Posted by Sadie from ? (160.129.27.22) on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at 12:50PM :
I'm trying to stay positive in these trying times. I have this sign posted in the back window of my car that reads, "WAGE PEACE." This morning some guy passes me in the next lane, very slowly, staring at me with disgust. He then shakes his head with disdain. I wanted to shoot him "the bird," but then thought such a gesture would be hypocritical, considering my sign's message and all.
At the last local peace protest, a fellow protester and I stretched out an American flag that belonged to my grandfather, a World War II veteran. It's six feet long, four feet wide. I held a sign next to it that read, "PEACE IS PATRIOTIC." I'm not really the flag waving sort, but I thought it would make a nice gesture. Although I didn't watch the news that evening, apparently a local TV camera focused on my flag and sign .... a nice, small, unexpected PR move .....
At work, I listen to right wing talk radio .... for kicks ..... and the rage that these guys spill out on the radio waves directed toward American peace protesters ("traitorous, un-American peace nicks!") is unbelievable. It's going to get worse, too, once the bombs start dropping.
The Peace and Justice Center is wanting protesters to gather at the local federal building on the day bombs start to drop. I don't know if I'll join them, though. I feel as though protesting at this point is really futile. Protesting in other countries influences public policy, but not here.
Hell, not even the Democrats, the current "party of opposition," have the balls to stand up to Bush and his War Machine. I am no longer a Democrat. I can not support these spineless creatures that care about nothing other than their careers and back lash.
So what's a disgusted American to do? Stuff your pockets with ammo, harness your back pack outfitted with six days rations, fly rod, sleeping bag and tarp, grab your 12-gauge and head into the woods. (Apologies to my Canadian friend.)
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Sadie's note: This guy is unbelievably awesome, too (he's of Scottish American descent, not Mid Eastern at all). 2 weeks ago, he noticed a sign in a local landscaping shop window that read '"Bombs over Baghdad" coming soon, starring George Bush.' He got so upset, that he immediately parked his car at the store, walked in, & demanded to see the manager. He spoke to the manager, who said the sign was actually the owner's sign. So my friend wrote a long letter to the owner & sent copies of that letter to the local papers & district officials, saying how callous that sign was, that war is not a video game & should not be considered a joke, that his grandfather fought in WWII & an uncle in Korea, so the sign was an insult to his family who took war seriously, that his Iraq-American friend was offended by the sign, that a lot of people of Mid Eastern descent would also be offended by that sign, & that he will tell his friends in the landscaping business to avoid that man's shop. It worked - the sign was removed & replaced with something much less offensive (though still right-wing). He was ANGRY... & he used his anger in a good way.
-- Sadie
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