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It was pretty cool. The UT event was attended by about 20 or so. Older people. Families. Young people. A real mix. It was great. As it turns out, Bob Grimac has been doing this once a month all year. website What a great thing to do! And I was pleasantly surprised to find that 90% of the feedback from passers-by was very supportive and positive. Even my sign which was about a subject many are not all that familiar with (the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that denies anyone a president deems "enemy combattant" the right to habeas corpus) got a few people giving me the thumbs-up saying, "YEAH, GREAT SIGN!" A serious-looking old guy in a UT vehicle took a picture of my sign in particular that stated "Military Commissions Act MCA2006 = Treason! Save Our Bill of Rights!" The sign my son held most of the time said "Torture is not a family value". We both agreed, it was a positive experience, well worth our time and we'd both be back on Nov. 19th to do it again with Bob Grimac and friends.

I had the opportunity (because I also had with me a yardsign for Chris Lugo) to explain to Bob why I was anti-incumbent over the war. He gave me the usual Democrat standpoint that if more Greens had voted for Gore, we wouldn't be HAVING this war. And so I explained to him how (IRV) Instant Runoff Voting would allow people to vote their preferred candidate first without fear of inadvertantly throwing away their vote to the opposition if they vote for a long-shot like Nader or this year in TN, Lugo. I told him that with IRV, Ford could have ended up with many anti-war votes in his pocket anyway despite that they voted for Lugo to protest the war. See how this worked for Muppets It's obvious that a lot of people against the war want nothing to do with the Green Party after 2000 though (even though Nader tried to promote it even then). I see no point in harboring a prejudice against citizens for exercising their right to run candidates for office when the problem lies with the flawed election process, not the individual in this case. I'm sending Bob info and hope he'll begin to see IRV as a solution to the rift between Greens and Democrats being effective but also voting their conscience, as I do.

The second gathering at Y-12 was not really a protest so much as a regular gathering of long-time civil rights devotees in the Knoxville/Oak Ridge area. We discussed upcoming human rights events/issues but spent most of the evening thinking up names of people who have had an impact on our lives in forming our conscience and activism, writing the names on strips of paper, and making a chain of people we honor both living and dead (in celebration of the Latin American holiday on Nov.2nd Dios de la Muerte, the Day of the Dead). I chose my mother who although she was not a civil rights hero, was a kind and decent, compassionate human being. She has everything to do with my ability to see good in others, even those unlike me or that I disagree with strongly. Her influence reminds me that empathy is crucial to realizing the difference between activism and militance, between doing what you know is right and acting out on prejudical assumptions. Militant prejudice will never bring about peace. My son and I (see photos) plan to do more with Stop the Bombs! as well, specifically, joining them when they go to Georgia to protest the School of Americas that trains Latin American fascists like Noriega. The one last year brought 15,000 people to the SOA's gate. I'd like to know what it's like to be part of something like that.

I'll be posting info at 10-east soon if anyone wants to find out about future events.