I am afraid

I am often asked "aren't you afraid ... of driving across the country by yourself, of blocking the sidewalk in front of a recruiting station, of not wanting a man's protection, on and on and on.

I am not afraid. I am strong and I guess, deep down, like my grandchild, I love people. I am aware of what men are capable of doing and I do not want to cross their paths, but I will not allow the possibility of their potential violence to limit me.They will have to do that dirty work themselves.

But I am afraid. I am afraid we the people of this country do not care to end war because we are killing human beings, destroying our Mother Earth, hurting every living thing.

But I am afraid we the people of this country do not care to end war spending because the poor, the indigenous, the people of color of this nation are and always have been suffering great injustices and inequities.

But I am afraid we the people of this country do care to end war spending because we want the money to spend here, for us, for our children.

I am afraid the anti-war message of ending invasions & occupations because it is morally and humanly WRONG is not getting out with the Occupy Wall Street actions.

We MUST make sure we carry that message every moment thru all our actions. We might convince people to end war because we are spending $2 BILLION dollars a day on the invasions of 6 countries (that we know about).

We certainly have not been able to convince people to end war because millions of people are being murdered, and even more irreparably harmed, let alone the horrific impact of war on the Mother Earth.

Health Insurance vs war!

I am told quietly that I am being too anti-war! I am shocked but I attempt to stifle my outrage and listen.

She tells me her number one commitment is to health issues. I respond that war IS the GREATEST threat to all health, especially those immediate victims of war.

Her eyes tear up and she stutters mournfully, "...but... but but I have seen so many in this country without, without... health insurance" she finishes defiantly.

I am speechless. Blown off legs vs health insurance? Raped, bullet-holed, tortured vs health insurance? White phosphorus, depleted uranium, intense burns and explosions vs health insurance???

We are discussing how unwelcome womyn's leadership in general, Medea & CodePINK in particular, seems to be at this protest occupation of Freedom Plaza. How womyn have been hushed, told not to talk too much, our voices cut off, stymied.

I do not want to change the subject, but I am afraid: if a co-organizer does not see war as a number one issue, what does this say about this occupation?

Later this same co-organizer criticizes one of the signs we are making: "Healthcare not Warfare" - she says make it "Healthcare for All". I remain silent and make my own sign, the previous one.

Air & Space "Museum" to be continued

One of today’s big action targeted the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum that gives honor to the horrific weapons of war, genocide, and destruction, not just the Drones and UAV’s, but also atomic bombs and bombers.

Most likely a thousand people marched from Freedom Plaza, thru the mall to the museum. We had planned to enter the museum, gather where the drones are on display, drop a banner, and do a die-in under the drones.

Unfortunately, the private museum security freaked out when we were attempting to enter the building, pepper sprayed at least 25 people directly and 75 people indirectly, pushed people back out the doors, knocked a young womon over in the process and ended up arresting her.

First they charged her with assault but then changed the charges to a $50 fine for something less.