the great big protesting update
Okay, so this is the big protest entry! Aren't you excited? I am. I'm pumped. But there's two issues being covered here. Feel free to read some of it, none of it, or all of it. Feel free to comment, but that's not necessary for my sake. But it is here for you to comment, agree with me, or attack me. I'm cool with it all. Here goes nothing...
p.s. there's pictures of both events too!
So, midnight on Saturday I met up with 22 other people in the Medbury Parking lot. And we started to head to Washington D.C. with two school vans (a 12 seater and a 7. I'm in the 12) and a car of extra students. We were all really tired, but the way down there wasn't bad. We slept. It was pretty good, except the whole getting pulled over by a state trooper since we were following our Professor who was going 65 in a 45. But, Dobkowski is god and all three drivers got out of the ticket after Dobkowski felt it necessary to educate the troopers on what's going on in Darfur and it's significance to the very meaning of human life.
Got to some random parking lot outside "Shady Grove" station at 8 am. Left there 9 am after much confusion over the metro fares. Got to DC at 10 on the metro. Dobkowski made it a mandate to find the nearest Starbucks and (on our way to a protest rally) we all chilled in Starbucks and drank coffee for a while. Then to Hillel Building on 8th and 800. Got breakfast there, saw drawing by little kids from Darfur about what's happening to their homeland, listened to some speakers there, and then we walked as a group to the mall where the Rally was going to be held.
I have never been to anything like this before. It was amazing. I can't even describe it. Our group was there hours early, and already there was a couple hundred people there. We were about 100 yards, or less, from the stage. It was incredible to walk around and see all the signs. to see the people. to hear the people. I just can't really put it into words for you guys...
Once people started getting there, however, it was packed. There had to be thousands, and I'd bet ten thousand of us out there standing on the mall and raising our voices against genocide. (after note: just read press release: apparently it was TENS of thousands. woot woot for anti-genocide ralliers!!!)
it was amazing. I've never seen so many people just come together from all over, from all sorts of different backgrounds and all sorts of religions and beliefs that are just here to advocate for one thing: a person's right to life. Nothing else. What's going on in Darfur is wrong and needs to be stopped. Immediately, not five months from now. Yes, I hate higher oil prices too... but the value on someone's life and an entire culture of people is worth more than my gas money. More than the entire world's gas money. And instead of doing something, the UN has just cut their funding for food for the refugees in half. When there's already an estimated 3.5 million people in danger of starving. And 500 people are being killed every day by arab teenagers that the government gave guns and camels to.
Okay. i'll stop on that and go back to the Rally... (if you don't know the whole story and want to, ask me. I've got plenty of information. And I just met a survivor the other night at the Rochester Rally and our school group of 10 students had dinner and a chance to talk to him for a while there. I can tell you lots about Darfur.... but it needs to wait for another entry.)
There was a group of sudanese survivors there marching along the outskirts of the crowd. Seeing that group was incredibly moving. I can't explain it... it just was. They were so passionate, so involved, so strongly moved... I can't really explain it. It kind of just hurt to see them there; I actually wanted to start crying. And still do when I think about them. And a lot of the people there. It was just incredible to see that many people who cared so much about human life. About the value of humanity. About kindness. It was amazing just to hear all those people clapping, all those people yelling, all those making noise to stand up against inhuman crimes. It was beautiful. Beautiful.
^^^the picture directly above this is not my credit. taken from savedarfur.org. everyone go there and sign a post card to bush asking him to take active measures against the genocide in darfur. really. do it. it's important.
We had to leave the Rally early. I was bummed as anything. But we slowly got back to the van and started the awfully long and annoying car ride home. But we won't talk about that. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
After running around from 9 am to 3:30 today, it was kiss-in time. I think I explained the kiss-in in an earlier entry so I won't do so here. It was fun, we brought a big sign and a cd player and we sprawled out on the quad. There was a good 30 some people out there. We had a "welcome kiss" we where all went around and kissed each other just to say hello, then we went out and played spin the bottle. Which was awesome. You would spin the bottle, who ever it landed on you ran over and kissed however was okay with the two of you. There was everything from short kisses on the each to people willingly sticking tongues into each other's mouth. It was great. Everything had to be consenual, so there was no one forcing a tongue into someone's mouth, but it was a lot of fun. And I guess i have to say I've now offically been kissed by a girl, or a bunch of girls. And I've kissed them too. And random guys, who I didn't know at all. But it was a lot of fun, especially since we were talking about other issues besides just gay rights as we were there. And it was great to see straight guys out there kissing other guys, and straight girls getting all excited to kiss girls, and then a girl chasing some guy around to kiss who's yelling "don't you know the meaning of queer! queer kiss in means i shouldn't be kissing girls!" it was great.
Pictures anyone?
