CLIMBING SEASON!

Climbing season is upon us again! I'm gearing up for some spectacular climbs- my main goal this year is to summit Jefferson and Baker as well as do some scenic backpacking, rock climbing and mountain lake swimming. Ahhh. I'm so ready for summer this year.

 
I have to quote my best friend here, who is a guy, and who recently said something hilarious. But the punchline is only funny because he's got a heart of gold.

We're joking around and I say, "So do you ever undress women with your eyes?" He huffs and in an offended way answers, "Well, I imagine them naked but I don't undress them!" And that's when I burst out laughing... "So in other words, you just cut to the chase?" And laughing he says, 'Well.. uh... I just get bored by the time I get to the socks..."

"Yes, I can see how that is SO much better than undressing them.. just fast forwarding to the good part." :-)

 
A striking essay by this Mr. Bowman...


Some Dare Call It Treason-Wake Up America!
By Dr. Robert Bowman, USAF Ret.

I am a member of Veterans For Peace, an organization of thousands of combat veterans. All of us have put our life on the line for this country. Most of us opposed the recent invasion of Iraq. We also opposed the first Gulf War, and the sanctions that followed. We opposed the slaughter of fleeing Iraqis on the Road to Basra. We opposed the use of Depleted Uranium munitions. And we opposed the lies upon which the first Gulf War was based. But there was one good thing about that first Gulf War. It ended. And without a wholesale invasion of Iraq. Why?

Here’s what the first President Bush wrote about that in his memoirs:

“Trying to eliminate Saddam would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. There was no viable exit strategy we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land.”

My brothers and sisters, it is just too darn bad his son can’t read!

I’ve been severely criticized for speaking out in opposition to this war. So have you, probably. We’re told that we’re aiding and abetting the enemy. We’re told that we should support the president no matter what. We’re told that patriotism demands that we support the war. They say that we’re abusing the freedoms that our troops are in the Middle East defending. They say we should be ashamed to be protesting while the troops are in the desert protecting our right to do so.

Well I say, Hogwash!

I feel an affinity for the troops over there in Iraq. They are my comrades in arms. I admire their sense of honor and sacrifice. I understand why some of them believe they should be there. They have neither the experience nor the wisdom to see past the lies they have been told. The truth is, they are not over there protecting our freedoms. Our freedoms are not under attack from Saddam Hussein or the remnants of his Baathist party. Our freedoms are under attack by John Ashcroft. They are threatened by John Poindexter. They are trampled by Donald Rumsfeld. They are disdained by Dick Cheney. And they are not even understood by George W. Bush. The battle to preserve our freedoms is not taking place in Baghdad and Tikrit. It is taking place in Central Park in New York City, in Lafayette Park in Washington DC, in Ghirardelli Park in San Francisco, and in River Front Park in Melbourne, Florida. The front lines go right down US 1 and up New Haven Avenue.

It is we, here at home, who are the foot soldiers battling to preserve our cherished freedoms by exercising them, in spite of opposition and ridicule. It is we who protect our civil rights through speaking out. We are the Minutemen sounding the alarm against tyranny. We are upholding the spirit of the American Revolution. We are preserving the freedoms that the troops in the desert have a right to come back to. The troops getting shot at in Iraq are not protecting us. We are protecting them, and their honor and their freedoms. We have just completed a forced march through hostile territory to defend their freedoms and ours, and the ideals America was founded on. We are protecting this nation by speaking truth to power. Let us do it loudly and fearlessly and courageously and joyfully, for we are the true patriots!

Here is the truth that we proclaim. This war has nothing to do with national security or freedom or democracy or human rights or protecting our allies or weapons of mass destruction or defeating terrorism or disarming Iraq. It has to do with money. It has to do with oil. And it has to do with raw imperial power. It is based on a pack of lies. And it is wrong. Those who forced this war on an unwilling world are guilty of flagrantly violating the U.S. Constitution, the UN Charter, and international law. What they have done is illegal, immoral, unconstitutional and TREASON.

It’s been said that somewhere in Texas there is a village looking for their idiot. Now that may be funny, but it misses the point. George W. Bush is not an imbecile. He is a TRAITOR.

