If we go to war, whatever it may bring, we can take heart in the American heart...I received this from someone who attended a rally for Peace in Portland Or:
Yesterday I was a tiny part, of the largest gathering of humans I have ever seen.
Anywhere; any time; any place.
Saturday, March 15th 2003, in Portland.
The March on the Ides of March.
Take heed, George Bush.
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Picture the people it takes to fill miles of city street.
I saw them on the streets of Portland yesterday.
It was ASTOUNDING. The number of people.
It looked like EVERYONE was there. Everyone who lives in the City. "Who ELSE can be out there?"
"Everybody who CAN be here, is here!"
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I stood by the edge of the mass to watch it go by, to get a sense of the people count, until some friends pulled me into the surge. I had stood there for the first hour watching a six lane street, completely stuffed with people, squeeze together and file by to march the streets.
When I joined the march I could still see people and banners coming this way down Front Street, without end. The avenue and park are about 500 feet wide; they were jammed with people for over a mile.
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You need to get a concept of the number of people who were here, America.
It was the Grandest Day.
The Grandest Day in the history of Oregon.
The Brightest Day, since this whole mess started.
I am SO PROUD to be among these people.
It was moving, and I was moved.
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When I joined the line it was an ARMY.
Bush may make a war; but he will not make a population. He will not "invent" a population. Because the population is HERE.
There were so many people; and so much good spirit.
Take heart, America.
Take heart!
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I thought maybe younger kids don't care. WRONG.
I thought older people couldn't get out. WRONG.
I thought I was with a few hundred friends, and I have tens and tens of thousands - in the streets of the city and excited about it.
We have a GOOD FUTURE.
Grammaws and grandpaws; kids singing; moms and dads and dogs. (Ever been given the peace sign by a woman in her eighties? Wow. Now think of thousands of them.) People walking with canes. People walking with their friends from their towns. Lots and lots of older people, carrying signs; and ones who couldn't walk, sitting by the route…
Lots of American flags - we KNOW who we are…
Baby carriages and dogs ("Paws for Peace"), and wheelchairs; banners and signs and costumes and musicians. Everybody, everybody, everybody.
Was welcome, and was here.
It was a revival. In the grandest, most inclusive sense.
So many ages…so much wisdom and hope and experience.
It was super human. It was sensational. It was HAPPY.
HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY.
HAPPY DAY.
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"My my my -
"ALL THESE PEOPLE, KNOW and VALUE THE TRUTH. ALL THESE PEOPLE, WON'T BE LIED TO AND WON'T SIT STILL."
"All these people want the future back, and they're taking it."
ALL, THESE, PEOPLE.
I was surrounded by a truly vast ocean, of each other's smiles. Each other's cheer and cheers. It was warm and friendly; and fantastically exciting. You can't HELP but smile; say hello; and crowd together to walk the walk. "Isn't this FUN??"
It was one of the best days of my life.
It was like - the day you got married. Yep! That big.
In some ways, even bigger.
This day you got married to a Civilization. One you hoped exists; like the perfect mate… A gigantic crowd of people; your REAL neighbors. Your real Democracy. The offset, the opposite, of the Nation's current stranglers. This is the heart, the living heart. The eyes. The being.
Our country has never been in such peril. We are the proudest and bravest dream of its founders.
Americans are alive and well.
It was great; the way greatness should be. From the people.
The america of George Bush is not America; and even more profoundly - it is not REAL. His america does not exist.
America is not "invisible TV war supporters." America is thousands and millions who feel the way you do. Who care and have heart. Every single one of these people here; every ONE. We want educations and jobs and respect - for other humans and ourselves. We want a good place to live, and things to work for and believe in. Not destruction, slaughter, hatred, and George Bush's world empire. You have kidnapped america; WE are coming for it back.
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Bush will find no jackboot army here.
He finds no support and no enemies.
He finds NOTHING.
It is not the United Nations who is irrelevant, George. It is YOU.
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As Bush said, "Fool me once; that's my fault. I forget the rest."
There is no FOOLING us any more - when you watch phalanx after phalanx of nice and happy and courteous and respectful people squeeze by, with tens of thousands of signs…you see - and will never forget - WHO THE PEOPLE REALLY ARE.
(You're done, George. You have lost history and you have lost the people, even with your control of television. Take note - we are HERE.)
Thousands, and thousands, and thousands of people. It looked like MILLIONS.
A wonderful, wondrous sight. One I have never seen before.
There is no fooling these hundred thousands you won't show on TV - because we have SEEN OURSELVES.
We know WHO we are, and HOW MANY.
We are UNITED.
Not in your dreams; in fact and presence.
WE ARE THE PEOPLE.
"We are not with you, George."
We ain't with ya.
Get it?
WE AREN'T WITH YOU.
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Before I joined the crowd, tens of thousands of people went by. As we wound in a giant rectangle through the city blocks, we turned back the direction we came. I was able to see several blocks down a street to the crossing street where we had been; and the marchers a mile behind us were still leaving the park.
