What's your reason for *not* being at the DC or SF protests?

[JanMichael]

Mine? Personal issues. While I made the March 15th protest this one was impossible for me to attend. Getting married in August, while living in a different state than my bride, has left my vacation and travel funds shot to hell. I wish that I could've been there, but instead I spent Saturday shooting off my big trap on "the Guy James Show" (not that it isn't one of the coolest things that I get to do mind you), sorry.

So I wanted to go but couldn't (For whatever reason, it matters not unless you want it to)...Are the rest of you like myself, unable to make it but wanting to go, or were you just not interested in going? Maybe you've got a problem with the organisers? Maybe you're not into protesting? Maybe too (An opinion only) old or young?

Why do I ask? Because this sort of political expression has become important to me.

If you weren't there, why not?

[mike_c]

1. it's a two day trip to SF and back for me...

...and that's if I drive six hours back up to Humboldt after the march (ugh). I just couldn't get away this time.

[JanMichael]

2. That's cool. Geographical limitations are a real problem for us.

What's the closest big city to you?

[imax2268]

3. I work for the DOD...

here in AZ and I couldn't get the leave time approved...I would have made the California marches but like I said...couldn't get the time off...

[JanMichael]

5. That's cool.

I'm local gummint myself. Good benefits but not that good if you get my drift:-)

[imax2268]

16. Yup...I hear ya...

There was a small protest here in AZ somewhere...but I didn't hear a word about it...

I wish that someone would orginize one here in AZ...that would be great...

[Melinda]

4. Personal issues.

That's as much I'm willing to share on a public discussion board, but if I could have, I would have. :)

[noiretextatique]

32. me too...and other commitments

otherwise i would have joined my DU friends at the SF march.

[Lefty48197]

17. Why would anyone want to leave Humboldt?

yuk yuk

[DisgustipatedinCA]

6. I was at a small rally

I attended a rally in Bloomington, IN. I was able to attend 5 rallies in San Francisco earlier this year and in 2002. I also went to one in Sacramento.

The Bloomingotn rally was small, but I was happy to be there. Instead of being surrounded by tens of thousands of like-minded people, there were maybe 50 present. And every few minutes, Neanderthals would drive by and scream "traitor" or "support the troops" or "faggots", and so on. I felt very proud to be there with my wife and 3 kids, and I look forward to going to the next one.

Thanks.

[JanMichael]

8. Very, very, cool! I should have added local events too, my bad.

Keep on kickin' LOCAL ass!

[ComerPerro]

7. See, the thing about being in middle America

Is that its a couple thousand miles to reach anywhere where anything happens.

[JanMichael]

9. Last March 15th I sat in a bus for 20 (maybe 24, I forget) hours.

It cost $100 and students could get sponsers to pay their way, we had some sponserships unused.

Where are you if you don't mind me forgetting what you've already told me, or posted, weeks ago...

[ComerPerro]

18. I am in Lawrence, KS

Thank you for telling me about that though.

[JanMichael]

22. KU? I used to live in Overland Park.

No, I'm not a Republican...

I wish that there were some better alternatives for our Middle Earth Activists.

[Clark Can WIN]

23. From here its 38 HOURS on a bus

Not all of us are capable of doing that you know and it has nothing to do with young/old.

and 300.00. A little prohibitive.

Many of us support peace in other ways that make more practical sense for everyone. I think it's really great that you were willing to make that trek but I hope you're not trying to come off like you are better than those who for their own reasons could not or choose not to go. I hope not because I think everyone who supports peace (peacefully) in one way or the other helps move us all in the right direction.

[JanMichael]

27. I've already explained that I wasn't attempting to berate.

Here's a question: If you were 5 miles away would you have gone?

Thanks for responding.

[bearfartinthewoods]

49. only to meet DUers

and invite them home with me.

[Clark Can WIN]

10. I live in the middle of the country.

Washington DC 1335.33 miles
San Francisco, CA 1487.64 miles


My cars not quite up to the journey

[Lefty48197]

19. Car break down at an NRA rally with a Bill Clinton bumpersticker?

?

[Silverhair]

11. 1,000+Miles, Age, Health Problems. Good enough for you?

[JanMichael]

14. "Good enough"? I wasn't attempting to berate.

My apologies if I wasn't clear.

[jonnyblitz]

12. ah, I misunderstood our recent PM exchange and thought

you left Florida and moved to NC. my bad...:hi:

anyways I believe you greatly contribute to the cause against the dark side by participating on the Guy James Show

[celestia671]

13. I live too far away from those places.

Too bad though. I'd love to go to a protest!

