Just a partial photo diary of Saturday in Portland. I’m still stunned by the anger and hatred of the Marine recruiters. As some read earlier, a recruiter clapped his hands in front of my face into a mock gun shape and pretended to shoot me. Another Marine tried to engage in a screamfest with me when I first arrived. I guess women in pink are a threat to these ‘hero warriors’.
So brave…. not. Recruiters wear t-shirts and play hip hop from their humvees
We stood right in front of their tent. The Marines were threatened by this and we had to “move along”
At least some in service, those lovely sailors, were willing to state what happened. No one spoke to me though.
These are the Friday vigil dudes that I adore.
A spokesperson for Jesus told us to go to hell and called us a bunch a names.
Couldn’t walk on the same sidewalk as some peace activists….or they’re used to walking in ditches
Trying to stop a war makes you the enemy of the state.
At the beginning of the protest – there were only a few of us. Then families joined in and by the time I went home – there were at least 60 of us marching up and down the avenue (we had to leave the fountain park… the Marines were just too afraid of us) So we had to march up and down one street, back and forth.
Which crossed the path of the Navy recruiting station which was right next to a bible-type Christian Soldier tent… but that’s for another day.
I’ll never understand this marriage between Christianity and the military. For God’s sake did they never read what Jesus said about killing and spilling the blood of innocents?
DJ, I hope you will write a LTE about that Marine recruiter. That guy is dangerous. He might even be the kind of soldier who breaks down the door of a family’s home and shoots the children in cold blood.
I really wonder how the police, or Homeland Security for that matter, would have reacted if Janet, or another marcher had pretended to shoot a Marine. I already know the answer.
I was standing next to a woman holding a baby when that occured.
Marines and War – good
Peace… bad.
The Jesus and Recruiting combo is dangerous and many support it. We had women with children flipping us the finger. Grown men throwing insults at us…
But there were also people giving us the peace sign and joining in with us.
But still… the whole thing of religion and military is disgusting.
I can’t believe that Americans can’t see how wrong it is. I’m still shaken up by yesterday. I expected bullshit from the crowd but not the military. They used to be trained to not engage.
Yeah, holding a Bible in one hand and flipping you off with the other. And they complain about the Pakastani and Afghan Hadrassas, where children are taught to hate the West and the Infidels. Hatred all around the world being taught to innocent babies. We’re a crazy, fucked up species, bent on destruction.
amongst other things. Separation of Church and Hate…
They had a huge set up on the park – there were several just like it.
He was screaming into his bullhorn and this is where he is calling us “whiney bitches” and going “wahhh wahhh”.
THis is when some joined the peace movement. Some took our extra signs and joined in due to this asshole.
You know Janet, even though I’m an Athiest, I would have to believe that any God, as described by Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. when making decisions about who goes to heaven, and who doesn’t, would surely give this punk freak and those like him, an express ticket to hell. Sometimes I wish there were a God, if only for the knowledge that one day, all of these pretenders to Jesus’ teachings would get to have one searing moment of confusion and terror when coming to the realization that they have served the cause of evil all along and for their sins they will roast in eternity.
And it would be even better if somehow we could watch that moment of horror and confusion. 🙂
a few weeks ago. I had been searching and searching and you know what.. for me, Christianity really bites. For me.
I watched “The god who wasn’t there” and man… why would I want to deal with that stuff. IT’s so close to how people justify torture and murder in war – with how Christianity treats women, gays…. they justify it.
Oh? I thought God was about love and peace…
Then there’s the whole bad sin of all… doubting aka critical thought.
I’m not anti-Christian… I just no loner am searching for that anymore. If anything, Bush accomplished, for me – he killed Jesus.
You know, Christianity is like Western civilization. It would be great if there actually was some.
See, I take the point of view that Jesus wasn’t a Christian. Never set out to create a new religion. Never heard the word. The takeaway for me is that Christianity really boils down to two simple rules that I mentioned over in the open thread:
With, of course, your neighbor being everybody.
