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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Tar Sands protest: where o where can you be?


I am still unable to rouse the Tar Sands protestors to find out where to join them. I have tried emailing and posting to the website. I got a weird email back asking if I've signed up at the website - where do they think I got the email from?

I originally read the early reports saying they were in Livingston Tx, which is about 80 miles north of Houston – but Democracy Now & other newspaper articles, are now saying the blockade is in Winnsboro, which is outside of Dallas.

I’m peeved, as I could/would have come thru Dallas, if Livingston was not mentioned originally. It’s over 250 miles from Houston, where I’m dropping Jess off, to Winnsboro. I would only have enough veggie oil to just barely get there.

After I drop Jess & her stuff off in Houston, I'll be about 250 miles from my veggie oil guy in Louisiana. If I head north, I’ll be over 500 miles from him, which means at least 50 gallons of diesel – not just cost prohibitive but how can I justify protesting a crude oil pipe line if I’m going to be using so much diesel?

I’ll drop Jess off, head to Louisiana to fill up with veggie oil and continue my trip – and I’ll plan on joining the protest on my return in December.

 

The pros

I've gotten quite a few positive reactions on the road, and from a few folks who have come up to talk with me when we've stopped on the rare occasion at a rest stop. Running veggie oil, having a camper, and carrying my own food, I rarely have to stop.

Although most positives I speak with seem to be focused on anti-Monsanto, one older white womon with a "no fracking" bumper sticker on her car - and an Obama sticker - comes to tell me she has taken an informal presidential survey across the country.

She's most likely in her later 70's, altho she is spry & weathered. She tells me she just attended a high school reunion in San Diego, but not she lives in New York. As consistent with her generation, she eyes the two of us and declares our rig is a two-man outfit!

Also as consistent w/her generation, she tells me she doesn't ask people who they are voting for but whether they have made up their minds.

Then she launches into a pro-Obama speech, blaming all his troubles on the mess Bush left him & expressing her deep distress over this, claiming things would be much different had Obama gotten the presidency pre-Bush.

Maybe be, I say, but maybe what is happening is nothing new. I talk about my timeline over u.s.a. aggression over the past 400 years and mention how now we are attacking at least 6 other countries - seems like same old same old to me.

She is not interested in criticizing Obama & I'm not interested in that discussion either so I talk with her about the Tar Sands protest, which she is unbelievably not familiar with. I confirm that her's is the "no fracking" car & then urge her to stop at the protest, as she is going to drive right by it. She said she'll think about it and shuffles off to her car.

Another younger, but by not too much, white womon jumps out of the passenger side of a large, new pickup truck that is burdened by one of those old, heavy overhead campers. She is swinging a fancy-looking camera and asking us if she can take our picture. Jess ducks into the bathroom while I beam "sure"!

She is heading from California to Florida to help her daughter move. She expresses her deep hatred for Monsanto but talks about Prop 37, declaring it is going to win. I ask her if she intends to be back in time to vote & she assures me she is.

I suggest to her also, that they stop at the Tar Sands protest. She makes vague promises to look it up as she focuses her camera on the truck, wanting us to wave as we pull off!