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I'm afraid I don't have much of a post count here, but here goes. Hope to put up a few photos when I figure out how to do so (and from the photo quality, I realize I need to learn to use my camera properly!)
I arrived at Lafayette Park at about 10 am, and the stage was being set up by the Veterans for Peace group who held the permit jointly with Code Pink. At the time there were small knots of people in the park, some were attendees, some were tourists. It was a sunny bright spring morning.
I found myself chatting with Phil Vargas, who was a Korean War vet and political appointee under Carter, and later a whistle blower, when his findings revealed grievous errors- some deliberate- in the way documents were handled, classified and stored. He told me his amazing story. Very down to earth, unassuming guy. As a whistle blower, he had lost everything, job, home, wife, the works, but he said he'd do it all again!
As people began to gather, the ladies of Code Pink appeared in force, handing out leaflets. Media Benjamin was there. What a fireball! She is small in stature but is very, very energetic. I had a nice chat with one of the women.
Code Pink assumed the stage for awhile and sang songs and led some chants. The speakers began to queue up for their turn at the podium. By this time, the crowd was really growing.
Zachary Choate spoke. He pulled his notes from one of his many, many empty pill bottles- pills needed to cope with the horrible IED injuries he received in the war. Very passionate young man. He was one of the later arrestees.
Ralph Nader, Daniel Ellsberg and Chris Hedges spoke, to very enthusiastic reception. I got some shaky iphone video of Ellsberg. Mike Malloy was there and he spoke, and I finally got to meet him and Bob Kinkaid, who was streaming video of the rally on his iPhone using Ustream for people who could not attend. He drove in from West Virginia.
Met some Wisconsinites! One lady had an improvised cheese hat she made out of foam. We talked about Walker and the story behind the story in Madison. She said what we are reading in the media is not the whole story- no surprise there. Then she thanked me for coming! I thanked her for waking up Americans!
Watermelon Joe was there. And boy he let loose on Obama, some much deserved words too.
After the speeches, came the silent march past the White House and around the block- short route. Led by VFP and VVAW.
The march route brought us back in front of the White House again. People wishing to risk arrest remained at the fenceline or on the sidewalk. Most people did not leave, as the media reports implied, but moved to the other side of the barriers and gathered back in Lafayette Park.
The police re-arrange the barriers to form a box in front of the guys on the fence. After a period of time, the arrests began. Ellsberg and Choate and others in the first group were led away in plastic cuffs and loaded into the first van.
The arrests continued. They brought up a bus to load the rest of them in. What irony- the bus was "powered by clean, natural gas" to take people to jail for protesting a war for oil.
Press releases I read indicated that there was little discussion of Libya and the NATO response there. I beg to differ- there was much discussion amongst attendees, many US out of Libya signs and there was a sizable contingent of Arabs and Arab-Americans, including many Libyans who carried the pre-Ghaddafy flag and chanted for his overthrow. Some were pleased with the NATO intervention, others were not so. There were some Syrian and Egyptians there, too. Chants were led in English and Arabic.
About 4 pm, my feet were ready to give out, so I made my way back to my car. Along the way, the concierge at a very upscale hotel (think: generals and heads of state stay there) was on his way out to his car to go home, and engaged me in thoughtful conversation. We chatted for a good 20 minutes and then parted ways. What a wonderful gathering of people and a sense of renewal was in the air. People were eager to talk, to discuss and engage one another, it was so uplifting. A group of Korean youth in traditional outfits stoked the crowd with enthusiastic drumming.
Even tourists got an education. A man was explaining what was going on to a group of German women. I explained the chanting Libyan group to a young Asian man (Chinese? I did not ask) who asked what they were protesting for. I only saw a small knot of counter protesters- a small group of "we support the troops" guys (so do we!) who were very quiet and did not interfere with the rally. They were there to exercise their rights to free expression like the rest of us.
On a final note- I have to throw this in, it really made my day: As I was standing along the barrier on the other side of the street from the WH, I overheard a woman ask her school-aged children to look at the figure pacing the top of the WH. She said, "Do you see that man? See him?" "Yes, mom." "That's a SNIPER!" :D
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