It means you (a theoretically Christian you) have to love that Marine who mock-shot you. You have to love the wackjob with the bullhorn. You even have to love George Bush and John Bolton, bless their pointed little heads. It’s a very difficult thing, and I don’t know very many people who can do it. I sure can’t, not all the time, even though I try. All the rest of it — original sin, the council of Nicea, heaven, hell, fish on Friday, the whole package — is just baggage added on by other people until it’s hard to see the underlying truth.
Oh, and by the way, just because I say I’m supposed to love George Bush as myself doesn’t mean I want him running the country. It doesn’t even mean I don’t want him punished for what he’s done. Sometimes I have a hard time reconciling those positions.
I see mostly pain and horrors from the bible. I’ve tried for so long to find the peace loving Jesus dude… my energy needs to go elsewhere. I can’t say I’m “I beleive except for the part about torture, the inquisitions, killing of women, the hits (so many killed in the name of God), the oppression of anything that isn’t male… I could go on and on.
Plus.. sciense over superstition or myth over medicine is sooooooooo political nowadys. I see nothing but opposition and exceptions when I try to find the face of Jesus. Only place I find peace is from those who are trying to help share peace.
I think reading Christ’s words pretty much indicates that Christianity as we see much of it isn’t found in his words, like : “Blessed are the peacemakers. . . “
And remember, he also drove the money-changers out of the temple”you’ve made my father’s house a den of thieves”. . .
Whether or not you believe he was a holy person, son of god, etc. there isn’t much there to support what is happening now in the “name of Christ”.
I wish that if/when Christ comes back (the jury’s still out on that one), He’ll first take legal action against the folks that have dragged His name through the dirt.
The God and Christ I acknowledge bear little resemblence to the Ones championed by the militarists and the Religious Reich, save in Names only. I am very pleased that the hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers” did not make it into the current Episcopal hymnal — even though it speaks of a spiritual, not physical, war, the imagery is too ripe for misuse.
The Christ I know and love commanded us to care for the least of our brothers and sisters…and there’s very little of that in the “Christian” George Bush’s current budget.
And yeah, Omir, I struggle with the same thing, loving those who seem to not deserve loving — at times I have to settle for mourning the loss of what could have been a productive life were it not for the wrong path chosen at a certain point of time…
If I were to continue being a christian, I have to omit so much of the stuff I can’t agree with in the bible or from the followers. It’s simply no longer worth it to me. I guess you could say my religion is my own journey. As I said, I’m not anti-Christian… there’s people like you in my life and others who are splendid examples of what I thought Christians were… it’s just that it’s not for me anymore. I can’t keep up with the “I’m a Christian, but…” anymore 🙂
Right now Bush and his from of Christianity is what is killing my kid’s future for progress from disease, education, it’s killing friends of mine who are gay…
I simply can’t have it in my life anymore.
It’d be like me marching to stop pollution while driving a hummer and tossing toxic litter on the road while doing it. 🙂
Then Janet, I suggest picking up some writings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and read what HE says about Jesus. He believes that there is something to learn from all religions as their basic component, at their core, is compassion for fellow beings. Sometimes I wonder whether the Dalai Lama isn’t a Buddha because he seems soooo enlightened. Of course he will never admit it if he is, too crass and arrogant. Don’t let the crass and arrogant (who are they to understand God’s will in the first place, they can’t even hear his/her true voice without self-abnegating, it’s beyond our puny human minds to comprehend, hence the burning bush speaking to Moses) turn you off.
I’m not a Christian, but it saddens me that a confused man, a confused human being like GWB, could kill some of the wisest teachings in human history for you. Don’t let that happen.
Thanks JeffersonDemocrat
I called on the radio today because they had a man speaking about being an activist and being religions and I told him basically about what all has happned to me latley and how I just can’t seem to stomach the christian hypocrisy anymore… and he said pretty much the same thing you have here that the good seeds of Christianity strengthen his faith which is .. crap I know Ill get this worng… Moslem?) it was very touching.
So I’m not closing my mind off. I’m just tuning out the hate.