As we walked this boulevard, parallel to the park, I checked at each subsequent cross street, looking back toward the park. Front Street was still stuffed with people and banners moving the direction we had come. We pointed them out to each other.
You couldn't help but smile.
"Wow!"
This march was MILES long, people.
Miles.
You can't watch endless line upon line of people throng together and not see who is the majority. Where are the pro-war thousands? Where are their hundreds?
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And they were the best behaved crowd I have ever seen. I kid you not.
There were about 20 pro-war counter-protestors on one street side, with a bullhorn, who were well-treated by the crowd. They, were nice as well. Everyone, was friendly.
I was super-impressed. Well done, neighbors.
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"Stop Mad Cowboy Disease."
"Bomb Texas - They have oil."
"NOT MY PRESIDENT. NOT MY WAR!"
"Support the troops. Bring them home!"
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What did the local news report?
That "some" protestors tried to close the Morrison Bridge and ONE was arrested. The network chose as their most pronounced aerial coverage, a police line pushing a small group of people back on a bridge.
They reported, (falsely), "Organizers expected 50,000 people, but only 30,00 showed up."
Lies.
LIES.
Really, really, big, blatant, lies.
Nearly ALL of the news shots were of people moving along the route from ground level; I never saw a single overhead shot follow this stunning mass through the city's blocks of towers, to show its length, strength, and breadth.
They begrudgingly called the crowd "thousands."
The most important day in the history of this State's democracy and Statehood - a Monumental Historic Event - the largest gathering I have ever witnessed - wasn't even 'first' on the news. It was given bare minutes; bare seconds; and split with the views of the contextually irrelevant 1/1,000th pro-war attenders. Ask yourself - Would this be the coverage received for 100,000 pro-war citizens?
This minimal entirety was cut short by film of 200 pro-war protestors - in another city!
The massive march was called "MOSTLY peaceful," in the most denigrating tone.
There was NO violence. None. ONE person was SHOVED by police on the off-the-route bridge…
It was MASSIVELY peaceful.
And it was just plain massive.
There is NO WAY they could put it on the news as it really was. But not only did they conceal it; they attacked it.
One of the station's "reporters," given full air time, was there to ask people - get this - a NEWS REPORTER - his segment opens up with him saying (he has some people stopped, with a mic in their face): "Do you know how many liters of anthrax Hans Blix says are still unaccounted for in Iraq?" The people looked as stunned as I do. Like, "What the hell? Who do you work for? Why are you asking that?"
Well, now you know - so he can put your bewildered faces on the news.
("Lemme see… How can I discredit, by ANY means, a large mass of people and make them look - well, hopefully, as stupid as I illegitimately can?")
Who is this, Rush Limbaugh? He EVEN has - he whips it out and shakes it at people, like a carnival barker - an empty plastic jug, to SHOW what a liter is! "This is a liter. This, is a liter. Of anthrax." What a pathetic, revolting, jingo job. You are a disgrace, son. Do not apologize to me.
I was stunned. (And pissed off, mind you. Pissed-off.) "This is the news. As we know it. Oh my…"
The news 'time' gets occupied with this BS propaganda, a couple of brief sentences from people there, and that is IT.
That's IT.
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When I was walking the route, what really surprised me was the ABSENCE of news cameras. Three, single location, mini-news vans on three miles of march. It basically was not covered, by any realistic measure. If you don't film it, you don't have to admit it exists.
Don't sit still for this, America.
If you watched this coverage, you would not know the supreme significance of what happened. Do we still need to speculate that is what the media wants? To lie to us? To lie to EVERYONE?
I KNOW what happened - and so do the mass of people I walked with. And now WE know what even local media's role is. I ask myself, "What are they there for? What are we watching them for, except to be propagandized? Why do we let them lie?"
It's time to go to your city and demand PUBLIC NEWS. You're going to have to make the news yourself - if you want to hear it. Get hold of some TV, and use it for your life. Take away the lies. Beat the media. Stand up. TAKE control. Push the media aside, and let's get back to "it." The now-buried existence of truth.
What is truly amazing, is that EVEN WITH the lying of the networks and radio and print media - with EVERYONE's lying - still people got up and made signs and spent the day, being responsible. Fighting for America. Without any of the media to inform them; with the media being complicit obstructers of justice and lying through their teeth; with the media staging their own propaganda street theatre - still the PEOPLE were there. They got their truth somewhere else.
In happy and respectful amazement, I see they are "not buying it" anymore.
They got their TRUTH.
The "news" then quickly closed - on the whole, stunning, democratic affair - with advertisements for the pro-war rally coming to the Capitol steps.
Maybe there will be another 200 people there, like the last one.
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'Tis a happy day of comfort, my friends.
The truth is out.
It is sweet savory.
WE ARE HERE.
Defend the HOMELAND. |
