March 19: Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq
After a brief day at home with my family, I drive south to LA where I help the LA crew prepare for the Peace Walk and Rally in San Diego to commemorate the anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. I help peel tape letters off a giant pink slip, make wooden crosses, create fliers, and more. We drop a huge pink slip banner off the Century Plaza hotel where the Gubernator is speaking that reads, "U won't be back for selling out California!" Dana and I journey to San Diego where we stay with Lynn who has the most wonderful and caring spirit and a deliciously colorful house. We begin the memorial events with a mini Arlington West--a commemoration to the soldiers lost specifically from the San Diego area--hundreds of hot pink crosses lining the beach and a banner drop over the pier. Several active duty military personell stop and talk with us. Many families stop by. The visual is beautiful and chilling and all too real.
We depart from there and start our peace walk. Dana and I scramble to put up the mile markers in time while making sure that everyone has water and Cliff Bars. The three days of the peace walk are made by between 5 and 100 dedicated activists walking through the streets en route the heart of San Diego from Oceanside Pier. I will never forget the sight of four of us women walking through the streets with a long banner strapped to our shoulders--the human peace caterpillar! Then there are Rebecca and Randy, who come from Scottsdale, Arizona and walk the entire way carrying a peace banner complete with frills and bows and strung to a piece of piping, and who have a daughter in the service. They are incredibly compassionate, a true vision of what CODEPINK is all about to me. I will also remember Bradley's stories about real justice in the streets and never taking life too seriously, and the end of the first day, when the women of Emma's Revolution met with us like magic on a street corner and we all sung, "We believe in peace, salaam, shalom" together. Or the day we crested a hill and I looked to the right to see the ocean lit with golden light--this is the way to be an activist, I remember thinking: walking with meaning alongside one of the most beautiful areas in the world!
The march swells so huge on the morning of the peace rally, when we have only 5 miles to go. We have a police escort that blocks off the freeway off-ramps so we can walk across and continue on our way. We begin to chant when we get into the downtown area and we feed into the Balboa Park rally at the exact same time as the student group who walked from the US-Mexico border converge into the demonstration. This miracle is a beautiful way to end the peace walk. The rally is quite eventful, both on and off the stage, with cheers, speeches, spoken word, lots of demands for CODEPINK gear, and a surprise appearance from my best friend, Kirsten.
I drive back up to Los Angeles with Dana and leave for Tucson in the morning, picking up Adam and driving him to Tucson with me. He and I visit the Tonopah hot springs and have great conversations all the way through the desert, which makes me feel very hydrated with enthusiasm and excitement by the time we reach Tucson at twilight.
We depart from there and start our peace walk. Dana and I scramble to put up the mile markers in time while making sure that everyone has water and Cliff Bars. The three days of the peace walk are made by between 5 and 100 dedicated activists walking through the streets en route the heart of San Diego from Oceanside Pier. I will never forget the sight of four of us women walking through the streets with a long banner strapped to our shoulders--the human peace caterpillar! Then there are Rebecca and Randy, who come from Scottsdale, Arizona and walk the entire way carrying a peace banner complete with frills and bows and strung to a piece of piping, and who have a daughter in the service. They are incredibly compassionate, a true vision of what CODEPINK is all about to me. I will also remember Bradley's stories about real justice in the streets and never taking life too seriously, and the end of the first day, when the women of Emma's Revolution met with us like magic on a street corner and we all sung, "We believe in peace, salaam, shalom" together. Or the day we crested a hill and I looked to the right to see the ocean lit with golden light--this is the way to be an activist, I remember thinking: walking with meaning alongside one of the most beautiful areas in the world!
The march swells so huge on the morning of the peace rally, when we have only 5 miles to go. We have a police escort that blocks off the freeway off-ramps so we can walk across and continue on our way. We begin to chant when we get into the downtown area and we feed into the Balboa Park rally at the exact same time as the student group who walked from the US-Mexico border converge into the demonstration. This miracle is a beautiful way to end the peace walk. The rally is quite eventful, both on and off the stage, with cheers, speeches, spoken word, lots of demands for CODEPINK gear, and a surprise appearance from my best friend, Kirsten.
I drive back up to Los Angeles with Dana and leave for Tucson in the morning, picking up Adam and driving him to Tucson with me. He and I visit the Tonopah hot springs and have great conversations all the way through the desert, which makes me feel very hydrated with enthusiasm and excitement by the time we reach Tucson at twilight.
posted by rae @ 12:27 AM
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