People are dead...so we can bicker
I was just thinking that if I love the internet enough I should marry it. Then I would convince the internet to steal people's credit card numbers and we would live happily ever after. Too bad such an unholy union is illegal. Damn George W Bush.
Moving on. Today I went to an Iraq War Memorial Demonstration. This basically means we put a few thousand candles in cups along Grand River and lit them in rememberance of those Americans and Iraqis that have died because of the war. The Young Americans for Freedom showed up accross the street. They took a lot of pictures, waved the flag and had their signs. We did the same thing except instead of flag waving, we had candle lighting.
We had one guy come up and ask us why we weren't protesting what was going on in Dafur. He told us that Darfur wasn't in the news and the Iraq war was so we should raise consciencness about that. He was then informed to join a group that would do that. I don't really know what his thing was - I think he wanted us to decide of one single most important issue in the world and only protest that. I could have told him how concerned I am at how many transgendered people are murdered every year in our country or how many people are dying of HIV or any issue that I care about. The dude was really weird and I don't know why he didn't understand that people want peace. Plus, as horrible as it sounds, our taxes are paying for the Iraq war. We are doing that. Our government isn't causing the Darfur genocide (well indirectly what colonization has done to Africa has caused many problems and I'm sure you can connect America to what is going on, but you get what I'm saying).
I got really bummed though cause a lot of the pro-peace activists were really interested in yelling at YAF and heckling them. I understand being angry at YAF, but what is that going to solve? I luckily am not close to anyone over in Iraq, but I know a few people over there and I was trying to think about them and those that have died. The candle lighting was a memorial for those people. Bickering across the street at ignorant fascists isn't a memorial.
Also, the group I was with took a bunch of candles across the street to light in front of the Marine recruitment office. Which is cool, I'm down with the anti-recruitment movement, but it seemed like a really offensive move to make. I'm wondering if things could have gone differently to keep the emphasis on those that have died.
That is the one thing almost all of us can agree on. Pro war or pro peace, we are all sad about those that have died. The bickering and aggressive posturing just took away from that. And I do understand that taking an aggressive position makes more of a statement than being a push over, but when a shouting match started I left and went to the class I was 20 minutes late for. I just got bummed out that what was a really cool event had turned into children on both sides of the street just whining at each other.
When I came out of class about 3 hours later, everyone was gone. However, on the median of Grand River there were still candles burning. Those that died were still sitting there. After the war is over. After occupation is over. After all the angry yelling and arguing, those that were murdered are still dead. I'm sure that those that are dead would much rather have those with differing opinions stand on their seporate sides of the street respectfully standing for what they believe in. The burning candles of the dead made enough hot air. For those of us that are living, we don't need to make more.
One thing that really set YAF off was a sign that someone on my side was holding that said "the military...a DEAD end job" or something along those lines, with an emphasis on dead. Some YAF people were really offended by it (or at least pretended to be cause I don't know if they really feel anything) and when they confront the people holding the sign, they didn't have an explination really for why they were holding the sign. If you are gonna hold a sign like that you better be able to back up why you are holding it.
And I can understand what that sign means. Really the military is a job to murder and be murdered, lets be honest here. But once again, this was a memorial demonstration, not a protest. I kind of felt that those signs changed the vibe - it took the emphasis off of those that died and put it on the people holding the signs. I felt that those signs could have stayed at home for a later date...perhaps March 20th would have been more appropriate.
I think I'm done talking about that. It is getting warmer outside and the snow is beginning to melt some, or at least for now. I love the smell of the earth breathing and waking back up from the winter. It gets me really excited.
One of my room mates told me that I should apply for a job with NASCO (north american students of cooperation). I'm thinking about it even though it isn't a social work job, I'm just wondering if it would work with the band. The office is in Ann Arbor so I would probably have to get a car to drive to work or I could live in AA and need a car to get to practice. Maybe I could bike from Ann Arbor, but I don't know how well that would work....maybe. It would be much easier to just work in Detroit.
Going back for a moment, when the cops came to the demonstration they were basically ignored. They were like "who's in charge?" They were just met with a "no one is in charge, if you have something to say, you need to say it to everyone." Then they just pretty much left. It was pretty cool.
I want it to get warm so I can start doing longer bike rides at night in my extra time.
- jason
I borrowed a bike from the pocketknife in Minneapolis and road around the city. These two pictures are on a bridge over Lyndale Ave. near I-35W.
I was really into setting a camera on the ground and taking self portraits
This is Aaron and Vance skating by a bike sculpture in Belleville Illinois.
This is Egon's Unicat. This band is amazing.
This is Mike writing a set list at the Wired Coffee House in Evansville, Indiana
This is another camera on the ground self portrait on a roof in Huntsville Alabama.
This is Mike and Katie on the same roof.
After these pictures were taken we found out that the owner of the Skatepark was not to excited about us being on his roof. He hated us.