It wasn’t just W, it’s the hypocrisy of so many I see that say they are christians (blog pals here excepting) my own family hates me and thinks I am dead due to their “faith”. I’m not anti-christian… I’m just… needing to filter energy for me. I’m still learning. And thank you so much for more lessons. 🙂
That’s a good way of looking at it. I mean, try and step back for a moment and compare: who expresses “Christian” values more, this guy in the photos or Martin Luther King? This guy or Mother Theresa? I know Ghandi was Hindu, but that even more rienforces my point of compassion and peace being the root of great religions. As MM said in his post, these people spend more time on the old test than the new – they forget Jesus was more concerned about whores, lepers, and thieves than the power of a church, turning over the temple tax collector’s tables! Possibly my favorite part of the New Test.
I also disagree, respectfully of course, with many posters who urge anger as a motivator. I again have to revert to HH Dalai Lama who believe, as do Buddhists in general, that anger is a very bad emotion that is a precursor to jealosy and hate. It stifles one’s own spiritual and mental development. And this comes from a guy who lost his whole country and has had thousands of his followers tortured and murdered since the fifties! I know, I am very angry myself, with myself. I am angry with what I did in the military, I am angry at having lost so many years in a drunken haze, I am angry at losing someone lately that I felt for like no other woman I’ve felt for in my life. But the meditation helps and in the end, I am the only one responsible for my anger and I am gradually learning not to be angry.
Lastly I want to congratulate you on your march. That took courage indeed to face of with the Marines and the fanatic, civil courage. That is a trait of true patriotism. I applaud your work with Code Pink, I think you folks are fantastic. I once wrote to Medea after she wrote an anti-war piece and told her that I was a combat vet and that I found her and her organization just as important in serving the country as defending our shores, because it is defending our shores from certain nefarious domestic enemies. I never recieved a reply but if you see her, please pass on my regards from an anonymous vet who supports her and you all.
You are doing good work, keep up the good fight and don’t lose faith – on many different levels!
Your friend,
JD
Wow… so much to digest. Thank you! That’s why I’m here on these blogs… to try to learn and grow.
I’m sorry for your loss… and I’m also grateful to you for sharing your struggles and lessons. Truly that for me right now – this day, as tomorrow will most likely change me – is my religion, the ability to TRY to live, learn, laugh and love.
It’s just that for right now it’s like trying to cram the idea of Christianity into a hole that doesn’t quite fit. (round peg, square hole) the more I try to make it fit, the more I see I don’t quite need that particular peg.
I see so many use Jesus as a way to attack so many… I know it’s wrong… but sometimes a person just has to say “enough”. Right now… I can’t deal with that aspect right now. Right now I have to focus on my two kids, their future and anti-war activism. And for now – that just doesn’t swing with the “majority’s” use of the idea of Jesus.
You didn’t hear back from Medea? That’s a bit understandable, I hear she is sooooooooo busy and sometimes not even in the US. I met her once in DC but briefly. Medea at the front of the line in DC 9/24
I’ll make sure that when I do get to meet her – my message will be to pass on yours. Thank you 🙂
That, my dear, is exactly why I believe that we are on this little blue speck of dust in the middle of nowhere. I believe that is the meaning of life, so simple and in front of our noses that everyone seems to miss it in the hectic day-to-day rat race of modern society.
Just heard a roar outside my window and horns are blowing, I guess Germany just won another game in the World Cup.
One last interesting tidbit about the Dalai Lama if you decide to pick up some of his writings (I suggest The Art of Happiness: written for the western audience with a shrink from AZ, not Buddhist doctrine, just how to have a meaningful life and be happy). Since you are in Code Pink and may strong feelings on abortion, the Dalai Lama is very much against abortion. Nevertheless, I find his reasoning sound and non-hypocritical. It’s not an issue of controlling a woman’s reproductive rights, it’s about the belief in not harming other sentient beings (human or otherwise) as they believe it takes eons to have the chance to become a human being and that the being inside the mother could even be a relative returning. Hell, they believe that we were all each others parents at on time or another. We just have to keep coming back til we get it right. So an abortion would be denying another being’s right to come back and give life another try. And if that being did reach enlightenment in it’s current lifetime, then that would deprive countless others from learning from that being’s wisdom. Karma = cause and effect. The point is not to let that turn you off either.
