Thursday, April 10, 2008

Useless idiot

The way-beyond-parody "Carol For Peace" ("Exploring ways to make peace within ourselves & the world") on Recreate6!8:

Some of the local activists here formed a group called Recreate 68 some months back. The name references the "spirit of change" that existed in 1968.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

One of Recreate 68's goals is to work with the city so that a repeat of Boston's convention won't happen here this August when Denver hosts the Democratic Convention. If you remember, in 2004, protesters at the Democratic Convention in Boston were put into cages called "Free Speech Zones" (in our democracy you can only practice free speech in a designated cage?).

Organizers of Recreate 68 entered the lottery to reserve parks for specified times during the convention. They won a lot of good venues, but didn't get Civic Center Park on the Sunday before the convention - a place and time that they feel is important. It looks like they're planning to just gather there anyway on that day. . . .

I have kind of wandered away from most actions of activism (and I've been meaning to talk to the brains behind this blog to get the "social activist" words removed). Not saying that I might not, at some point, be found in the streets again instead of just standing at my Saturday corner.

Standing at her Saturday corner, the way most people like to do on a Saturday.
I understand why the creators of R68 are doing the work they're doing. If I were in the shoes of many of them, I would probably be doing exactly what they are doing.

But for me, right now, I'm clearing out the weeds inside so that I can work for peace from a place of peace. I can't see how I can do it any other way at this moment.
Update: It figures. Carol stands on Saturday street corners because she's part of Women in Black Standing in Silence for Peace, the group you always see at protests yacking away to each other (scroll down, you'll spot them).

Update II: Check out Carol's "About Me" page. Who's the guy in the funny hat? Billy Jack? He's not aging well at all.

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