[LWolf]

15. A couple of issues this weekend.

I might have been able to drive the 7 hours to SF after work Friday night, but...

1. I worked 75 hours M-F this week, including 13 hours on Friday. I was too tired to drive all night.

2. I promised my friend months ago that I would attend her tipi raising party Saturday afternoon/night.

3. I also spent the early hours Friday morning and again late Friday night working as the phone center for a distant family member who lost her father, gathering a support crew for her.

So, instead, I slept a whole 90 minutes late Saturday morning, then went and spent 2 hours wandering around the hills on my horse. It's soothing. Then I came home and listened to you chat on the show while I tried to catch up on household chores, and then I went out to raise that tipi. A fascinating exercise in group cooperation. The party and the bonfire after weren't bad, either.

I've been to some local demonstrations; an exercise in courage, as this is a heavily neocon area. A peace demonstration Feb 15th, and several Friday evenings on corners protesting the war. Those were fun and a little scary; lots of people screaming and throwing things at us as they drove by, but even more people honking and waving. It was kind of sad, how intimidated some people were. They'd wait at the red light, right next to where we were standing, staring grimly straight ahead; then, when the light turned green, they'd flash us a quick peace sign and take off.

I missed the most recent demonstration; it happened while I was at work. About 30-40 people gathered outside the fundraiser appearance Arnold made a few weeks before the recall. They didn't do one this weekend.

[JanMichael]

21. 75 hours?! Damn.

Once again I wasn't trying to belittle those not there, hell I wasn't, just trying to get a read on those that "chose" to not go for whatever those reasons might be.

75 hours...Wow.

[LWolf]

36. I knew that!

With the CA budget in the tank, one way our school district is dealing with it is to add extra "adjunct" duties...no extra pay. Our contract says that we work a "professional day." Which means, work until the job is done.

With NCLB as well as the state accountability system breathing down our necks, the district has mandated a tremendous amount of documentation to prove that we are "complying." The paperwork load is incredible and is also adding the hours. The first few weeks of school this year, I thought it was just me. The usual "overachiever" syndrome; but it's not. I get to work at 7am; when I leave at 6 or 7 or sometimes 8, I'm not the last one out of the parking lot, and I'm usually carrying more work home. Another couple of hours worth.

And I'm too brain-dead to think or communicate clearly about anything.

I did get a little mention on an ed-related website this week; I'll count that as my demostration for this week. Site below.

:tinfoilhat: I keep wondering if that's part of the overall strategy; keep us too tired, too stressed, etc. to organize opposition.

http://www.susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=175

[Guaranteed]

20. What were they pushing?

Leaving Iraq now? Yeah, I'm against that idea anyway.

[bicentennial_baby]

24. MIdterms and family issues

Dad's about to have major surgery

[Blitz]

25. I would rather poke myself in the eye with a rusty nail

than be associated in any way with many of the organizers and speakers at these protests.

Actually, I usually go to the S.F. protests to take pictures and observe the political landscape (at least as it's represented at the protests) but this Saturday was the Red Bull Flugtag so I watched the DC protest on CSPAN instead. It was pretty much all that I expected it to be. Which is another reason to not go. After a while, they're the same song and dance over and over again and, unless it's important for you to be counted and merge with the hive mind, there's not much reason to go. Sound bites and chants for the intellectually lazy followed by appeals for money and website traffic.

[Tinoire]

30. Ah yes- the old they're anti-Israel complaint under different packaging

Just say it- you're already on record for having stated this as your main complaint in the past.

[Blitz]

34. Where did I mention Israel in my post?

Obsessing a little? Jonesing for a reason to attack the "zionists?" Get thee to the FA/NS dungeon! You want to discuss/debate Israel? Start a thread and I may be along in a while. How about Mumia? I'll weigh in on that too. I'll debate Iraq and the occupation. I'll happily discuss whether or not North Korea is a threat and whether the U.S. is "occupying" South Korea. I'll talk about capitalism vs. Marxism and communism. I'll happily discuss the idea of Palestinian statehood, whether the Cuba embargo should be lifted, whether or not the Patriot Act should be nullified and whether the Bush tax cut needs to be repealed. These, and many other topics, were discussed at the "anti-war" protest.