Emo walk picture in Belleville Illinois
If you look really hard you can see Dale skating in this picture.
Ottawa Illinois.
Fun pictures!
Moving on. Today I went to an Iraq War Memorial Demonstration. This basically means we put a few thousand candles in cups along Grand River and lit them in rememberance of those Americans and Iraqis that have died because of the war. The Young Americans for Freedom showed up accross the street. They took a lot of pictures, waved the flag and had their signs. We did the same thing except instead of flag waving, we had candle lighting.
We had one guy come up and ask us why we weren't protesting what was going on in Dafur. He told us that Darfur wasn't in the news and the Iraq war was so we should raise consciencness about that. He was then informed to join a group that would do that. I don't really know what his thing was - I think he wanted us to decide of one single most important issue in the world and only protest that. I could have told him how concerned I am at how many transgendered people are murdered every year in our country or how many people are dying of HIV or any issue that I care about. The dude was really weird and I don't know why he didn't understand that people want peace. Plus, as horrible as it sounds, our taxes are paying for the Iraq war. We are doing that. Our government isn't causing the Darfur genocide (well indirectly what colonization has done to Africa has caused many problems and I'm sure you can connect America to what is going on, but you get what I'm saying).
I got really bummed though cause a lot of the pro-peace activists were really interested in yelling at YAF and heckling them. I understand being angry at YAF, but what is that going to solve? I luckily am not close to anyone over in Iraq, but I know a few people over there and I was trying to think about them and those that have died. The candle lighting was a memorial for those people. Bickering across the street at ignorant fascists isn't a memorial.
Also, the group I was with took a bunch of candles across the street to light in front of the Marine recruitment office. Which is cool, I'm down with the anti-recruitment movement, but it seemed like a really offensive move to make. I'm wondering if things could have gone differently to keep the emphasis on those that have died.
That is the one thing almost all of us can agree on. Pro war or pro peace, we are all sad about those that have died. The bickering and aggressive posturing just took away from that. And I do understand that taking an aggressive position makes more of a statement than being a push over, but when a shouting match started I left and went to the class I was 20 minutes late for. I just got bummed out that what was a really cool event had turned into children on both sides of the street just whining at each other.
When I came out of class about 3 hours later, everyone was gone. However, on the median of Grand River there were still candles burning. Those that died were still sitting there. After the war is over. After occupation is over. After all the angry yelling and arguing, those that were murdered are still dead. I'm sure that those that are dead would much rather have those with differing opinions stand on their seporate sides of the street respectfully standing for what they believe in. The burning candles of the dead made enough hot air. For those of us that are living, we don't need to make more.
One thing that really set YAF off was a sign that someone on my side was holding that said "the military...a DEAD end job" or something along those lines, with an emphasis on dead. Some YAF people were really offended by it (or at least pretended to be cause I don't know if they really feel anything) and when they confront the people holding the sign, they didn't have an explination really for why they were holding the sign. If you are gonna hold a sign like that you better be able to back up why you are holding it.
And I can understand what that sign means. Really the military is a job to murder and be murdered, lets be honest here. But once again, this was a memorial demonstration, not a protest. I kind of felt that those signs changed the vibe - it took the emphasis off of those that died and put it on the people holding the signs. I felt that those signs could have stayed at home for a later date...perhaps March 20th would have been more appropriate.
I think I'm done talking about that. It is getting warmer outside and the snow is beginning to melt some, or at least for now. I love the smell of the earth breathing and waking back up from the winter. It gets me really excited.
One of my room mates told me that I should apply for a job with NASCO (north american students of cooperation). I'm thinking about it even though it isn't a social work job, I'm just wondering if it would work with the band. The office is in Ann Arbor so I would probably have to get a car to drive to work or I could live in AA and need a car to get to practice. Maybe I could bike from Ann Arbor, but I don't know how well that would work....maybe. It would be much easier to just work in Detroit.
Going back for a moment, when the cops came to the demonstration they were basically ignored. They were like "who's in charge?" They were just met with a "no one is in charge, if you have something to say, you need to say it to everyone." Then they just pretty much left. It was pretty cool.
I want it to get warm so I can start doing longer bike rides at night in my extra time.
- jason
I borrowed a bike from the pocketknife in Minneapolis and road around the city. These two pictures are on a bridge over Lyndale Ave. near I-35W.
I was really into setting a camera on the ground and taking self portraits
This is Aaron and Vance skating by a bike sculpture in Belleville Illinois.
This is Egon's Unicat. This band is amazing.
This is Mike writing a set list at the Wired Coffee House in Evansville, Indiana
This is another camera on the ground self portrait on a roof in Huntsville Alabama.
This is Mike and Katie on the same roof.
After these pictures were taken we found out that the owner of the Skatepark was not to excited about us being on his roof. He hated us.
Emo walk picture in Belleville Illinois
If you look really hard you can see Dale skating in this picture.
Ottawa Illinois.
Fun pictures!