I just got word that Medea will be interviewed here in Portland on the radio and they put out a call for a local CP’er to join the interview. Katie said she would if no one wanted to and I offered to do it with her as we’ve done before. I’ll make sure to copy your comment and pass it to her or say it on air … IF … they ask me to go on the radio.
Your friend, Janet
That would be super cool! The point I wanted to make is simply that Code Pink has allies within the military establishment and that we are appreciative of CP’s efforts. Not all by a long shot, but there are a few. My letter (email) was more of a message of support from a typically unlikely source.
Rock on!
Murtha 🙂
Veterans for Peace 🙂 🙂
Neighbors who were in the navy. Even those sailors thanked me.
I look at this photo of the lone Marine who risked being arrested for standing with CodePink ladies at their vigils at Walter Reed hospital…
and you.
water in the eyes… now you’ve done it, you’ve made the big, bad former green beret cry!
I am convinced that God reserves some of the worst punishments for those who commit atrocities in His name.
Maybe you should have pointed out that China now has favored trade status and was endorsed to join the WTO by the United States. There are no Commies anymore only trade partners.
That is a most excellent point! I wish you were there with us that day to say that 🙂 The No War Drum Corps had a bullhorn too – he said that we weren’t just Christians but Buddhists, Baptists, Atheists and Agnostics – the whole alphabet.
I don’t recall what the screamer said to that. But I do know he made such an ass out of himself that at least one family grabbed signs and joined with us and even marched.
When the moderate right joins your side because of one religious jerk then you know your winning the hearts and minds of many others in the process.
Got to love the jerks like this one. It’s better than money in the bank because you don’t have to prove your point. You let them do it for you.
I would have had Waaayyyy Toooo Muuuuch Fuuunnn had I been out there with you.
(((Second Nature)))
I will attempt to explain the answer to this question since you asked about it. My background here is that I spent about two years defending the clinics in my area from the stupidity of so called “Christians”.
Most of the hardcore “Christians” I would meet had never enlisted in the military. Their idea of how the military works or is like can be found in Tom Clancy, Dale Brown type “fiction” novels. Some of these type of Christians would claim to have served in Vietnam during the war. You could tell from how they would describe their experiences that they had no clue if you were a Vietnam Vet. Vets can tell in a heartbeat if another vet ever saw any combat. It’s in their eyes when you look at them.
Now for some bizarre reason the born again crowd is not really big on the teachings of Christ even though they invoke his name for just about every reason. They spend a great deal of time reading the old testament and very little time with the new testament.
There is kind of a group paranoia that is always submerged under the surface of every born again Christian. Associated with this is the conviction that they are being persecuted. Call them wanna be martyrs. I call it the Christ Complex because deep down inside they are people who attempted to deal with the problems in their lives but have failed miserably in taking responsibility for their mistakes and actions.
This is one of the reasons the natural prey of a Christian is the drug user, alcoholic and those with mental health problems. These type of people after suffering a trauma which made them rethink their actions which they cannot justify or come to terms with instead “find religion”.
Now if they have never served in the military during a war they feel guilty that they might be called “cowards” for not serving. One thing the cult of born again Christians is big on is not being labeled “Cowards, Gay or having any female traits”. Born again Christians are very big and rooted in the world of the Male Domionist. All traits such as love, peace, tenderness, forgiveness, tolerance and understanding are considered the path to Evil. Their world consist of being tough, uncompromising and above all else Manly.
This is where the military comes into the picture. The military is tough, uncompromising and manly so they tie this into their world view irregardless of any service in the military. If they haven’t served they are compelled to “read” and “research” how military service would have been and how they would have acted in a combat situation. So it is only inevitable that after learning everything they can they create a Walter Mitty world for themselves.
Another thing Christians learn after they are born again is “Repeating Works”. It’s like the magic bullet that will “save them from the fires of hell”. In learning this they become very good at being “self induced brainwashing”. In other words they re-program themselves to “believe”. Now that they are “believers” they realize that mentally they can be anything they want to be since this will give them complete control over their lives.
With the control comes the feeling of being all knowing and all powerful. This means they can never show any weakness, fear or “cowardice” in the group think that occurs in the church they attend. So what happens in the group think is that they feel competition to “prove” how “all knowing” they are on every subject. Christians are always “Right”. Their whole world is built on never being or admitting they are “Wrong”.
