based on what I saw in DC, and then again at a presentation a few days later at University of Buffalo by David Orr, Americans are fed up.

We are tired of the lies, tired of the government control and mainstream media’s acquiescence in spreading the lies of the state. Why is it that we are truly involved in this Iraq war; to spread peace and democracy (peace by the means of military action?) or for oil and global conquest? And is it right to go wage wars in other country’s, costing taxpayers millions and millions, while we can’t afford to feed and house all the poor starving people in our own country?!?

Tens of thousands of people arrived in the nation’s capital on September 24, 2005, to voice their disagreement with and outrage at our government and how they are running this country. A very diverse group of people came from all around the country. Peace activists, veterans and active duty service members, church congregations, families, democrats, communists, anarchists, celebrities, retirees, displaced New Orleaners, people from the ‘bible belt’- in short, Americans from all walks of life.

We came to pray, we came to sing, we came to shout and to parade around with banners and signs. We came to celebrate and exercise democracy, and our rights to assemble and speak out against that with which we do not agree. At one point during the protest, while standing outside of the White House, Jesse Jackson and Cindy Sheehan appeared in the crowd, not 10 feet from where I stood. As soon as people realized they were there, everyone crowded around and there were cameras everywhere. They stopped, bowed their heads and said a short prayer, and then were escorted elsewhere by the human body armor, a group of people linked arm in arm to ensure their protection.

Bush supporters also showed up at DC, holding signs saying ‘Freedom isn’t Free’ and ‘You’re free because they fought’. It seemed like the only platform they had to run on was supporting our troops. Not that any of us protestors had a problem with that, support the troops, yes, (at least the ones that aren’t giving in to pressures of using torture), we don’t agree with the administration and the reasons that they have declared this war. How is it that our government can declare war on another country, in order to free the people and remove a dictator from power, but then not report the death toll of Iraqis killed during said war?

The pro-war crowd had expected about 20,000 people to show up... the highest number I’ve seen reported is 400. And I only saw maybe 80-100 of them. To be fair, though, I estimated that 6-8,000 people showed up on our side, and it was really 100-200,000, so I am not the most reliable crowd counter.

Not everyone there had only peaceful protest on his or her minds. At one point I walked along with a group of young people, most between age 15-23 or so, whom I referred to as the ‘Black-Ops’, because they were dressed mostly in black with black hats and bandanas covering most of their face. This crowd was pumped up, shouting chants like “What’s the solution? People’s revolution! What’s the reaction? Direct action!” and “Whose streets? OUR streets!!!”. Those in the front of this group decided to break off from the main march, and started walking down streets that weren’t blocked off by the police, 4-500 people causing traffic to turn around and police to scramble in trying to follow us. Then some of the ‘Black-Ops’ overturned a dumpster in the middle of the street, and started dragging newspaper boxes out in the streets, and continued doing this for 3-4 blocks. The police were right behind us, but did nothing except to move what they had put in the road back to the curb.

Then a few people picked up rocks and pieces of concrete that were lying around, and started throwing them at the windows of buildings we were passing by, and also at some cars parked along the street. The police followed and observed, yet did nothing still. One of the ‘Black-Ops’ ran up to a flagpole, and started unwinding the rope to bring the flag down. That did it. A group of cops ran up to the pole, scattering those that were trying to bring down the flag. I was near the very back of the group, and the police directly behind us were on motorcycles. They started loudly revving their engines, and closed in on us to a point where their front tires were not but a foot or two away from my heels. Then, from behind that, came the sound of gunfire. I’ve never seen 400 people disperse so quickly, it was like a giant broom came down from the sky and swept them away. People ran straight, and down alleyways to the left and the right. I didn’t run, and neither did my friends Chris and B.J., and maybe around 10 others. We were calling for people to - Come back! Don’t run! Safety in numbers! - but to no avail. It seems as though the police had been planning this, as all of a sudden they swarmed in from all different directions, some on motorcycle, some on bicycle, some in cars, and some others on foot in full riot gear.

Surely their goal was to disperse the crowd, get us into smaller, more manageable numbers, which they accomplished quite quickly and easily. They went after some, took them to the ground and arrested them, and those of us that were left they intimidated and bullied into leaving, telling us that our little protest was over, and it was time to move on.

For but a moment, however, the youth had stood up, made a statement that we will not be lied to, you are sending our friends to die in a war for oil and we will not take it anymore. You’ll listen to us or we will make you listen.

However, I can not bring myself along to agree with the methods of the ‘Black-Ops’. Tipping things over, dragging them in the road, causing destruction of property, and then running scared when you hear a noise (which turned out to be a gunshot noisemaker of some sort), instead of bearing witness if they actually did open fire on U.S. citizens for merely destroying some property, seems cowardly and ineffective in my opinion. Stand for what you believe in, rally and protest, but giving them fuel to further take away our rights will not accomplish what it is we are setting out to do. I know it seems like nothing is being done, that we are being ignored and that the things we are doing aren’t making any difference. You have to be a little bit patient. Realize that we will prevail, and that we are in the early midst of revolution, and that change will come. Keep mobilizing, keep protesting, and write letters to newspapers and Congressmen and Senators. Keep up hope, the people are out there, they just need a sane and rational voice that they can get behind and believe in. People are waking up to 9-11, to the Iraq war, seeing the atrocious government response to Katrina, and paying ever-increasing prices at the pumps. We are tired of rising poverty levels and taxes, while huge corporations benefit from tax breaks and government subsidies. We are also tired of being accused of being unpatriotic, of not loving our country, of being traitors. Nothing could be further from the truth. We view our dissent as wholly American. We are sickened by our government waging murderous and illegitimate wars, of torturing people and justifying it, holding people indefinitely without right to counsel, suppressing science that doesn’t fit its agenda, destroying the environment, and enforcing a culture of greed, bigotry, intolerance and ignorance.

Are we as a people going to sit by and let this happen? Are we convinced that this is the only way that things can be done, the only way that we as Americans can continue enjoying our freedoms and liberties? Do people now think that nothing can be done to stop them, or are we simply waiting for the next election? People, we can not afford to wait. We must stand up now, and take back control and the power. On Wednesday, November 2, 2005, a nationwide mobilization will take place. I urge you all, take off of work, don’t go to school, instead congregate at your city hall or town square, and make a statement of your beliefs. State, loudly and clearly, “No! This regime does not represent us! And we will drive it out!”

I am NOT advocating that you go the way of the ‘Black Ops’ and destroy property, but I am advocating that you excersize your constitutional rights to peacefully assemble. It’s in the Bill of Rights, in the First Amendment.

Please, don’t believe all that you watch on the nightly news, or that you read in the newspaper (they are probably owned by the same people), or even believe all that I have stated here today. What I would like you to do, each and every one of you, is to read, to research for yourself, to educate yourself, learn about what is going on, and stand up for what you believe.

Ghandi said, “We must become the change we want to see in the world.”

Please heed these words of wisdom.