Action inside & out
We are finally inside & have located Anita and Charlene, who came in early to save our space, spread out our peace blanket, and blow up pink balloons. The balloons, with bold peace symbols they've drawn on each one, are piled inside items of clothing to keep them from drifting.
I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for these two cp’ers to be in the midst of all this pro-war fever by themselves, etching giant peace symbols on balloons, to the cadence of Powell’s glorification of soldiers in Iraq – Haditha fresh in our minds. The rest of us were outside at entrances handing out the number.
I want to leave immediately. All around me, enthralled faces worship their version of ‘patriotism’ = support our president, support our war, support our troops by keeping them in Iraq until ‘the job is done’.
The talk of democracy & freedom – both bringing it to Iraqis and protecting it for North Americans – abounds. I study my blackberry while the other women talk of pinning letters to our backs, spelling peace, holding hands & walking around the crowd, weaving our way out the concert.
An actor reads an account by a soldier of a mortar that has hit his buddies inside an armored vehicle, killing each one of them. An actress reads a letter from a mother whose son is dead. We are all weeping. Even the people sitting around us are hushed and somber, traces of tears shimmering in the fake lights. It is not clear if they are using these deaths as fuel for more revenge or fuel for saying NO MORE & ending war.
We decide to walk out. At the gates, we take up position again, this time handing out the Reso #93 flyer. We ask people to help end this war. We tell them there is a bill right now in the Senate to end this war by 12/31/06.
So many people take the flyer, we run out long before the crowd has thinned. Few people have screamed “I support war”. I just ask them “You don’t want this war to end?”
Some snarl no! But most just turn heel in disgust - or is it shame? I call after them“how can you not want this war to be over?” in my deepest, most incredulous voice.
I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for these two cp’ers to be in the midst of all this pro-war fever by themselves, etching giant peace symbols on balloons, to the cadence of Powell’s glorification of soldiers in Iraq – Haditha fresh in our minds. The rest of us were outside at entrances handing out the number.
I want to leave immediately. All around me, enthralled faces worship their version of ‘patriotism’ = support our president, support our war, support our troops by keeping them in Iraq until ‘the job is done’.
The talk of democracy & freedom – both bringing it to Iraqis and protecting it for North Americans – abounds. I study my blackberry while the other women talk of pinning letters to our backs, spelling peace, holding hands & walking around the crowd, weaving our way out the concert.
An actor reads an account by a soldier of a mortar that has hit his buddies inside an armored vehicle, killing each one of them. An actress reads a letter from a mother whose son is dead. We are all weeping. Even the people sitting around us are hushed and somber, traces of tears shimmering in the fake lights. It is not clear if they are using these deaths as fuel for more revenge or fuel for saying NO MORE & ending war.
We decide to walk out. At the gates, we take up position again, this time handing out the Reso #93 flyer. We ask people to help end this war. We tell them there is a bill right now in the Senate to end this war by 12/31/06.
So many people take the flyer, we run out long before the crowd has thinned. Few people have screamed “I support war”. I just ask them “You don’t want this war to end?”
Some snarl no! But most just turn heel in disgust - or is it shame? I call after them“how can you not want this war to be over?” in my deepest, most incredulous voice.
posted by Xan @ 10:01 PM
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