[Peace-discuss] Yesterdays AWARE demonstration

[Karen Aram]

Thank you Stuart
 
Regarding the market: I can work next week and will be there 7:45 or 8:00 am per usual. Let me know the location if you can.
 
The flyer: Carl just sent it to me, thanks. 
 
The demo: I certainly do hope the young man referred to does show up for AOTA, this is an issue of concern to many and needs to be highlighted and addressed.
 
The people in the green shirts, they had their photo's taken with a couple of our people, I know Rebecca was one.
 
Sorry you and Karen won't be at the meeting this evening, Deb said she won't be there either, I plan to attend in hopes there will be others.
 
Date: Sun, 4 May 2014 11:37:39 -0500
From: stuartnlevy at gmail.com
To: karenaram at hotmail.com; galliher at illinois.edu; r-szoke at illinois.edu; davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net; davegreen84 at yahoo.com; kmedina67 at gmail.com; slevy at ncsa.illinois.edu; gardenfairy9 at yahoo.com; peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
CC: stuartnlevy at gmail.com
Subject: Re: Yesterdays AWARE demonstration


  
    
  
  
    Though I won't be at tonight's AWARE meeting, I believe Ron will be,
    and he has the bundle of remaining flyers.   Carl had sent around
    the flyer to peace-discuss, which of course you couldn't receive
    because of hotmail's ongoing snit with the IMC mail system.   I'll
    pass it along separately.

    

    Yes, thanks to Dave for organizing the lunch beforehand!   Please
    let's do that again!

    

    Good for your integrating sign!

    

    As for the white-shirted young men who looked like a frat
    contingent, glad to hear you got a spark from one of them.   Karen M
    and I spoke with them only very briefly, as one expressed surprise:
    "Who would disagree with you?"  I suspect he may share the view of
    the woman who once told us that "No one goes to war because they want
    to," but they didn't stay around long enough to discuss it.   How
    shall we answer "Who would disagree?"

    

    A half-dozen people with bright green shirts reading "Weapons of
    Mass Destruction" turned out to be a team who'd been competing in a
    fundraiser in support of a new building on campus, some sort of
    continuing-education center for wounded veterans.   Good for them.

    

    Two other interactions: one with a young man on a bicycle, Dave, who
    asked what we were about, etc.   I told him about AOTA among other
    things, and he may be interested in appearing on that some time.  
    It seems he's suing the Champaign police for having stopped him for
    having stickers for the musical group Insane Clown Posse on his car
    - it seems the FBI has declared that ICP's *followers*, fans of its
    music, are a "gang", and therefore presence of stickers is proof of
    gang affiliation.   The police chewed him out for that.   He has
    video of the interaction and would like to come and show it.     I
    told him where & when.    [A "gang" label is all too analogous
    to declaring them a terrorist organization.     ICP and several
    followers who've faced arrest, job discrimination, etc. are suing
    the FBI to get the gang association removed.]

    

    Another: a man curious about Don's "Lost: 4th Amendment / If found,
    return to U.S." sign.  We talked about the fourth amendment a bit,
    and the many billions of dollars the US is now spending on mass
    surveillance and data collection in defiance of it.   He seemed
    well-informed if not talkative, and asked about coming to an AWARE
    meeting, though didn't seem to know the local geography - I had to
    explain to him how to reach 6th and John from where we were
    standing.   

    

    Also, FYI, our first outdoor Farmer's Market will be next Saturday,
    May 10th, 7:45-noon.   Who's in?   I'm pretty sure Karen's car can
    handle transport but don't know whether she'll be free to work any
    of the market time.    I can.

    

    On 5/4/14 10:02 AM, Karen Aram wrote:

    
    
      
      
       

        Stuart: I neglected to acquire a copy of the leaflet handout you
        and Carl created, if possible bring one to the meeting tonight?
        Or, someone can email to me.

         

        David Johnson: the pre-lunch at the Esquire was very nice, gave
        us a chance to meet up with others, thank you and I hope we can
        continue. I counted at least 12 people in our demonstration and
        a lot of positive responses by passerby's.

         

        In my haste to create a poster I wrote up a quick "end the
        killings, end the wars, end poverty, climate change and nuclear
        proliferation." This was my attempt at casting a wide net and
        appeal to all. We all have our special interests which has
        resulted in our becoming political activists which we tend to
        focus on, along with the usual media complaints "he said, she
        said, etc." when on the air. We feel good about ourselves doing
        what we can to solve the problems of the world by disseminating
        information, but I wonder where we go from here.

         

        I ask this because I noted a group of young men, coming out of
        one restaurant and passing by to enter another, they were all
        wearing white t-shirts, and some held up their fingers in a
        V-sign, however I noted some laughing, and it didn't appear they
        were laughing with us, but rather at us, I hope not. Maybe Karen
        or Stuart or others across the street had a chance to speak with
        them. I did with one. He stopped to thank me for including
        "climate change" on my poster, which he sees as a major concern,
        he appeared genuinely grateful and I wish I'd had the
        opportunity to discuss with him the inter-relationships between
        all of the mentioned  issues. Perhaps we can, someone better at
        it than I, create a leaflet that does relate the critical issues
        facing the world, keeping it simple in order to be a handout.
        Perhaps we already have one. I know it's been discussed, but I
        think if we are to reach the younger segment of society, by
        young I mean those who will likely still be here 20 or so years
        from now.

         

        Perhaps we can discuss at this evenings AWARE meeting?

      
    
    
 		 	   		  
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