Frozen Warnings

Yesterday afternoon an estimated 4000 people marched in a peace demonstration in midtown Atlanta.  The march converged at Piedmont Park for two hours of speeches and entertainment.  Cynthia McKinney, Cindy Sheehan, Reverend Lowery, local talk show host Mike Malloy, and many others were on hand to speak.  A diverse mix of groups were on hand to show support including union labor, LGBT, veterans for peace, and the libertarian party among others. 


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I neglected to photograph a very moving Eyes Wide Shut display at Piedmont Park, but _maldorora did (and also posted them to atlanta).

The EWS artwork was incredibly touching. Before they announced the display I happen to see all the black dots on the hill. I started to cry then but waited a little while before going over. When I did, the faux-preachers spewing hatred in the background made for a surreal experience (did anyone inform these assholes that Jesus Christ was a peacemaker, that he was a pacifist, a radical pacifist at that?).

2000 pairs of boots were neatly arranged on the side of a hill, with a soldier's name affixed to each.  Walking amongst these old pair of boots touched me in a way that none of the speakers or chants could have.

Some of the boots were polished and clean, others had dirt on them. I wondered whether these were the actual boots of the soldiers. It didn't matter. I cried and asked the god/dess why this had to happen, what lesson were we to learn from this horrible atrocity? I avoided going near to the fundamnetalists on my way back to the stage. I was afraid I might say something to them I later regretted. They aren't the real problem now anyway, just an annoying distraction.


The march itself was beautiful. I was somewhere in the middle and couldn't see the beginning or the end, there were so many people! Someone said the procession was nine blocks long. Not sure about that though.

Considering I only knew about this demonstration from the yellow flyers around town, the turnout could have been so much greater if 99x and other stations promoted it. Unfortunately, most area FM stations are owned by corporations who appear to support the bloodshed. So I heard nothing on the radio, except a blurb on Air America.

The news isn't reporting on the anti-war demonstrations, which angers me. I've posted in several forums letting people know, including dailykos.com.