We interrupt the Tales of Birthday Revelry series to announce that the big day is here - March 19, 2006, the third anniversary of the Iraq war and occupation.
It's a gloriously sunny day, and in a few short hours, what is predicted to be at least 10,000 Portlanders (though I hope for more!) will hit the streets in protest. The sun and the fact that the rally has a record number of sponsors and endorsers seem to bode well.
Everyone I know has heard about the event ad nauseum, however, in case anyone has forgotten it is at 1:30 today in Waterfront park. For anyone who has never protested before, it really is an empowering feeling it is to be surrounded by thousands of other people who share your beliefs and are trying to do something about them. Hopefully, the energy and sense of community will inspire people to speak up. There's so much that people can do, especially when they work together.
More on today's protest,PPRC and the regular Friday rally later. I'm off to take a shower as I don't want to be blamed for single handedly bringing down the peace movement by clearing the park with my funk.
P.s. If you see the bus named Cool on the streets and listen closely, you'll notice that the ice cream truck music is actually The Marseillaise. I don't know why, but the unexpectedness of that tune in such a chirpy context delights me.
2 comments:
To me, what is impressive is that what you are doing is way bigger than anything happening in Britain. Our efforts to "Stop the War" from starting were massive but since then, even on anniversaries, there is hardly anything happening. I can think of lots of reasons for that, but for now I'll just say...
GO PORTLAND!!!
Ok. I'm starting to become really irritated. I have responded to this post twice now, but it never shows up when I come back. Perhaps the third time will be the charm. So, I repeat: I am really proud of Portland. I heard on the news the other day that it was among the three largest anti-war demonstrations in the world that day - right between London and Chicago (both of which I believe are significantly larger cities).
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