You see, while I didn't attend this particular protest, I did pay attention and, unlike you, apparently, I do not have J-E-W-S permanently on the brain (I am "on record" as being Jewish but, wonder of wonders, concern myself with issues other than Israel and those who hate it).

Start a thread. Start twenty threads. But, first, do this for me, Tinoire: Show me the post where I went "on record" and stated that the "anti-Israel complaint" was "(my) main complaint in the past." Unless you can do that, I expect an apology for your offensive assumption.

[Tinoire]

50. You know what- I will apologize to you

because I don't have that book-marked and could be wrong even though I do have your moniker mentally pegged as someone who is quite sensitive about any criticism of Israel.

Since you say you have not, I will apologize but I do stand by my point that the main reason ANSWER is being attacked by a lot of Jewish groups and pro-Israel (though I hate that term) posters right now is because of the Palestinian issue.

There are too many people here who have been clearly stating for the last 2 years that they would never attend one of ANSWER's rallies because of that and went as far as to say that ANSWER itself was anti-Semitic. Since you say you never did, I apologize for my erroneous mental note that you had; my memory must be failing. I will be extrememely disappointed though if I ever find one of those old threads and find your name there because I have no tolerance for anyone who rationalizes and excuses the occupation of Palestine and people's reaction to ANSWER was consistent with their views on I/P.

As far as the other thing, I had idea if you were Jewish or not and resent that implication. My Jewish friends both at DU and in real life are some of the loudest advocates for all of ANSWERS causes and fight the smears against ANSWER as vigorously as I do. You are getting paranoid if you think that's where the line is drawn- the line purely and simply drawn at injustice- something that still isn't understood in I/P.

[Cassandra]

52. Perhaps you are confusing...

Blitz with me. My main complaint with ANSWER is the lack of focus they deliberately create at the protests. They attract a large crowd with their promises of an anti-war rally and then pull out the rest of their agenda, once they have their captive audience. I consider it bait-and-switch and it's just as dishonest as Bush is when he covers up boxes that say "Made in China" while promoting a jobs program. ANSWER is much more effective at using anti-war protesters to get their messages out than the protesters are at using ANSWER to send a clear message of opposition the the war.
And yes, you won't see me wearing a T shirt saying "we are all Palestinians now" any time soon.

[cally]

38. Ah yes, intellectually lazy

Sometimes insults backfire. Do some reading and analysis of protests and why they help.

[Blitz]

40. Help who?

Let me be clear. I did not and do not want to help 98% of the people & organizations who spoke at and/or organized these protests and do not agree with their aims or share in their objectives. What's intellectually lazy about that? Do you regularly go to rallys for things that you do not support?

[bluedeminredstate]

26. I had planned on going

but my husband had to be out of town and my son got pneumonia on top of his nasty chest cold so I had to be here with him. Couldn't do the babysitter route - I needed to be home with him.
I wish I could have been there. Thanks to prolesunited - with all she had going on she PM'ed me with phone numbers, meeting places, and kept me posted in general. I'm really bummed I missed it, but when my little guy gets that sick I need to be Mom first.
For everyone who got there:
:yourock:

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. I live pretty far away from both here in Michigan. As a mom I would

have had a hard time getting babysitters that could work with my children's sports schedules. I did attend the rally before the debates though. :)

[rocktivity]

29. My stigmata started acting up

And besides, I had to spend the bus fare on job interviewing shoes.


rocknation

[Tinoire]

31. Your stigmata??!!!!!!!!!!

Lol- you are hilarious! I'm going to remember that one! :)

[ma4t]

33. my reason for not attending, ever

Although distance would have made attending either event impractical I'd like to explain why I would not attend even if the rallies had been next door to my house.

The rallies were organized and sponsored by International ANSWER. This is a group that applauds the regime in North Korea for standing up against U.S. imperialism. I can think of no more disgusting, dispicable regime in the world than that of North Korea. Anyone who thinks there is anything about that odious tyrant that deserve praise and respect is beyond the pale as far as I'm concerned. This same group believes that Cuba is a worker's paradise where everyone is free to protest at will and everyone benefits from a benevolent government. Kinda make you wonder why those crazy Cubans keep drowning in the attempt to get to Miami, doesn't it.

At any rate, I think that I would forego attending an anti-war rally sponsored by the Klan, the Moonies, or the American Nazi party because I wouldn't want to lend support, even indirectly, to their organization. Similarly, I would refrain from attending any event connected with International ANSWER.

Just my own $.02 worth.

