JOIN THE FIGHT FOR PEACE!
There are many events going on.
find one near you at
www.notinourname.net/

Here are some images from the NION (Not In Our Name) national peace march on October 6 2002.

It was great to see so many people there. Estimates ranged from 5000 to 10,000 here in Los Angeles. I personally would guess on the high side of that.
This is not a solitary event. This is an ongoing movement. There are many of us in this country who do not believe that continued warfare is the answer to our world's problems. And that does NOT mean that we are not patriotic.

I understand the urge to strike out when we feel threatened. But we have to move beyond that. In an ironic way, peace is a very simple thing. All we have to do to achieve it, is simply STOP killing each other. That's the literal truth. Before you conclude that that's naive, or idealistic, consider that the reason others continue to be a threat to us, is that we continue to threaten them. Violence is a cycle. Not only is it the literal truth, but it's the ONLY way.

Somebody has to have the courage to STOP FIRST. It takes much more courage to be peaceful than it does to strike out. And if we, the USA, the worlds most powerful nation EVER, are not strong enough to stop, then how can we expect anybody else to.

(This green sign was mine)

Can't we see that it's a cycle? We have to be able to step out of ourselves and see it from their point of view. They are human beings, not the soul-less evil that George Bush would like you to think. They live in desperate conditions with very little hope. And we are exploiting their natural resources and blockading their harbours. We are maintaining a military presence throughout their entire region.

How would we react if a hostile country parked a giant destroyer and several aircraft carriers just off our coast and started trying to control our actions? We'd be pretty damn miffed, wouldn't we?

But we do it because we percieve them as a threat. And they retailiate because they percieve us as a threat.

It's a bit like a giant pulling the wings off of insects, then getting pissed off when the insect bites back.

Have I made you mad at me yet? Well, please consider that I'm not defending the bite-back either. I was just as angry as anyone else when the september 11th attack happened. I'm just saying that if we want to end the threat, then we have to recognize that our military actions in the middle east, are only going to lead to more attacks on us in the future.

Just as we want peace, so do they. They're just afraid of what we're gonna do next. And their desperate situation leads some of them to go over the edge into irrational violence.

But remember, The vast majority of them, are peace-loving people, just like us.

WE ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE TO BREAK THE CYCLE

What happens if we get rid of Saddam Husein? What's next, North Korea? Remember, Hussein used to be our friend. We helped him use his chemical weapons, by giving him intelligence information about where the Iranian troops were.

JOIN THE FIGHT FOR PEACE!
There are many events going on. find one near you at www.notinourname.net/

So now we're afraid that he'll get the atomic bomb. Well, I got news for you. Someone there WILL get the bomb eventually. It's only a matter of time. It would be very easy for there to be a coup in Pakistan, for instance... or any number of other future possibilities.

we cannot contain this situation forever. We've got to start now to move toward peace in the middle east, or one day there will be a mushroom cloud over New york.

And WE will be to blame for it, because of our current iron-fist methods of dealing with the rest of the world.

It is so important that we get to know each other better. As Americans, we have very little interaction with the rest of the world. We have two oceans isolating us, and both economic and military power that makes it unecessary to interact on a regular basis.

Many Americans do not even know that Muslims worship the SAME GOD that Christians and Jews do.
That's right. And many of the same prophets too.

We're not as different as you might think. We're all just trying to have a good place to raise our families in a difficult world.

What would Ghandi Do?

In case you don't know, I'll give you the short version. Ghandi almost single handedly freed India from opressive british rule. His weapon was his steadfast refusal to become violent. (for an entertaining AND educational evening, why don't you rent the DVD? you can hang out and eat popcorn for a couple of hours, and it might just change your life.)

He did it by organizing many others to speak out. And if we're gonna change our situation, that's exactly what we have to do today.

Speak out whenever you can, and in any way you can. Advertise your opinion EVERYWHERE.

ADVERTISE IT ON YOUR BUTT!

TAKE IT TO THE STREETS! YOU DO HAVE A VOICE!

Tell people to contact their elected officials. Not once, but continuously! It's easy to send a letter or make a phone call. check www.vote-smart.org for all their names and contact information. Don't be shy. even if you don't know who your senator or representative is now's your chance to start!

Your Phone call could be the one that tips the balance, changes a vote and saves thousands of lives. (maybe your child's life. maybe your own.)

JOIN THE FIGHT FOR PEACE!
There are many events going on. find one near you at www.notinourname.net/

But won't the cops BASH my head in?

Some of the police actually showed support for us!

The important thing is that WE be peaceful, and that the news media sees us being peaceful in large numbers. The media was there. I spoke to a photographer from the LA times, and two different TV news crews.

I Did see this sentiment being expressed:

Which I guess is true. I'll be the first to proclaim that the media sucks in this country. Just listen to the BBC on radio/cable or the internet if you want to see the difference.

But the media are some of the only friends we have in this so-called democracy. They are our voice, and our watchdogs. and we need to be on good terms with them so they'll help us spread the word.

They say that "freedom of the press is for people who HAVE a press". Well, I don't happen to have a live satelite uplink in my back pocket either. so let's be nice to those who do.

OKAY FOLKS! Let's get out there and give the world our opinion!

JOIN THE FIGHT FOR PEACE!
There are many events going on.
Find one near you at
www.notinourname.net/