the dogs of war are unleashed...
Mar. 20th, 2003 11:16 pm...and my own dogs are barkin'!!
So the march shut down Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue, for hours. So we marched well over a mile. So the news says 4,000 people, which means it was probably somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000. And an hour or so after I slipped away, it's still on the news (at a little after 11 PM). I'm watching cops close in a square around people, not letting them leave, and shoving them by the hundreds into busses and paddy wagons. My experience: they never told us to disperse. Or to do anything: they only shoved. Mostly small middle-aged women - at least one of whom was shrieking, "I could be your mother! You should be ashamed!" (Indeed.)
Keep in mind that, although we trapped thousands of people in traffic at rush hour, the thumbs-up and peace signs and honks and cheers outweighed the middle fingers by a good thousand to one (meaning I only saw ONE of the latter).
Keep in mind this is the third largest city in the United States, not known as a lefty-granola hotbed, whose City Council passed an anti-war resolution some weeks ago by a margin of 46 to 1.
Keep in mind that a person on my friendslist, who I've known for 12 years, was one of the first to be arrested tonight and I still don't know where she is.
Keep in mind that we are NOT going to stop.
So the march shut down Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue, for hours. So we marched well over a mile. So the news says 4,000 people, which means it was probably somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000. And an hour or so after I slipped away, it's still on the news (at a little after 11 PM). I'm watching cops close in a square around people, not letting them leave, and shoving them by the hundreds into busses and paddy wagons. My experience: they never told us to disperse. Or to do anything: they only shoved. Mostly small middle-aged women - at least one of whom was shrieking, "I could be your mother! You should be ashamed!" (Indeed.)
Keep in mind that, although we trapped thousands of people in traffic at rush hour, the thumbs-up and peace signs and honks and cheers outweighed the middle fingers by a good thousand to one (meaning I only saw ONE of the latter).
Keep in mind this is the third largest city in the United States, not known as a lefty-granola hotbed, whose City Council passed an anti-war resolution some weeks ago by a margin of 46 to 1.
Keep in mind that a person on my friendslist, who I've known for 12 years, was one of the first to be arrested tonight and I still don't know where she is.
Keep in mind that we are NOT going to stop.