Monday, October 15, 2007

We Invite You to Stand With Us



A group shot was formed to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the peace vigil in front of San Francisco's Federal Building last Thursday.



This mild and noiseless action set off the heckling longhair above, who shouted a stream of profanities for five minutes at the mostly elderly peaceniks on Larkin Street.



The group is handing out a new pamphlet which is worth quoting, as it's essentially an invitation:
"Please vigil with us. We are here on the corner of Larkin Street and Golden Gate Avenue every Thursday from noon until 1:00 (except federal holidays). You are welcome to stand or to sit. You need not be here for the entire vigil -- come and go as your schedule allows."


"Please invite friends, neighbors and co-workers to join us. Work with us to build a nonviolent world based on freedom and justice."

"Last year We the People elected a Congress to end the war and yet the war continues. This is a breakdown of democracy. The war is a failure on every level. Rather than making America safe it sparks the growth of terrorism around the world. One day of the Iraq war costs 720 million dollars. Think of all the unmet human needs in this country and around the world."


"With so much opposition to the war, why do so few people stand against it? What would happen if a small portion of those who oppose the war became active? If only one percent of the American people came forward peacefully that would create a movement of three million people...We believe it is necessary to build this kind of people power. We invite you to stand with us."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Suggestion - Organize something, multiple events, even, that fit people's schedule. Most people cannot get to that location between 12pm and 1pm.

Another suggestion - organize postering teams that advertise the different events. Most people don't hear about the protests unless they are advertised in the places they already are.

Civic Center said...

Dear muhgcee: I'll pass the suggestions along. Thanks.

Your driver said...

I'm somewhere in that top picture. It was a very exciting day for me. I went for a walk with a friend from work. I suggested we check out the vigil and he agreed. When we got there he asked if I wanted to pick up a sign and stand with the group. I said,"Sure". Then he told me this was his first protest. He's a lad of 49. Personally, I went to my first Quaker peace vigil in 1967. I was 14. I went on to be various shades of radical, from Yippie to Trotskyist to Wobblie to Anarchist to cranky left wing drunk. Now, here I am 40 years later, going to church and standing with the Quakers again.
We vowed to come back at least one Thursday a month.
There were several people taking pictures. I deduced your identity later. I was looking for a guy with a dead wolf on his shoulders. If I had gotten a hold of that accessory, I would never have given it up.
I'll try and say hello next time I see you.