Once again this is where the military comes in. In the military they assume, quite incorrectly, that you can never show “fear” and you will do your “duty” and when confronted with the “enemy” which is dehumanized and represents “evil” you will “kill the enemy” and in doing so make the world a safer place for all your fellow Christians. So in defeating the enemy they have conquered Evil and sent them to hell for all eternity. It’s a “Better thee than me” sort of thought process.
One Christian who brought his entire family to the protest every weekend once stated that I was a “Hero” because I was a Vietnam Veteran but would also call me a “Baby Killer”. I told him that I wasn’t a “hero” in Vietnam because he was right. I was a “Baby Killer”.
He was totally shocked when I agreed with him that I was a “Baby Killer”. I told him in no uncertain terms that I had helped kill innocent women and children that just happened to be in the same area as the enemy that we bombed in Vietnam. So yes I was a “Baby Killer” because that is part of the duty one does when your in the military. You can either admit to your responsiblities, actions and face the direct results of those actions or you can live with a illusion of reality for the rest of your life.
I never saw him or his family at a protest again after I blew away his self induced insanity in front of his entire family.
Reality can never be the perfect world that a born again Christian lives in or professes that they will save a person from. The born again Christian never realizes or will admit that what they believe and profess to believe is at completely out of touch with reality that requires actions to match real world situations.
I hope this has shed some light on the connection the born again movement makes with the military establishment. I’m sure I missed a lot of other points but this might cover most of them. One of the keys to defeating any opponent is called “getting to know your enemy”. A large part of that is understanding the world the enemy lives in.
Born-again Christians live in a world that is completely black and white – what a comfort that must be! They are all about defeating the ‘enemy’, whether that enemy is a foreign land that they believe has attacked us, public schools that are trying to persecute them by removing biblical references and prayer from the halls, or homosexuals who are trying to cheapen marriage.
They wholeheartedly believe that the path to heaven is theirs simply by invoking the name of Jesus, and good works are meaningless. In their thinking Mother Theresa would be burning in hell while a serial killer and child rapist who invoked the name of Jesus on his deathbed would be watching her burn.
In a way you are correct but it’s not that simple. In the group everything appears to outsiders to be black and white. Now when you get them alone for any period outside their normal church group it becomes a whole different story. What you will find is that they a very insecure, doubtful and they are drowning in a sea of gray areas.
If you talk to them long enough you’ll find that for the most part they are like everyone else living a shitty life where not much of the world makes sense to them for some reason or the other.
Many of the hardcore believers have severe mental health problems caused by physical problems. In these cases they substitute “religion” for proper medical care or addiction.
For the most part the “religious right” consist of people who have failed miserably at dealing with some of the simplest functions in life. It is enviable that they will “find religion” because those who are the power elite within their churches are smart operators.
The religious version of the predatory capitalist who are only concerned about two things which are gathering the largest following and generating the largest cash pile to bring in more followers to fleece.
Individually they are very vulnerable, uncertain and lost without the support of the group think which has brainwashed them. After a few years within their experiences with the church they will begin to question and feel betrayed by the leaders of the church since they begin to realize that something is very wrong with what they are being told since it never translates to the real world very well.
They can pray all they want to but when your life is full of shit, shit will always remain shit and it’s up to the individual to change this.
I have had many successes in deprogramming many fanatical Christians. There is a line of questioning which I no longer use that can utterly destroy any but the most fanatical “Christian”. I stopped using this because for many of them they need to believe in something since they are mentally incapable of independent thought when left to their own devices. Instead I now convert or guide them to another support structure which is less harmful to them.
Generalizations such as “All Christians” see things in only black and white is not only wrong but implies that these people can never be capable of changing or modifying their belief structures. To stop their leaders you have to reduce their following. That can only be accomplished one individual at a time.
Look at it this way. You can “save” a Christian from being “a born again wing nut” by convincing them they were “born right the first time” and there never was a plan for them by “God or Jesus” for them to be “born again”.
Any even cursory reflection on the arc of history shows clearly that virtually all the major religions routinely “weaponize their deities” in order to pursue more power and, (presumably), glory for themselves.