Before this war started, we knew it would fracture NATO, split the United Nations, separate us from our allies, and destroy the great nation we inherited from our fathers who died in World War II. And it has. We knew it would make our beloved country feared and hated, an outcast from the world community, a pariah among the peoples, and the number one rogue nation on earth. And it has. It has done so based on a pack of lies. My sisters and brothers, that is not stupidity. That is TREASON.

We knew this sadistic corporate war would incense the Arab world, provide thousands of new Osama bin Ladens, and enormously increase the terrorist threat. And it has. We knew it would further endanger the American people and destroy our national security. And it has. That is not stupidity, it is TREASON.

The cabal of neoconservatives at PNAC who planned this war (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Libby, Perle, Jeb Bush) even before W became president, knew the American people would not stand for it unless there was a new Pearl Harbor. 9/11 supplied that. Our government was warned. They were warned by the Clinton Administration. They were warned by 11 other countries. And they were specifically warned by an FBI agent that one of them was planning on flying a hijacked airliner into the World Trade Center.

They not only ignored the warnings, they made sure no fighter jets were scrambled to stop it. If they had just done nothing, and allowed normal procedures to be followed, the Twin Towers would still be standing and thousands of dead Americans would still be alive. This is not stupidity, it is TREASON.

As a combat veteran, I will not stand idly by and watch our security destroyed by a president who went AWOL rather than fight in Vietnam. Honor requires that I call this by its right name. It is TREASON.

As one who has devoted his life to the security of this country, I will not stand by and watch an appointed president send our sons and daughters around the world to kill Arabs for the oil companies without calling it by its right name. It is TREASON.

I joined the Air Force to protect our borders and our people, not the financial interests of Folgers, Chiquita Banana, and Exxon. We’ve had enough corporate wars. No more Iraqs. No more El Salvadors. No more Kosovos. No more Colombias. These are not isolated incidents of stupidity. They are part of a long, bloody history of foreign policy being conducted for the financial benefit of the wealthy few. It is a new colonialism. It violates our Constitution. It endangers our people. And it is TREASON.

As a pilot who flew 101 combat missions in Vietnam, I can tell you that the best thing our government can do for its combat veterans is to quit making more of them. Peace is patriotic; a preemptive war is immoral, illegal, unconstitutional, a war crime, and TREASON. I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. That includes a renegade president. Wake up, America! It is time for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and the whole oil mafia to be removed from office and indicted for TREASON.

We are the people. We are sovereign. We are the patriots. The whole world is with us. Never allow anyone to intimidate you into silence. Wake up, America! It’s time to speak truth to power. God bless America, and God save us from the traitors in our government.


Dr. Robert Bowman was a Col. in the USAF and Chief of Technology Assessment under President Jimmy Carter and is a Catholic Bishop of The Apostolic Society of Franciscan Communities. email: isss@rmbowman.com, web site: www.rmbowman.com. He has been President of the Institute for Space and Security Studies since 1982. Before that he was Vice-President of Space Communications Company; Manager, Advanced Space Programs for General Dynamics; and Director, Advanced Space Programs Development for DoD, directing the “Star Wars” programs.

 
WHEN RELIGION BECOMES EVIL....

So I'm reading Charles Kimball's "When Religion Becomes Evil" now and finding numerous quotes that are worth pause and deep consideration; quotes that I'd like to see discussed in more public ways. Despite the dramatic feel of the title (I'm waiting to see how he defines "evil"), Kimball extensively goes into the fabric of the world's major religions with refreshing honesty.

To put this one in context, Kimball is so far discussing both the extreme angles of Christianity as well as Islam. This is in no way unfairly critical or anti-Islam. He's speaking about the various contradictions within the major religions of the world and shares the saddening stories of Muslims who, when converting to Christianity, had received a death sentence and were refused by their family.

He says,

"All of this belies the central Islamic teaching that God created human beings as free and responsible agents. Muslims who believe they safeguard Islam through such stringent legal and social policies appear to ignore one of the most quoted and revered messages in the Qur'an: 'There can be no compulsion in matters of religion' (2:256). This central tenet affirms that each person is responsible for himself or herself. Authentic faith cannot be coerced through aggressive missionsary tactics or protected by prohibiting free inquiry or punishing anyone who deviates from the norm."

