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| March 21, 2007 Red Alert by Soren Wuerth, insurgent49 Children of the Revolution
A girl, who couldn’t have been more than
five, picked through buttons in a wicker basket. Her sister, maybe a
year older, read aloud the slogans, “peace is possible,”
“if you’re not outrage you’re not paying
attention,” and “I am a shameless a-gi-tat-or.”The younger one finally settled on “Impeach Bush.” She hoisted a black umbrella aloft and, radiant and hopeful, she joined a procession of fifty or more in this small coastal city, on a march toward the federal building. They came with their dogs, with handmade signs (one seasoned veteran had scrawled war costs on the underside of a pizza box), and, in a coordinated message symbolic of our resentment to Bush’s war, black umbrellas. There were a half dozen on the other side of the fence. A man stood stiffly with a red beret, his sign read, “Support the troops.” But, other than an occasional middle finger, the march was peaceful. The same can’t be said of places elsewhere. When my brother, his two young daughters and a friend joined a float in a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Colorado Springs, they encountered brutal police interference. As the float (a bus owned by a local bookseller and a crowd in peace-sign-emblazoned green shirts) moved toward the heart of the parade, police cruisers peeled in from the flanks. Out leaped the cops. A gap widened between the bookmobile and other floats. Thousands of onlookers watched aghast as the police pounced on seven of the marchers including an elderly woman. The 65-year-old woman was dragged away, her pants falling down, her legs black and blue from bruises sustained in the police attack. My brother moved to the side of the road with his nervous children. “Daddy, daddy, do something,” his daughter screamed, “they’re hurting that woman.” The police threw down another man, choking him. “We have a permit,” my brother yelled, “we have a parade permit.” That doesn’t matter anymore in America, however. The Empire has been moving ever closer to a corporate-fascist state. We all know that. In Grand Rapids, MI, four demonstrators were arrested for “making noise.” In Anchorage, meanwhile, my mom stood for two hours, stamping her feet, listening to the riveting speeches by women whose husbands have been called away to fight Bush’s war (now entering its fifth year) for the umpteenth time. In Portland, my brother and niece happened to be downtown when they noticed a march going on. They parked the car and joined in. So it goes for us. But what of the rest of them, the drivers with music thumping who slowed their cars, impatiently inching forward, reluctantly yielding us the road; the parade-goers who booed at the Colorado peace demonstrators; the agitated Portland commuter stuck in march-delayed traffic, looking at this watch? Pity these people. When the Empire finally collapses, they will be forced to confront the selfish false security they’re so used to and change or move on. Then it will be time for the kids (wearing buttons, writing letters to editors, “why are the police so mean?”) to take the lead, chanting, fists raised. Soren Wuerth is perhaps Alaska's best known community activist, and is the winner of the Alaska Press Club's 2006 'Best Columnist' award. He resides in an undisclosed location in rural Alaska and can be reached at soren@insurgent49.com. 'Red Alert' appears on insurgent49.com every Wednesday. |
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March 14, 2007 March 7, 2007 February 28, 2007 February 21, 2007 February 14, 2007 February 7, 2007 January 31, 2007 January 24, 2007 January 17, 2007 January 10, 2007 January 3, 2007 December 27, 2006 December 20, 2006 December 13, 2006 December 6, 2006 November 29, 2006 November 21, 2006 November 10, 2006 November 3, 2006 October 27, 2006 October 20, 2006 October 13, 2006 October 6, 2006 September 29, 2006 September 22, 2006 September 15, 2006 September 8, 2006 September 1, 2006 August 25, 2006 August 18, 2006 August 11, 2006 August 4, 2006 July 28, 2006 July 21, 2006 July 14, 2006 June 30, 2006 June 23, 2006 June 16, 2006 June 9, 2006 June 2, 2006 May 26, 2006 May 12, 2006 May 5, 2006 April 28, 2006 April 21, 2006 April 14, 2006 April 7, 2006 March 31, 2006 March 24, 2006 March 17, 2006 March 3, 2006 February 24, 2006 February 17, 2006 February 10, 2006 February 3, 2006 January 27, 2006 January 20, 2006 January 13, 2006 January 6, 2006 December 30, 2005 December 23, 2005 December 16, 2005 December 10, 2005 December 2, 2005 November 25, 2005 November 18, 2005 November 11, 2005 November 4, 2005 October 28, 2005 October 21, 2005 October 14, 2005 October 7, 2005 September 30, 2005 September 23, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 2, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 19, 2005 August 12, 2005 August 5, 2005 July 29, 2005 July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 29, 2005 April 21, 2005 |
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Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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