[Blitz]

35. Are you sue that you're not just one of those rabid Zionists?

/sarcasm (see posts 25 & 30) :)

[WoodrowFan]

39. Agreed

If we slam repukes for hanging with racists like the CCC we shouldn't hang with left wing hate groups like ANSWER.

[Asak]

37. Protests don't do anything...

And it's naive to believe they do. Thousands of people protested before the war and no one gave a damn. It certainly didn't stop Bush.

The media just paints any sort of protest as unpatriotic. Anyone who goes out to protest is just going to be patronized and insulted. Why go out of your way to be ridiculed when the people of this country will not appreciate what you are doing? Fighting people tooth and nail to get them to see what's right for THEM is self defeating.

Non-violent protest has never accomplished anything worthwhile.

(Please don't mention Vietnam...protesters accomplished nothing then either. They were just completely ignored until the general public finally got fed up with the kill count.)

[Blitz]

41. Gandhi? Martin Luther King?

The end of segregation wasn't worthwhile? The Civil Rights marches accomplished nothing? Who did Gandhi machine-gun to get freedom for India? Have you studied the suffragette movement at all? Do you think women, throughout Europe and North America, were given the right to vote simply because men woke up one day newly enlightened or do you believe that there was some bloody war of the sexes that women prevailed in?Or perhaps non-violent protests, when properly carried out for the right cause, DO work. Or perhaps you don't think that women's rights, racial equality and national freedom are, to use your term, "anything worthwhile."

[Blitz]

45. Kick

for an answer.

[Blitz]

42. In light of the ANSWER threads,

this deserves a kick.

[lovedems]

43. I would have LOVED to go but...

I live in Illinois and am a stay at home mom. My husband is one of the million of americans out of work so it just wasn't financially possible for me.

[elfwitch]

44. I live in Texas..

I live in Dallas. Both were too far away and I am broke as hell. I couldn't finance a trip to Ft. Worth right now, that is how broke I am.

[EV1Ltimm]

46. too busy being a capitalist pig-dog

and avid paintballer

[reachout]

47. Scheduling conflict

Had already helped organize a sustainable living fair on that date months before the protest was announced. Didn't get to protest, but got to give people a lot of tips on how to live a more Earth-friendly, less consumer oriented life.

[catmandu57]

48. Money mostly

though there is that pesky mobility problem, I've got a chair I can use though I'm not sure how to get it there on a bus or plane if Southwest goes to DC.
Then there's the wife, she wouldn't understand, she's just not the political person I am. It's just easier to sit home and watch everything unfold on tv.
If I were twenty years younger and single I would have been on the hyway with my thumb in the air.

[CBHagman]

51. I had to work.

If I were free on Saturdays, I'd be at the protests.

[jiacinto]

53. Didn't have money

nt

[prolesunited]

60. Seriously,

if you would have had money you would have gone?!?!?

[John_Shadows_1]

54. The answer is A.N.S.W.E.R

n/t

[LoneStarLiberal]

55. In Texas, Finishing Proposal

I'm in Texas and finishing a research proposal right now that will make or break me over the next year.

Plus I don't dig on ANSWER's message. I admire their ability to organize, but they DO NOT speak for me and they do the Democratic Party a big disservice.

[goobergunch]

56. Homework / School today (n/t)

[rbnyc]

57. I'm not walking well enough...

...to be in a crowd. And I still have too much pain to take a long car ride. Otherwise, I would have been there.

[flama]

58. I know you would have been there

And that stupid blonde who might be unlucky enough to live to regret she ever almost learned how to drive is the only reason you weren't there. ('Scuse the rant.)

I'll miss the pictures you would have taken. Let's hope everyone who did get there and took pictures finds a way to share them with us.

Ma

:loveya:

[frank frankly]

59. money and scheduled conference

i tried to go, and thanks to all who went...

[flama]

61. Personal and political issues, my dear JM

I'm almost getting over being worse than broke and finally have a temp job that might get me in the black for a month or two.

That's a personal issue I blame on what's his name's politics. (Oh I know his name!)

Since I can't afford to leave town, my options now are to make semi-decent bucks at a job I cannot love or to make an almost living wage working for a NYT newspaper with decent benefits. (Yeah, you know the one.)

Of course, I can still write political blasphemy whenever I feel the urge. You can do that from anywhere in these great untied states.

BTW, in which state are you living now? Want me to watch out for ShakeyDave while you're away?

Ma