It's that last sentence that really grabbed me- certainly something we can apply to Christianity in a big way:

"Authentic faith cannot be coerced through aggressive missionsary tactics or protected by prohibiting free inquiry or punishing anyone who deviates from the norm."

It is precisely the missionary element of Christianity that I have to take issue with. I have no issue with others believing and acting as they will. I prefer that they grant me the same human right and free will and refrain from approaching others as if they have superior knowing as well as the only "right way" to live in this world. Earlier in the book Kimball also eloquently confirms this sentiment of mine by saying,

"Freedom of relgion is a good thing. So is freedom *from* the religion others may wish to impose on those who differ."

Amen to that, Kimball.

 
MY VERY DIRTY DAY

So I had an interesting morning today. I had the Kirby vacuum company pestering me about coming over to clean/shampoo my carpet for free and give me a demo on their new, super powered vacuum. Okay, whatever, stuff for free is cool so I finally agreed after 4 phone calls and rescheduling the appointment three times. What was demo'd to me was the numerous ways this vacuum kicks major ass... and believe me, it definitely kicks ass... for the price of two thousand dollars. That's right. When he asked me if I was interested in this kick ass vacuum (after demonstrating how dirty my floor was with his special demo kit) and I said, "Sure, why not?" I did a double take... Not $19.99...? No? 1, 999? OH my god!

Okay, it's just inconceivable to me that people can and WILL spend two thousand dollars on a vacuum. People who know me will understand my animated disbelief at this. Having traveled and lived in places such as Africa and Central America, I am stunned at how 1) Americans spend money and 2) what they choose to spend it on. Sure, I've spent two thousand dollars before, in one lump sum. On things like a computer to do my music and paying off a student loan.. and I just can't fathom that much money on something like a... vacuum.. So that you can clean all day.....


Okay, so here's the funnier part. The sales rep- who was really a nice guy, by the way- shows me all this cool stuff, how much dirt the thing is picking up off the walls, the celing, the corners of my floor, under my fridge (wow.. you mean it gets DIRTY there?!) and so on and is going on about how I'm breathing all this stuff, blah blah blah and says, "Now, is that OKAY with you? That you're breathing in all this stuff?" And me, in my charming little way of being blunt says, "Well, honestly? Yeah. I mean, look, man.. I've lived in West Africa.. millions of other people live in places where their house is a DIRT floor... you can't tell me that this little bit of dirt is hurting me." It boggles the mind. Think about the thousands of years that human beings have been on this earth.. and that it's only in the last, what?, 60, 70 years that we've had vacuums? So why is dirt and dust suddenly so awful? I never had issues in West Africa or central America with dust, dirt, bugs hurting or violating me. So I just can't understand why this vaccuum is so damn important for me to have... for the cost of two thousand dollars.

Throughout his presenation he's showing me all the cool little gadgets for the Kirby.. things to vacuum the furniture, the walls, the ceiling, under things, above things, in between things, the mattress, the piano, how it turns into a shampoo cleaner, etc, etc.. and he keeps asking, "You'd definitely use this if you had it, right?" And I say, "uh, well I guess... sure, why not?" but increasingly, I'm thinking, "Holy shit! If I owned this vacuum, I'd spend all frickin' day cleaning! I think this vacuum could turn me into a neurotic clean freak! If that attachment is there, I must need to use it." There's another reason to not spend 2 grand on it! Vacuum the windows, the cupboards, the stereo, the sink, the radiator, the bookshelf.. hell! Why not just get a leaf blower?!


So later on the guy says, "So, what do you think? Want to go ahead and buy this right now? Would credit card, check or cash suit you better?" Again, I say, "Honestly? No.. I mean why would I spend TWO THOUSAND dollars on a vacuum of all things? That's a plane ticket.. two plane tickets!.. to Europe!" So blah blah blah, a very nice guy who unfortunately met one of the most unconventional Americans out there. I'm fine with my crappy Eureka $60 vacuum even if it spits out a dust mite here and there.

Anyway, I spent the rest of the day in awe.

 
Some fun pictures from the Mazamas' Basic Climbing Education Program snow practice sessions near Mount Hood. I'm assisting with these classes as a climb instructor.