The predatory narcissism and unquenchable appetite for power and dominion over others that these zealots possess has been a blight on humanity and a huge impediment on our journey toward enlightenment for millenia.
What Jesus, or Muhammad or Buddha or Krishna or any other spiritual figure might have taught has nothing to do with the behavior of these aggressive and murderous lunatics.
Janet, I know I said it before but I’ll say it again but what you’re doing-and all the Code Pink people is pretty awesome…and obviously scary at times. I’ve been worried for awhile about your Code Pink demonstrations for the very reason that it only takes a few whacko’s from the military or those wonderful christians or the ‘patriotic’ pro-war nuts to start some trouble that could cause you harm.
I’ve been reading all the diaries today and haven’t been able to marshall enough good thoughts to comment-some days I just get so depressed and heartsick thinking of all the people killed, families destroyed, property and homes gone with the drop of one stinken bomb-not the begin to imagine the thousands we’ve dropped, the wounded, the ones who live who will never ever be the same-that includes all the people in Iraq whose country must seem like Dante’s Inferno right now, the whole country is going to have post traumatic stress syndrome for years to come. The sheer waste of human lives whether they are dead or not just overwhelms me some days. While most Americans barely register or even think about what is happening in Iraq(and forget Afghanistan-even though over 500 have been killed there in the last 3 weeks alone)unless they see a news brief of one bomb going off-forget all the others or shootouts and people killed that day-what’s a dead Iraqi worth, indeed. And anyone who found that title offensive is a fucken moron also. The article was specifically about payment for Iraqi lives-not generalized human lives.
Sorry I think I just hijacked your diary for my own little rant here.
Pretty obvious that the old ‘Peace, Love and Understanding’ from those damn hippies from the 60’s didn’t take hold-thank god, right…what a crime that would have been.
I’ll bet you anything the so called tough guy Marine who pretended to shoot you is just the kind of guy who is ready and willing to commit a Haditha without a second thought-pretty scary.
And I’m not even going to get started on the melding of religious nuts and their unbridled love of all things military with no question Heil the Military-they all have to be heroes, no matter what.
Well ‘janny'(I thought that was idiotic and patronizing)I hope you’re feeling a bit more peaceful tonight…although I can’t say that I am. But tomorrow’s another day. Peace.
(((Chocolate Ink)))) I struggle all the time with “how can I be in the peace movement when I’m so angry”… but we wouldn’t be here unless we weren’t aware – and we wouldn’t be angry…
It’s the “hate” that will hurt ya.
Yeah. Imagine what the Marine does to women and children if he’s willing to act out like that to an American.
Don’t worry about me 🙂 My husband does enough of that, but he too is getting sick and tired of things and now understands why I must go and protest this illegal war and administration.
There are so many issues, that one could just give up and walk away… but it rejuvenates me to march on Fridays with the VFP, PPRC and No War Drum corps (some of which were above) my kids even ask when we’re going. It centers you. It takes away the hate.
It’s going to be so cool to see Medea in Portland. I saw her once in DC. 🙂
For crying out loud, Janet. The ruling elite stole two elections, bankrupted our country, went off to an illegal and immoral war, sent our sons and daughters and fathers and mothers to die for that illegal and immoral war, trample on the Constitution, spy on us, call us filthy names, and question our patriotism and our sanity when we dare to point all this out. What could you possibly have to be angry about??
{{{{{{{Janet}}}}}}}
Anger is fuel – but it’s hate that can suck the life and journey out of you.
There were two there that had bandanas and were very hateful… we tried to explain to them that their engaging with the crowd… was hurting us.. not helping. That the hate makes em just like the Bush crowd. We must come in peace and with peace in our hearts or we’re nothing. Anger is good but the hate is… what kills. And that is what I try to remember. (((OMIR)))
Hi Chocolate Ink :o) A smile for you.
I’m feeling the same way you are. All of this bad news, death, a fear for the future are pegging the needle on my outrage meter lately. I’ve been in a dark and foul mood for days now. Then to come to find out that a Marine pretends to shoot an American woman because she believes in peace….the rage I feel is a little scary to tell the truth. But you’re right. Tomorrow is another day. That’s what I kept telling myself yesterday, and the day before….
