W stands for Warmonger

I want to start with a thank you to all of those who have sent such wonderful comments about the blog. Writing this is the best part of my day so thank you for the encouragement. Please feel free to pass the blog on to anyone you think might be interested.

There have been many episodes of civil disobedience in Manhattan since Sunday's march. The group A31 prompted a warning from Employee Communications at work yesterday because our building was being targeted for a 4:00 p.m. protest. I checked out their website and they had several companies listed under categories like "War Profiteers" and "RNC Contributors." I was relieved to see that we were under the latter. Not that I would quit my job for either category - (re: conversation with young Communist on the merits of paycheck paying the rent) since the laptop on which I write my blog is owned by my company. Maybe that cancels out a little of the contributions to the RNC?

In any case, nothing materialized at our location because the group gathered across the street on the east perimeter of Ground Zero and marched to Madison Square Garden. The nearly 1,000 protesters Bushivicks (as opposed to Bolsheviks so named by some conservative media as reported to me by Cathy Godfrey. I thought she said Bushivicks so it was my word for the day!) who have been arrested are being held at a detention center near Chelsea Piers. The conditions are fairly primitive and already it's been nicknamed (How do you say melodramatic in New York-ese) "Guantanamo on the Hudson."

I went to my local electronics store yesterday and the sales staff cheered my anti-Bush button. I chatted with one older gentleman who was disgusted by Guiliani's speech. He said, "I found him repugnant." I loved that he used such a formal word. I had forgotten that Rudy was originally a Democrat, just like Michael Bloomberg. Following the Corleone tradition of keeping my enemies closer, I watched bits and pieces of the convention, but I must confess I'm not evolved enough to handle it with much grace. I thought Rudy made a good point when he mentioned that after 9/11, Republicans and Democrats worked together to rebuild New York. That, in fact, after the election, Republicans should work with Democrats united for one America. I noted the tepid applause.

I stopped at Union Square yesterday on my way to yoga and the mood seemed to have shifted to an angrier tone. I took a few pictures and wandered around listening to conversations. There was a man with a sign that said, "Trust Bush and Jesus." I'm not sure how a pacifist whose greatest legacy is one of love and forgiveness can be compared to a man who says "You're either with us or against us." I would have asked him but he was busy arguing with some young kids who broke into a chant of "Two more months. Two more months." I wish I could believe it.

I noticed a Causcasian guy in his mid-40s with a sign that read, "Kill All the Rich People and End Slavery Now." As I came upon him an older African-American man told him that his message wasn't right, "You're just driving people away by telling them to kill. That's not right." The sign bearer sneered that he wasn't liberal, he didn't care if it drove people away, and added, "Malcolm X didn't care if his message was too strong."

I said, "Yes in the beginning but in the end, he didn't promote violence. Besides, rich is relative. To most Third World countries, the poorest American is rich." He ignored that comment - anarchists are just not people-persons!

A young woman came up with her little boy and agreed that the message was wrong. In the end she said she thought that all politicians were bad. "All the good ones they kill." I mentioned Barack Obama and they both said, "But not for another 8 years - if he isn't killed first."

After yoga (during which we heard non-stop sirens - presumably all headed to the Garden) I came across a guy registering people to vote and selling anti-Bush tshirts. I'm not sure that's legal. As I was chatting with him he suddenly leaned over and said, "Lady, I am making so much money tonight!" I congratulated him and told him capitalism was the American way.

As I was crossing the street to the subway, an elderly woman grabbed my arm and asked if I would help her cross. As we walked, she told me that the city couldn't even handle a few protestors, how could they handle another terrorist attack? Her husband said it was all - and here she whispered - "bullshit." With a boisterous crowd milling around us and sirens blaring, I didn't get a chance to ask her which part he thought was bullshit. She thanked me at the next intersection and then grabbed a young man's arm to help her cross 4th Avenue. A little bit of NY chutzpah to get her home safely.

On the train I was thinking if nothing else the protests seemed to have encouraged dialogue. As much as it's fired up New Yorkers, I think it's making people all over the country feel emboldened and empowered to do something - anything! Even if it's just talking to strangers and asking their opinion.

I came home and I read some of Bobby Kennedy's To Seek A Newer World and I realized how little real discussion we've had because the Republican machine is totally focused on character assasination. They've learned everything and nothing from Lee Atwater.

Can you imagine Bush or any neocon for that matter quoting a Greek poet or Albert Camus - not because it makes a speech dramatic - but because the words, the poetry, the literature, inspired or healed some part of their spirit? If Bobby were running today, he wouldn't make it past the primaries. He would be destroyed all over again. I know, like Che, he was flawed, very flawed - but the level of compassion, the willingness to let life and pain transform him and his political experience are unparalleled in American politics for the last 35 years.

An administrative assistant on our team, Sophia, is an actress and a member of a group called THAW - Theatre Against War. She participated in The Line this morning that stretched from Wall Street to the Garden. (I overslept!) Participants stood in a line and held up a "pink slip" with statistics about unemployment in America. There was a great photograph in the NY Times this morning but you can find more information on the website for People for the American Way. Again, I am revelling in the ingenuity of the protests!

When I mention at work that I've participated in a few protests - I am surprised how many people are surprised! My biggest supporter besides Sophia is a British expatriate on a two-year assignment in New York. He asked me today, "Did you slip in a demo before work this morning?"

Employee Communications sent us a warning about today's protests. They were referring to The Line and mistakenly said it would begin at 5:00 p.m. I sent my team an email indicating that it had already taken place. The Brit came by and said, "So now you're giving us up-to-the-minute demo information? Before you know it your email address will be Protests.org."

I couldn't watch Arnold last night but I understand he was compared to Obama. Another incongruous association. I thought the "W stands for Women" signs were curious. I wonder which women that W refers to? The women who have had abortions and whose medical records the Justice Department tried to subpoena? Perhaps, not.

I'm going to end this post with two small but powerful stories. The first appeared in the NY Times yesterday and is my favorite RNC week story so far. I think you will agree. (I hope this isn't copyright infringement. Lawyers, let me know.)

"...One group kept far away from midtown and the Garden, which has been a focal point for many of the organized protests. "We are just not able to walk it," said Pearl Scher, the organizer of a downtown demonstration of about 100 elderly people who came out with walkers, wheelchairs and canes. Wearing T-shirts emblazoned with slogans like "Fermer le Bush" and "Fire the Liar," the elderly protesters were forthcoming in spirit if not mobility. "It was unbelievable," said Ms. Scher, who said the average age of the protesters was 83. "There must have been 100 of us," she said. "When you multiply 80 by 100, you've got 8,000 years of experience."

Pearl - you rock!

And finally, a shout out to Jackie-Loya Torres who successfully fought off an attempt by a conservative mother at her children's Catholic grade school in Kansas City to have the Girl Scouts removed. Why would anyone want to remove the Girl Scouts you ask?

For their liberal, feminist stances and their "association" with Planned Parenthood, of course. Those subverisve Girl Scouts always causing trouble with their badges and those cookies! Thin Mints everywhere wreaking havoc and poisoning girls with ideas of independence, environmental respect, self-sufficiency, and civic duty. Jackie, you do all of us former Girl Scouts proud ! As I told her it's easy to get up one Saturday morning and walk a mile across a bridge but it's the day-to-day battles and our willingness to fight them that change the world.