 
This picture doesn't make much sense by itself.. we're attached to a rope team, ascending a slope, someone has fallen (pretended to fall by throwing himself down the slope) so we all immediately fall to the ground and plant in our ice axes, into the snow, to try and stop the fall.

 

In motion: A head-first, backwards ice axe arrest down a snow slope, going fast. I plant the axe to my right and my legs will swing around counter-clockwise so I can complete the stop.

 
Glissading..using the ice axe as a brake to my left. Even though it looks like I'm just sitting there, I'm actualy sliding down the hill.

 

Hanging from the ceiling after prusking the rope (ascending the rope with knots called "prusik" knots.. when weighted they don't move and you can put all your weight on to them. When non-weighted they move easily up and down the rope):

 
Went to hear Reese Erlich the other night- co-author of "Target Iraq- What the News Media Didn't Tell You."
I highly recommend the book as well as seeing him speak, if you get the chance. It wasn't extraordinarily mind-blowing but it was at least nice to hear an "authority" confirm my own beliefs, thoughts and perceptions about the mainstream media and the charade they're presenting.

 
Not With the Mind

We cannot Think our way to Peace.
Peace cannot be waged
Until Every voice is heard.
Until every person who needs to speak,
can
who needs to be understood
is.

Until the stories of pain are heard
and understood,
peace will have no soil in which to sink its roots.
Until the Grief and agony and heartbreak are heard
and understood,
this peace will only know floods of desperation
Until the Rage and betrayal and disenfranchisement are heard
and understood
peace will have no shelter from hot, blowing winds
Until the Fear and worries and doubts are heard
and understood
peace will find nothing but compression and darkness

Peace is not waged with the Mind
Nor is it waged with Thought
or even with Hope

Peace is not waged by intent
nor by promises or strong words
nor by careful planning
Peace is not waged by waving flags
nor diligent prayers
nor generous funding

Peace breathes only the air of compassion
Peace is only resuscitated by Understanding
It is born
Of hearing Every voice
Of hearing Every story
Of Listening.

No matter its form
however ugly
however gruesome
however violent
however beautiful
Every action carries with it a message
Every message has a story
Every story has a teller

Not with the Mind do we wage Peace.
But with our Ears first
And then our Hearts
And then our Arms.

We cannot Think our way to Peace.
It is not the Mind that will save us
But those parts of us which are most vulnerable

 
A good quote....


I read this quote today in the Portland Tribune and had to burst out with a cheer on the MAX (our light rail that I take to work every day).. so now it hangs above my desk at work (along w/a picture of ninja turtle police looking as ugly as can be):


"We are not in a war. We gave a war to Iraq, but we are not in a war. We are drinking caffe lattes at Starbucks and discussing the war in our SUVs on our cell phones. In Iraq, people are running for bunkers. But this is not a war for us. It's a mediafest."
-Jamie Tan
Southeast Portland

 
Joy Over the Expression/release of Rage

So this is an issue that has come up between friends and those sharing blogs lately. To some, watching others take "joy" in the release and expression of rage is very, very worrisome to say the least.

Let's make some very, very important distinctions here:
1) Joy in response to someone or something being hurt, damaged or destroyed vs Joy in response to the release of the emotion itself
2) Unrest vs. Violence
3) Rage vs. Hate

For starters, yes, I feel excitement, relief and a feeling of rushing up release when I see rage come out; by that I mean people taking to the streets, pounding drums, yelling out chants, giving impassioned speeches. Why? Because at the very basic level, I believe that rage is not outside of Love. I don't believe that it is in opposition to love, that it negates love nor that it resists love. I believe that rage wants love. It wants light. It wants understanding.. Rage results from unmet needs.

I don't believe that expressing rage is immature, juvenile or dangerous. Quite the contrary. The expression of emotion is where we are at our most vulnerable and our most human. Resisting emotions doesn't make someone more "adult" or more "mature." But many people have an embedded judgement within them that the head is more wise than the emotions and that we should follow our heads. Thee is an embedded judgement that being emotional is being immature. I don't think there's anything I can do to counter the intensity of this judgement, so widely held by so many people in this society. I don't know if I can or even want to try and tackle it, but it's at least important to point it out and suggest that it be challenged.

