Mother's Day Proclamation

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace. ...

Written in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe -- one of the founders of Mother's Day -- as a call to mothers to oppose war and promote the causes of peace and justice.

Thank you, sir! May I have another?

This morning I clicked on Not My Tribe's new upper-left graphic which imparts info about protesting the state democratic convention. What I discovered was page after page of terms to meet and rules to obey, laid out neatly by the powers-that-be, so that would-be activists can protest the most egregious war and power-hungry administration in our country's history. Happily chirping about meetings with policemen and attorneys, the activists invite us to join them in defining the terms of their oppression.
 
I'm sorry, I know these people are wannabe do-gooders, but this bullshit is akin to meeting with a gang of rapists to consent to the terms of one's degradation. Oh yes, please! Just use lubricant and let me lie in a comfortable bed!

It's pathetic that our passionate anti-war activists have so little vision, so little faith in human history, such a lack of conviction and temerity that they can be contented to hand out fliers and maps, cower in a cage gilded especially for them, and be completely marginalized by the system they profess to oppose.

Here's my idea. Do not legitimize the trampling of your civil liberties and the silencing of your voices by compliantly meeting with police officers and attorneys. Instead tell them that you'll see them on Venetucci Boulevard with a thousand of your closest friends. You'll have drums and cowbells and bullhorns and offensive banners and whatever fuck else you feel like bringing. Tell them you'll sing and shout and march and cross every boundary they put up to keep you on the fringe. Tell them you'll do whatever the fuck you want to in order to make your voices heard.

What the hell? The vast majority of Americans oppose this war and despise this administration. Why aren't they out on the streets? Do you really believe they'll join you there as soon as they are enlightened by Amy Goodman? No! They aren't out on the streets because they are sheep waiting for a shepherd. So where are the shepherds, our visionary and inspiring leaders? Where are the men with balls, bravely putting their necks on the line in the name of peace and justice? Where are the courageous vaginas, fresh from their New Orleans beaver fest, newly empowered to fight violence against women all over the globe? The anti-war movement in Colorado Springs does not have a single leader. It has a few worker bees -- banner painters and flier makers -- who don't have a clue about what it's going to take to stop the machine.

If you are like me you are saying "Well, Marie, why aren't you out there making a difference?" I'll tell you why. I am the system's bitch. I have assets that can be frozen by the IRS. I have children in the public school system. I have dough invested in Social Security. I am tied by law to an ex-husband which precludes me from moving my family to another neighborhood, let alone another country. I am a cog in the machine. And in the scheme of things, nothing more.

I am, by position and ultimately by choice, powerless. But at least I don't pretend to be anything more.














POLICE AND MEDIA! ON THE FRINGE! BEHIND THE BARRIER!

The mosquito ringtone

My little girls just shared an amazing secret with me. High frequency mosquito ringtones are being used by kids to receive calls and text messages in school, movie theaters, the dinner table, and other off-limit locales. Most adults over 30 can't hear the ringtones due to presbycusis, a fancy medical term for old ears. The piercing sounds were originally used by British shopkeepers to keep loitering teens at bay, but kids have discovered how to use the teen repellent to their advantage. So clever!
 
The kids and I tried this over and over at different frequencies. I couldn't hear anything except their squeals of laughter.
 
This is supposed to be a great boon for teens. But with a household of cell-toting young ones, it sounds like a win-win to me!




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Happy birthday, dear peace sign!

It started life as the emblem of the British anti-nuclear movement, but it has become an international sign for peace, and arguably the most widely used protest symbol in the world. It had its first public outing 50 years ago on a chilly Good Friday as thousands of British anti-nuclear campaigners set off from London’s Trafalgar Square on a 50-mile march to the weapons factory at Aldermaston.

Gerald Holtom, a designer and former World War II conscientious objector from West London, persuaded the protest organizers that their aims would have greater impact if they were conveyed in a visual image. The Ban the Bomb symbol, now peace sign, was born.

Holtom considered using a Christian cross motif but, instead, decided to use letters from the semaphore -- or flag-signaling -- alphabet, super-imposing N (uclear) on D (isarmament) and placing them within a circle symbolizing Earth. The design was “to mean a human being in despair” with arms outstretched downwards.

Fifty years later, the peace sign is still relevant. Perhaps it should be modified somewhat to reflect not only humanity in despair, but Mother Earth as well.


Info from the BBC.