And it was nice because every one out on the quad got to see that. Everyone saw us, and watched too. Some in digust, some in support, some joined in. It was just one of those great things that really fills you up with love at the end of the day and makes you remember "there's a lot of people that will support human rights out there in the world. even just your right to love who you want."
p.s. there's pictures of both events too!
So, midnight on Saturday I met up with 22 other people in the Medbury Parking lot. And we started to head to Washington D.C. with two school vans (a 12 seater and a 7. I'm in the 12) and a car of extra students. We were all really tired, but the way down there wasn't bad. We slept. It was pretty good, except the whole getting pulled over by a state trooper since we were following our Professor who was going 65 in a 45. But, Dobkowski is god and all three drivers got out of the ticket after Dobkowski felt it necessary to educate the troopers on what's going on in Darfur and it's significance to the very meaning of human life.
Got to some random parking lot outside "Shady Grove" station at 8 am. Left there 9 am after much confusion over the metro fares. Got to DC at 10 on the metro. Dobkowski made it a mandate to find the nearest Starbucks and (on our way to a protest rally) we all chilled in Starbucks and drank coffee for a while. Then to Hillel Building on 8th and 800. Got breakfast there, saw drawing by little kids from Darfur about what's happening to their homeland, listened to some speakers there, and then we walked as a group to the mall where the Rally was going to be held.
I have never been to anything like this before. It was amazing. I can't even describe it. Our group was there hours early, and already there was a couple hundred people there. We were about 100 yards, or less, from the stage. It was incredible to walk around and see all the signs. to see the people. to hear the people. I just can't really put it into words for you guys...
Once people started getting there, however, it was packed. There had to be thousands, and I'd bet ten thousand of us out there standing on the mall and raising our voices against genocide. (after note: just read press release: apparently it was TENS of thousands. woot woot for anti-genocide ralliers!!!)
it was amazing. I've never seen so many people just come together from all over, from all sorts of different backgrounds and all sorts of religions and beliefs that are just here to advocate for one thing: a person's right to life. Nothing else. What's going on in Darfur is wrong and needs to be stopped. Immediately, not five months from now. Yes, I hate higher oil prices too... but the value on someone's life and an entire culture of people is worth more than my gas money. More than the entire world's gas money. And instead of doing something, the UN has just cut their funding for food for the refugees in half. When there's already an estimated 3.5 million people in danger of starving. And 500 people are being killed every day by arab teenagers that the government gave guns and camels to.
Okay. i'll stop on that and go back to the Rally... (if you don't know the whole story and want to, ask me. I've got plenty of information. And I just met a survivor the other night at the Rochester Rally and our school group of 10 students had dinner and a chance to talk to him for a while there. I can tell you lots about Darfur.... but it needs to wait for another entry.)
There was a group of sudanese survivors there marching along the outskirts of the crowd. Seeing that group was incredibly moving. I can't explain it... it just was. They were so passionate, so involved, so strongly moved... I can't really explain it. It kind of just hurt to see them there; I actually wanted to start crying. And still do when I think about them. And a lot of the people there. It was just incredible to see that many people who cared so much about human life. About the value of humanity. About kindness. It was amazing just to hear all those people clapping, all those people yelling, all those making noise to stand up against inhuman crimes. It was beautiful. Beautiful.
^^^the picture directly above this is not my credit. taken from savedarfur.org. everyone go there and sign a post card to bush asking him to take active measures against the genocide in darfur. really. do it. it's important.
We had to leave the Rally early. I was bummed as anything. But we slowly got back to the van and started the awfully long and annoying car ride home. But we won't talk about that. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
After running around from 9 am to 3:30 today, it was kiss-in time. I think I explained the kiss-in in an earlier entry so I won't do so here. It was fun, we brought a big sign and a cd player and we sprawled out on the quad. There was a good 30 some people out there. We had a "welcome kiss" we where all went around and kissed each other just to say hello, then we went out and played spin the bottle. Which was awesome. You would spin the bottle, who ever it landed on you ran over and kissed however was okay with the two of you. There was everything from short kisses on the each to people willingly sticking tongues into each other's mouth. It was great. Everything had to be consenual, so there was no one forcing a tongue into someone's mouth, but it was a lot of fun. And I guess i have to say I've now offically been kissed by a girl, or a bunch of girls. And I've kissed them too. And random guys, who I didn't know at all. But it was a lot of fun, especially since we were talking about other issues besides just gay rights as we were there. And it was great to see straight guys out there kissing other guys, and straight girls getting all excited to kiss girls, and then a girl chasing some guy around to kiss who's yelling "don't you know the meaning of queer! queer kiss in means i shouldn't be kissing girls!" it was great.
Pictures anyone?
And it was nice because every one out on the quad got to see that. Everyone saw us, and watched too. Some in digust, some in support, some joined in. It was just one of those great things that really fills you up with love at the end of the day and makes you remember "there's a lot of people that will support human rights out there in the world. even just your right to love who you want."