My husband wasn’t too thrilled either. But he looked at the photos and pointed out the sailors in the background of almost everyone at during/after the incident.
They had their photo taken with me. I wish I had thought to get one with them too. I wasn’t too grounded and mostly focusing on keeping my head on a swivel. So much shouting and stuff… I had to stay focused but I did give them hugs. I’m a softie when it comes to the cracker jacks uniforms LOL
My hockey friend saw the photos and he’s asked about the details of the No War Drum Corps rally on Fridays here in Portland..
So that’s a positive. One more to join the march. 🙂
Thanks super, I’m smiling back at you. It’s 7 here on the West Coast and I’m hoping that when the new season of the 4400 comes on tonight it’ll get my mind off all this shit for a bit. I think I’ll fix a bunch of comfort food for my dinner-lots of tortillas with refried beans and cheese, a big bowl of popcorn and something chocolate. All the food groups right.
Sometimes the best way for me to get over my rage/depression at what is happening is to go with it for a few days and really let all my ugly thoughts and rants to myself flow then take a deep breath and regain a bit more of an even temper about everything.
Working for Peace is not a fucken crime but war should be.
PS always feel free to vent and rage aka :share: in any of my diaries 🙂
BTW, Mr. Damnit was trained in how to deal with protesters and crowd control while in the 3rd Platoon… he is flipping pissed of as hell about this.. as he was about finding out there were armed “security” at the event.
Bush’s Christian Soldiers are dead wrong.
Pictures can be worth the proverbial thousand words. The pictures of the Marines look like they are a bit menacing or pumped up on steroids-their fucken blow up doll certainly looks like a macho steroid Rambo-like prick while the Sailors stance and looks seem to be non threatening regular looking guys.
Now I really am going to get off the computer and get my comfort ready.
I guess they like to play with inflatable dollys (cue Roxy Music :))
Even their dolly is pumped up on Steroids LOL
I happen to like my inflatable dolly!!!!!!!
I’m so proud of you for doing this work that so desperately needs to be done. You Rock! I’m afraid I’m with Chocolate Ink and Supersoling on the energy front right now. About half my RL sucks like it’s never sucked before, and the other half is the best it’s ever been. The rollercoaster of highs and lows is really draining, but knowing you and all our other fighters for peace are out there really helps keep my hopes and spirits up.
((((((DJ))))))
Thanks KMc! I understand. We’ve been in housing limbo for a while – the last 6 months were so hectic and chaotic. But life is like that for us here – the rollercoaster. Don’t even get me started on trying to raise to kids, one autistic, one an old soul and still try to run off and put on my pink tights 🙂
I take you guys with me when I go out. I really do.
Kudos to you DJ for fighting the good fight. I think about you often and you inspire me.
Keep us the good work. We are behind you.
Thanks Kamakyha! No fighting, just went and held up some signs… and tried not to engage.
(I’ll be back gotta take the kids into town to catch their buses – still in old school.)
I love you Damnit Janet!!!! {{{{{{DJ}}}}}}
Thank you 🙂
Dammit, I’ve spent more time than I should have this weekend, reading through diaries, looking at pics and stories from Las Vegas, while actually dealing on a different level with questions of futility, frustration, feeling log-jammed, furious and helpless.
I’m not in any way wanting to criticize people who went to YK, and I think it was good that we had BTfolk there. The benefit of being inspired by others of like mind is worth a great deal, as some of us here know very well.
However, the contrast between there, and being “where the rubber hits the road” as you were, I can’t describe. You went out and actually were a peacemaker the the face of war advocates. That’s impressive out of mind, and damn inspirational.
I stand in awe.
that those who went to Vegas come home equally inspired to take action to change this country for the better — whether it’s in the boardrooms, in the campaign offices, or on the streets.
In other words, I don’t want what happened in Vegas to stay in Vegas…
If it “stays there”, it will be sad. I think, however, that it will have been a great experience and motivator for those who went.
One’s man Vegas trip is anoter woman’s hockey game 🙂
I think the conventions/gatherings help inspire people to continue onward. To know they are not alone. So that’s a very good thing and I’d encourage more gatherings. I like the one we had in DC though for me – where we joined up to protest. That was very inspiring. Life changing.