Rage is one of the most frightening emotions for most people, next to terror. Rage, because of its destructive power can feel volatile and life-threatening. People are afraid to see the merit in rage because they think they might be condoning destruction and violence.
Rage is not synonymous with violence, destruction or hate. It is an emotion and the prior are actions. You can have emotion without the action and it is important to distinguish between the emotion and the action. I would say, to be plain here, "It is bad to be violent towards the self, towards anyone. It is not bad to be enraged."

I've used this analogy before and I'll use it again. Compression.. say, the compression of a pressure cooker. The heat is turned up, the compression builds and builds.. it has to go somewhere. It is a natural force for something which is compressed to need to release. When people are compressed.. or Oppressed.. they can sometimes burst. It can be a great relief full of realizations when they do... just like when you're holding tears back for so long and finally let yourself cry... and suddenly, ahhhhh, the compression is gone.. the pressure is gone.. and light can come in and help you sort it out.

I shared excitement watching people exercise their freedom of assembly, their freedom of dissent because I believe we have to get honest with ourselves. It feels like relief to me to hear someone say, "Yes.. I am angry! I'm enraged!!" There is so much judgement against strong emotion in this society. Much more than most societies that make more room for passion. We are mostly a society stuck in our heads. We tend to discount emotion. We would rather get the emotions to quiet down so we can think. This is a fundamental problem that denies the way we are built. It denies our humanity.

Once again, as I've said before, rage, to me, is our sense of knowing when to stick up for ourselves, knowing when we are in danger and the natural instincts built into our psyche that know when to say, Enough is enough. Or sometimes rage is where the self can no longer be without what it needs. The compression of holding back is too much.

Since this is all coming up in response to the Portland, Oregon protests, I will say that I myself participated in none of the vandalism. I shouted, though. I shouted and yelled and jumped up and down. I was "unruly" perhaps? I demonstrated impassioned emotion and I am proud of it. I give a shit. But I am a person who feels very, very deeply.

However, I don't applaud vandalism but I understand it and I even empathize with those that feel compelled to do it. I won't go into that now. For many it is hard to imagine being so pissed off that you would want to do that. I know what desperation feels like. But realize that there is a difference between vandalism and violence. Although, if you're looking to talk about violence at protests, what about the police beating and gassing protestors? Isn't that violence? Can someone be okay with police acting violently but not protestors? Is that contradictory? Things to think about.

The other distinction. Rage is not hate. Rage can turn into hate. That is, when it never is given full release. It ferments, it sours, it decays without the presence of understanding and compassion. It doesn't receive any merit or compassion, no light, so it gets darker and darker. Rage, when allowed to move and receive merit, validation and light has much to teach. One can find great compassion for oneself and one's feelings by allowing rage to move, without judging it, without hurting the self or anyone else and can find that on the other side of rage releasing, that has not been judged against, are great understandings, not to mention a pocket of pain that just wants so much to live, to receive love and be heard. I have compassion for rage. I celebrate when it can come out into the open, when people are allowed to feel it w/o feeling like they are in danger of being "bad" or "unloving."

There are large reasons why people choose to vandalize, to be unruly, to turn their rage into action against other people. That's complicated. That's a whole other discussion, partly addressed in my earlier response as to why some people believe that civil disobedience works.

Lastly, what is also so key here, is that it is the judgements we hold against our emotions, that make them feel so uncomfortable. If you judge against your grief, your rage, your fear or your joy, it will all feel negative and painful to you. If you trust that what is within you is ultimately loving, ultimately wants love, ultimately wants light, understanding, compassion and that your rage isn't a "bad" part of you but a message, the part of you sticking up for yourself, I think you can find healing through it. Remember, rage is not hate. It is not destruction. Emotion is energy. Intelligent and divine energy. Yes, we must be careful how we channel our emotions into action, and each case should be addressed individually.

 
Why Protesting Works and other responses...

There was a comment online in reference to my essay about the Portland protests:

It’s a sad, sad thing when the cries of protest, civil disobedience and unrest are louder than the message of peace. The vandalism and rage that we experienced last night and the joy that much of the crowd took in the actions, belittled the work so many of us are doing in writing our congress people and speaking out against the administration. If they remember their intentions, their intentions are good. Their message is simply lost in the medium. And that is sad for us all.

