Peace Vigil 9/06/06
Peace Vigil 8/16/06
Peace Vigil 8/9/06
Peace Vigil 8/2/06
I share these photographs of the faces of those opposed to war and the Bush Administration because you will not see or hear of them on the news. They are your neighbors, your co-workers, your teachers, your students, your bus drivers. I want to share that they are you and I.
I hope to capture the energy of these peace vigils and more importantly the passion of the people. I hope to empower others to find their local vigils or create their own. To at least know that they are not alone.
Washington County Peace Vigil 55th Week.
Beaverton, Oregon, 6:30 to 7:30
because my personal life has been very hectic lately.
Both my children started school this week. Special Education stuff for my son… but things are working out well but he’s had a HARD time adjusting.
I aceepted a “job” last week only to then be called in for an interview for a “CAREER” with a very progressive and liberal company where I’ll be a part of the solutions. Tuesday I go in for the “screening/profiling” session and then Wednesday they have said they are offereing me one of two packages. They’ve made me feel wanted… and useful.. two different sections of two different stores seem to be wanting me… I can get a paycheck for walking my talk. This is a dream!!!
It’s my dream company. My dream and my goal is still PEACE.
Then…don’t quit that job!! 🙂
I have to accept it first… 🙂 I await the “offer” Wednesday 🙂
It’s truly a totally hip and peaceful – pro-solution job.
I am soooooooo happy for you. You truely deserve it. To be honest your’e news made my day! 🙂
And I’m so glad you’re FREE and SAFE! 🙂 reading your prison journals gave nightmares… It was like reading a true blue “Midnight Express”
And Damnit! Janet! Weren’t you questioning yourself and your effectiveness just some time ago? Look at what you’ve achieved now, now that you hung in there! It makes me very happy to hear that the universe is smiling upon you.
You go grrl!
I always question before I go out…
It’s just that the questions are always different.
The answer to myself is always the same. “Get out the door you big wussie!” 😀
So sorry to have caused you nightmares. I do know that I was in a true hell hole. But after the initial six months were over, and I was transfered to a Pen, it wasn’t so bad. Maybe because I could compare it to what I had already been through. But even in the worst places, life goes on.
To be honest, the worst punishment was not to be able to go back to Brazil. In that sense, I am still being punished. But hopefully one day I might be able to go back.
And yeah, I made it out of there, and so far I have had a pretty good life. And I learned and saw things that I would have never imagined. And that to me is invaluable. Anyways, that is behind now.Right now I am happy for you, because to me you are an eternal, relentless activist, and you deserve all good things
Maybe one day we will all be able to go to our homes. (((Cruz))) and live in peace and compassion.
Don’t worry about the nightmares… I worry and fret about friends. Plus, it’s a mommy gene I think 🙂
And if the nightmares become insomnia… I find Mother Nature helps rock me back to sleep.. without any nasty side effects 😉
“Maybe one day we will all be able to go to our homes”
Hi DJ. It seems you are psycic!!!!!!Yesterday I recieved some info that might make it true!!!! I will let you know if it turns into reality.
Big hugs to you.
best of luck w/ the new ad-Venture!
here’s a little news collage, in protest
I LOVE your blog!! 🙂
(I’ve always enjoyed talking w/ myself 😉
Talking with yourself is “normal” it’s when you start text messaging yourself is when you know you’re in trouble 🙂 (I’m playing blog “ketchup” this week. I haven’t been on for days. But finally got your site linked to mine – XOXOXOX – the ooshy gooshy kind.
beautiful shots of the people who are involved…not some amorphous cloud of appeasers and traitors.
Keep bringing the reality of who is, and isn”t, supporting this insanity into the public eye.
Kudos, DJ!
PS: all appropriate appendages crossed re: the job….KEWL!!!!!
one of the vigilers saw the photojournal via My Left Wing and thanked me for it. She said she was amazed at how much power she felt just from seeing them 🙂
Also, I got an email from a “Lurker” who said that they’ve followed alot of my diaries but never felt empowered to be able to do things, too.. untill they started following the Peace Vigil photos. Now they are doing one of their own … and near a library, too. 🙂
I think if it gets one more person the encouragement and strength to go out and make a difference… then HOOOOOOOOOOORAY!!!
I noticed that too. This is good. While I am not against long-haired-hippy-type-pinko-commie-beatniks, especially since I tend to be one these days, that image is often damaging to causes. The hippy image, or over here the anti-global molotov throwing image, definately turns off average bourgious (meaning middle-class) folks. Average folks, despite political beliefs, tend to be conservative in the sense that they want the status quo if change would disrupt personal daily life. And they right to believe so as everyone just wants to live their lives. The image of the radical just conjurs up a plethora negative perceptions that represent a change to daily life status quo.
But look closely. My favorite is the older gentleman. Conservative looking, plaid shirt, very average blue-collar neighbor type. And he is holding a sign supporting no arms to Hez & Israel. That is a powerful image. He’s your neighbor, not some college kid exploring their newly found, rebellious, and sceptical political beliefs. That opens up the possibility for other “average” folks to believe that they too may join in a protest against something they know is wrong but don’t want to disrupt daily life.
And it isn’t just that one photo, it’s all of them. If these images could only get out into the MSM, people would see average Joes and Joettes (???) protesting and not radical stereotypes. They may find not only sympathy with these people but also identify with them enough to join in the ranks.
That is exactly why these images, and I am sure thousands like them, are not shown in the news. That poses a danger to the powers that try to divide the population with fear of the other, the mere thought of individuals identifying with each other, outside of that power’s control, truly frightens them and threatens their hold on power.
The fact these are “average” American faces testifies to the fact that not only is this a successful protest (hat tips to Code Pinkers) but also that there is an undercurrent of dissatifaction in middle America that hasn’t been fully tapped into yet.
Let’s wait for November.
(I also wanted to comment about the effects of the lack of minorities in these photos, both positive and negative, but I need to dig out the French Structuralist Roland Barthes and his semiotic discussion of the meaning behind a seemingly harmless French military recruiting poster that features a “happy” African recruit in uniform and how it’s more insidious meaning is furthering colonialism and oppression of the “Other”) – sounds like a diary some day.
Thanks Jeffersonian,
I would like to point out that if you go through all the vigil journals, you see all sorts of people. Teenagers, children, grandmas, sisters, aunts and brothers… but yes… this is truly what “Democracy looks like”. This is “We the People”‘
I’ve marched in protests with every single “color” known to man. When I go I don’t really seek out faces… they just appear to me. I point and shoot.
Also the average joe… there’s hippies in there – just not CNN’s version 🙂 That is truly another reason why I think it’s so important to share these faces… because they are us.
I am so grateful for your post, thank you!!!
Thank you, Janet!
Thank YOU.
These entire few years have been a revolution evolution… a work in progress… but I think perhaps that’s how most lives are.
You give me hope … thank you for that.
I thought perhaps today was a good day to catch up and share the photos. I was too afraid to even go near the TV. I didn’t even watch the Vikings vs Washington game.
I was beginning to wonder if They had finally caught up with you.
Thank you for posting these diaries. It’s great to see someone doing something for peace. Even if it’s one guy — speaking of which, I saw that guy on Saturday. He was walking back and forth at the main intersection up from our house with an “Impeach Bush” sandwich board.
Funny you should mention that OMIR :)… last night talking to my friend “momagainstthedraft” she said that one day she and I will be in adjoining cells. I corrected her by saying that cells are too good for us. We’ll probably be in one of those secret prison camps dirt holes. Comparing boiled wounds.
I can just hear what Bush will call those big vats of boiling water before they burn us for information for our own good…
“That there is American Melting Pot”