January 2003

Stompin' Around DC: Protest Style

Grandpa
On Saturday, January 18th, I went to DC with Bigfoot, Penelope and Godzilla. We joined nearly 100,000 on the Capital Mall to voice our opposition to the imminent war against Iraq. People from all over the country were there to speak, and march with us. In fact, in cities all over the country and the world, people gathered for similar protests for the same cause. The voices were as loud as they were plentiful - No to war! It was very uplifting.

Forget the thrill of being free to protest the activity of my country's government, the fact that the protesters were unified by one cause impressed me to no end. You see, back in 1996 and 1997 I attended various protests in DC, Maryland and Philadelphia. At all of the protests, no matter what the theme, you would always here one speaker after another mentioning their own pet projects. Without fail, every protest had a huge, dumb, "Free Mumia" contingent. Continuity was left back home, in most cases.

But on that day in DC the people joined to make one statement. I, for one, have become to cynical to get emotionally involved in such things. Don't get me wrong, I oppose this specific military action, but I don't believe that protests will change the course of this ship. President Bush will milk this through the next election. Why? It sure beats actually fighting Al-Qaeda or Osama Bin Laden. Do you know how many countries those guys are in?

I daresay the most astounding happening at the event was running into three guys who attended college with Bigfoot, Godzilla and I. There we were, marching in the huge crowd, and we ran into these guys. One of them, Travis, stayed with us all the way to the Navy Yard. You see, we went to a very small college, so meeting just one person would have been notable. Three? That's incredible!

Side Note: Penelope, Bigfoot and I ended our big day by eating some Ethiopian food in Adams Morgan. I can't remember the name of the eatery, but the food was super awesome. The cold lentils rocked in my mouth! I don't think Penelope loved it as much as Bigfoot and I, but at least she knows what Ethiopian food is now. As for Bigfoot and I, we have eaten Ethiopian together in Baltimore, DC and Las Vegas. The next time we're in Philly, she is gonna take me out for some.

Godzilla
Yeah, so I got up early after a heavy night of drinking to go joint the anti-war rally down at the Capitol. Because I'm pissed off about this "inevitable" war. It was worth the lost hours of sleep.

First of all, let me point out that it was cold as hell. Like in the low 20's. Sure, you fuckers up further north think the low 20's is nice and warm. I don't care what you say- it sucks to be out in that kind of cold weather for 6 hours. Also, imagine you have to pee the entire time and you are surrounded by secret cameras and asshole DC cops the whole time.

Man, did I have to pee that afternoon.

Anyhow, it was a worthwhile experience. I was happy to see so many ticked off people from all over the place coming out to make themselves heard. Somebody has got to make it clear to these fuckers who have taken all the good jobs in my city that they are about as wrong as can be.

The best things about the march where that there were so many people there, and most everyone stayed on message. There weren't a bunch of the "free Mumia" nuts there, and there weren't many trust-fund anarchist making a mess. There was plenty of misguided youth there, but as long as they happened to agree with my point of view, whatever.

Also, Jesse Jackson totally phoned it in. But this isn't new, either. He's been dialing in long distance since sometime in 1983, I think.

Oh, and down near the Navy Yard, where the march ended, the DC Police where lining the march route with their batons drawn. I thought that this was particularly antagonistic and totally inappropriate. Especially considering the reputation of the Metropolitan Police as notorious assholes and the actions taken by Chief Charles Ramsey during the last march.

During the last such march, Chief Ramsey led an effort in Pershing Park, which is downtown, to round up everyone present and arrest them. This included commuters, bystanders, tourists, and of course, a bunch of kids who had gathered there lawfully. The chief, without and warnings to disperse, rounded everyone up and had them detained and hogtied. He things he did a real great job of keeping the city safe, but it seems to be pretty fair to say that he did nothing but further damage the reputation of his police force and our city. Not to mention open the traditionally fiscally strapped city to some fairly massive lawsuits.

But that was one of the best things about this march- the DC Police fucking behaved for once. It was also nice to see so many people of different backgrounds out. It was especially powerful to see at the Veterans marching against a war. I think these are people that should be listened to. They have experience with war first hand. DO we really need to get into another one because the current administration feels inadequate for never fighting in one? In any case, from recent comments it seems clear that Donald Rumsfeld doesn't think much of veterans.

All in all, it felt good to go out and publicly oppose the horrible ideas of this administration. I mean somebody has to- the cowards I've voted for recently don't seem to be up to the challenge.

Oh, and of course it was great to see giant signs that said things like "Fuck Bush" and "The Only Bush I Trust is My Own". I just wish I had a "Bush is a pussy" T-Shirt.

Bigfoot
Evil Robots staff attracted a large entourage while walking the streets of DC one brisk Saturday afternoon. OK, so it wasn't all ERI groupies. A lot of people were out on the streets to tell the politicos and the people of DC that a war with Iraq is unjustified and morally reprehensible. Representatives from ERI, while also strongly opposing Bush's war plans, frequently got sidetracked with other pressing issues and were once heard chanting "What do we want? HOT COCOA! When do we want it? NOW!"

Once thawed, ERI staff spent 5 hours arguing over which protest sign was better: "Drop panties, not bombs!" or "Who elected this fucker?" Later reflection yielded a third candidate: "Why you gotta be all violent?" Staff are still conferring on this one. Expect a ruling on this from the Supreme Court. 5 to 4.