There are two things that I want to respond to about these comments:

-The emotional stance being taken to represent the content
-The content

When one has a negative reaction to something but chooses to criticize it by saying, “Isn’t that sad?” it puts across an extremely patronizing, self-righteous stance 1) It dismisses the opposition but in a quiet way that doesn’t reveal too much emotion, doesn’t choose to pick apart the disagreement as if to non-verbally communicate that the person is “above” giving the opposing view the “time of day” 2) it invalidates, and disapproves of their actions and steps away from the situation without wondering why the “opposition” is doing what it’s doing 3) It puts across a feeling of “I’m being generous and compassionate to look down on them with pity”. It has the feeling of taking a superior stance, shaking one’s head in dismay, “Oh, what a pity… how sad.”

Personally, I would rather see “I am sad because…..” or “I’m angry because…” rather than an emotional vibe that seems to say it doesn’t have time to really elaborate, that it’s just a no-brainer, it’s simply just sad. It can be translated as, “Alas, what a pity that these poor, unenlightened people must resort to this, but I can’t blame them because they just don’t know any better….”

What I want to know is how can these protests make one sad? Nothing is lost here because the peace movement barely has anything going for it right now. Are protests going to void the letters that people are writing to Congress and senators? No. Are they getting in the way of public discussions? No. Are they making our politicians write us off? Not any more than any other peace action is.

But more importantly, what is being reacted to here? Is it a news report of the protests or the actual witnessing of the vibe, finding it “sad”? I was there… and even though I might disagree with whether or not vandalism is sad and ruins others efforts, I get frustrated by people reacting to the media’s representation of protests and skipping past the fact that they are reacting to second-hand information and then criticize the people about whom they are hearing second-hand information.

Yes, there was rage that night but not as the motto and certainly not in an explosive way.. the real rage I saw was the fact that people were out there to begin with, not that they felt the need to spray paint concrete. There was empowerment there, .. the basic feeling was a feeling of the people’s powers in numbers to be heard. It was celebration, it was pride, it was hope, it was confidence that we will be heard one way or another. It was a positive vibe with a few extraneous vandalism events.

Also, do people realize how easy it is to get arrested? Just because the news says that x number of people were arrested, does NOT equal a measurement of how unruly and violent and damaging the protests were. It’s more a measure of how much of a power trip the cops were on that night. All they have to do is look at you and decide that they don’t like the way you look and they can arrest you. Don’t listen to the numbers and judge those people. Very, very few of them, usually in numbers you can count on one hand, ever get charged with anything, ever really do anything illegal. And the news loves that stuff. They love to make everything seem really melodramatic and negatively so. They love to shed negative light on protestors. That’s why you hear more about the “bad” ones than the “peaceful” ones. They are hungry for a story. Why didn’t they focus their report the other 99.99% of the crowd that WAS peaceful, that WAS joyous, that WAS doing their thing legally?

What also confuses me is the stance that “cries of the protest, civil disobedience and unrest are louder than the message of peace.” That civil disobedience that I saw happening was and is the message for peace… a demand for peace. Not a “please, could you please stop killing innocent people.. thank you very much, sorry to take up your time!” But STOP NOW!! We are out there protesting because we are shouting the message of peace. I personally don’t think or believe that when we are in such a dire situation, in so much danger and there is so much to be lost, that we can afford to go about this politely. Politeness, I’m sorry to say, doesn’t work with this government as well as loud, insistent, persistent, visual demands. Our government isn’t listening to us. We want them to listen. So we are disruptive.

As much as we would like it to be so, let’s not pretend that our government is more responsible than they are. Let’s not go about having our voices heard in the way we think it should work just because that’s the nice way to do it. This is big for me. We think we should be able to be heard by all these totally peaceful means and so forth, but are we? Are we being heard? Sure, it would be nice if they could hear the message of peace through nice behavior. Is it more important for us to look good to ourselves or be heard? To me, it’s more important to be heard, than look good to my fellow citizens so that they can say, “oh isn’t that nice that Tamara is being so courteous?!”

I’m reacting to having seen so many complaints about the protests- how inconvenient they were, how pointless, how disruptive and the cynical part of me wants to say, “Uh, yeaaahhhh… DUH!”

