Those inside the caution tape were warned a few times and then arrested. A big air-conditioned bus showed up to cart the protesters off to Anacostia. They were processed immediately and then told they would have to come back in 15 days.
Brower noted a shift in protocol. Instead of going through the entire process of getting re-fingerprinted, running protesters' records, etc, the police chose to issue citations and force out-of-towners to come back.
The protest was overwhelmingly peaceful. I asked Brower what she thought about the fact that someone from the press corps mentioned the protest to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. I mentioned how the Obama Administration issued a statement saying "leaving Afghanistan is not an option."
Brower said that Gibbs and Obama knew we were there (despite what Gibbs said to the press corps). She does not think they will listen to protest or consider what they have to say. But, people should understand that the people who voted him into office are now standing at his door yelling at him to shift policy.
She added his "base is slipping" and he's going to have to answer to people who wonder why he is abandoning his base.
This was the first protest ever done with a prime focus on Afghanistan.
As indicated in my original entry, the people are trying to push Obama to do what needs to be done. He is ignoring people, pretending people are not there protesting, going about business as usual and simply talking to generals, asking Congress to help with Afghanistan, etc.
How do you confront the reality that Americans will not be able to make Obama do it like they thought they would do when they voted him in office? How do you deal with the idea that he won't deliver hope and change when it comes to Afghanistan?
The answer may be depressing but Americans cannot become further demoralized. Americans must become energized and go out and organize protests in community that share with other Americans the reality of the war in Afghanistan.
For more, read this press release from Voters for Peace and read David Swanson's article, "We Were Arrested for Speaking."
Original Entry
Brower noted a shift in protocol. Instead of going through the entire process of getting re-fingerprinted, running protesters' records, etc, the police chose to issue citations and force out-of-towners to come back.
The protest was overwhelmingly peaceful. I asked Brower what she thought about the fact that someone from the press corps mentioned the protest to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. I mentioned how the Obama Administration issued a statement saying "leaving Afghanistan is not an option."
Brower said that Gibbs and Obama knew we were there (despite what Gibbs said to the press corps). She does not think they will listen to protest or consider what they have to say. But, people should understand that the people who voted him into office are now standing at his door yelling at him to shift policy.
This was the first protest ever done with a prime focus on Afghanistan.
As indicated in my original entry, the people are trying to push Obama to do what needs to be done. He is ignoring people, pretending people are not there protesting, going about business as usual and simply talking to generals, asking Congress to help with Afghanistan, etc.
How do you confront the reality that Americans will not be able to make Obama do it like they thought they would do when they voted him in office? How do you deal with the idea that he won't deliver hope and change when it comes to Afghanistan?
The answer may be depressing but Americans cannot become further demoralized. Americans must become energized and go out and organize protests in community that share with other Americans the reality of the war in Afghanistan.
For more, read this press release from Voters for Peace and read David Swanson's article, "We Were Arrested for Speaking."
Original Entry
When a major protest event happens, you can count on your friendly mainstream media to be M.I.A. unless the protest involves a band of angry thuggish teabaggers sporting posters comparing Obama to Hitler or Stalin.
Through Facebook, Twitter, and independent media, I was able to learn a bit about what took place today outside the White House.
According to Peace Mom Cindy Sheehan (in the picture above), she and at least 81 others were arrested outside the White House today.
TalkingPointsMemo reports:
Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004 and later made a name for herself by camping outside then-President George W. Bush's home in Crawford, TX, was involved in the protest. There was also poetry. According to the release:
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