Seconding Kidspeak — your courage, honesty, energy, and efforts are amazing.
Anger is a fuel, DJ — use it wisely and well and it will keep you going and overcoming those who try to intimidate and drown you out.
I’m just a fledgling, floundering newbie in this. It’s been a long and strange trip and it ain’t over baby. what’s amazing is that as I try to change and stop this war… I’m changing and learning new things about not only the environment and politics – but about myself.
Peace … you have to be a critical thinker… DAILY. Daily decisions. … It’s hard to live that way. 🙂
No matter what happens you’ll be changing a lot of other people as well. The continued exposure to different attitudes and strength of beliefs has an impact even if it moves at too slow a pace. The peace activists who protested the Vietnam war faced a populace that believed that any war Americans fought was good and just. It took a very long time to convince them that this wasn’t true but now the idea that not every conflict America gets itself into is noble exists as part of the American psyche and every protest works to push the doubt about this war to the surface.
Saturayd I was called some pretty horrible names. It’s always a bit draining. I came home and cried like a kid in Wayne’s lap. Just bawled. NOt out ouf pity for myself… it was just… like rain from a cloud. It needed to flow.
It’s like being attacked when you go out to these events. It’s uplifiting in some ways but also so damn draining. Especially when it’s not some HUGE kick ass protest.. but a small group who doing it weekly, monthly and it’s not being covered by the blogs or democracy now or what have you. It’s more riskier in so many ways… and so much more – draining and yet life changing.
This last one was a toughing. M from CP showed up and she said that we should leave (20 mins early from the end) as we were both feeling very shakey and uneasy.
I can’t begin to explain how hard the small ones are. But one must continue doing em.
Didn’t catch it yesterday, was working out in the yard all day. Thank you for all you do Janet! Everytime you head out there in pink you speak for my family and you speak for my children and you speak for me!
Hey Lovely Lady, yesterday you and I were hopping on the Iraqi threads. We always seem to have our reasons when we find ourselves immersed in those diaries. I think it’s our way of getting centered. We come in fractured and frazzled and venting… and it’s so we can do what we feel must be done. Or to regroup, or to reorganize…
But I always find myself linking to your thoughts and comments. You help me realize I’m not alone – not just in peace protests… but as a mother and woman… and sex goddess LOL
All women are Goddesses…
except for Ann Coulter of course ;o)
SuperSoling, 🙂
Gosh there were so many times I wanted to call you this weekend. On the way to the protest and then yesterday when I will still reeling and then saw how upset you were.
Oh, I was just on the radio talking with a man who is Islamic and I was all how I just can no longer abide having any christianity in my head while marching for humanity… it was very uplifting and he said that there are good seeds and bad seeds to every religion and that the good seeds are what strengthen us on our individual paths.
I think my religion…. is this peace journey… and staying alive to try to “live, learn, laugh and love”.
I wish I could have been there with you DJ. It’s that big brother complex I have going with you :o) The thing is, that my presence might have made things worse, because I’m not sure I could tolerate a Marine pointing and shooting any gun at you. Real or not. And this gets back to the issue of anger. There are times when my outrage is right there on the edge, and it’s difficult to maintain. I mean, how should someone react to an act like that? It blows my mind to think that an American serviceman would do that to another American. And forgive me my unfortunate old fasionism, but to do it to a woman just makes it doubly offensive to me. I’d like to think that if I were there, it wouldn’t have happened, but that is my naive, protective side talking. But if ever there were a circumstance where you were threatened in my presence, you can rest assured that the perpetrator would, in one way or another, be sorry that the thought ever crossed his mind.
Thanks SuperSoling, the thing is this: If that’s how they treat American woman over here… just what the hell are doing to the women over there.
I met so many of the right wing crazies that Saturday… and this is in a fairly liberal area. Imagine if this had been in some red state…
Imagine martial law with these warbastards. A natural disaster happens and Bush wants these fnger pointing mock gun assholes in charge???
Rock on Janet! Great photojournalism of the scene.
Thanks Albert 🙂