The whole point of protests is to gain attention, to speak out in a visual way.. a way that can be seen. A way that makes news. A way that spreads. A way that gets under the skin of politicians and the people who influence those politicians. Remember the whole “seen but not heard” thing? It is important to write letters and do things behind the scenes too but that won’t be “seen” by anyone other than the person reading the letter. I think it’s even more important to do things that intentionally draw attention, that intentionally get under the skin of collective consciousness. Yes, we are trying to get on the nerves of that status quo. The fact is, if protests happen politely on the sidewalks with please and thank yous, unfortunately, they are a lot less effective. People go about their usual business. The news doesn’t care and people look out their windows at us and say, “oh isn’t that nice that they can express themselves.”

What’s the whole point of expressing yourself if you’re not going to be heard? If no one is listening? If it doesn’t rattle anything?

Yes, this is about unrest.

I will not be on of those people, sitting at home shaking my head about how bummed I am about this war. Even if that one protest, even if 10,000 protests don’t do it, we’re making the news aren’t we? Bush is hearing about it, isn’t he? It’s pressure. It may not be the one key thing that stops that maniac but it’s part of putting the pressure on. So if my little body added together with 35,000 other Portland bodies added with millions of other bodies across the world can slowly and steadily keep the pressure on Bush and his administration, then it is helping. And it’s not going to get in the way of letter writing, of holding public discussions or whatever it is that is meant by ‘working so hard for peace.”

Protests aren’t meant to be polite. They don’t have to break the law. They don’t even have to contain vandalism, but their point is, YES, to get on the nerves of people who insist on looking the other way. People who refuse to hear our voices. It gets people to feel something about it. Even if it pisses them off, fine. It gets them involved. It keeps them from being apathetic. One could say, “but who’s seeing it? It’s only getting on the nerves of fellow Portlanders.” On the surface, yes. Yes, it is going to inconvenience our citizens when we take over the road they are driving for a gawd awful 15 minutes.. maybe an hour? But stopping traffic makes waves. We’re trying to make waves. We’re trying to rock the boat in our community. In a perfect world, letter writing might do the trick.

For me, this comes down to the survival chakra. Call it survival instinct. When you have a government that will stop at nothing to get what it wants, kill innocent people when they have a choice not to, it causes a feeling of desperation. It causes rage, it causes “I won’t stand for this and you will hear it!” When people act out, it is always because their health and wellbeing is in danger. People act out to get attention. The more things are compressed, the more the survival instinct bursts out and explodes, just like a pressure cooker. Let me tell you, my survival instinct is kicking in. I write letters. I talk to friends about the war, I give money to these causes.. but I have to get my physical body into the streets too.

If someone isn’t listening to you (the government) and you want to get their attention, you mess with them where it hurts. That’s the philosophy of civil disobedience and even vandalism. “No more business as usual!” Our government isn’t listening to us but I sure as heck bet that their ears will perk up if they hear about more and more intense protests. I can’t help but cheer for unrest.

I’m very, very pissed off and scared about this war and not just what the war means but what it means for how our country is going to handle foreign relations from here out. While people are being bombed, while our government is mindlessly shredding Iraq to, supposedly, find one man, it’s totally obtuse and disgusting to me that our lives should go on untouched, business as usual. “Let’s all just nicely do what we can but get on with it.” By looking around, no one would ever even know that we are at war, should they be walking through the streets .. if people weren’t protesting in those very streets. We are so incredibly sheltered in this country. 9-11 was the first experience with what war feels like. That was ONE day of hell in America (and yes, it will haunt us forever). So imagine a lot more days like 9-11 and you have the situation in Iraq.

We have no idea what it is like to have a life constantly under threat, only to be bombed by the Americans again. So what right do we have to criticize our citizens that think that it’s worth getting arrested to make a point? Wouldn’t we want someone in another country to protest on our behalf if we were being slaughtered? Would we still say that protesting should be polite if it were our life on the line? “Oh, no, don’t inconvenience someone on account of my life…”

So if they won’t listen when we’re nice about it, “please don’t do this..” then we start to get louder. Bring it on, I say. Let’s get as loud as it takes.

 

So here is the video I worked on for Nov. and Dec... for sale now on CD Baby!

Garden Flowers Video for sale!