Supporting the Standing Rock Sioux

I was so sad when the Dakota Pipeline protesters left their campsite in flames on February 22. I wanted to do something to show my support. I wanted to bring some river water home to connect with them. The Hudson river flows into the ocean where all the rivers mingle eventually. The city has limited the access to its rivers over the years.

A friend who lives further north told me that the river was easy to get to near the Riverdale station. So off I went. We clambered over the mossy rocks and I got some water. 

I have a lakshmi in my living room. I bring her gifts from the garden; an old blue bottle and a pine cone that a nearby tree tossed to me. I set up a little dish with a stone from the garden that has a lot of mica, like the rocks near the river and poured some river water over it.

Every day the water in the dish evaporates and I refill it. There are mineral traces in the dish, remains of the river's presence.

I wanted to march in support of the water protectors yesterday, but I had a class. My spirit is with them.

Restore the Fourth

Yes We Scan

 While surfing the web, I found out about this demonstration in support of our Fourth Amendment rights. Since I didn't really have much planned for the 4th, I decided to check it out. I have been rather dismayed at the extremes our country has taken, gathering information from just about everyone, and repressing the whistleblowers. Then there is all of this strong arm behavior towards the leaders of other nations, President Evo Morales receiving the diplomatic equivalent of a 'stop and frisk', seemingly at the request of the US. I am so disappointed in our President. I am relieved that I am not close to any Republicans, I would not be able to respond to their gloating.

Everyone is out of town, the streets are fairly empty. There was a small earnest crowd of protesters.

 There was a nice mix of people, the same people one might see on the subway.

There were babies,

quite a few babies.

There is a baby under that blanket. This gentleman is something of a cautionary image for all those young slim men on their fixed gear bikes. One moment you are lounging in an east Williamsburg bar, drinking PBR's and listening to Phoenix, looking ironic. Then in a flash, you are walking down Broadway in a floppy sunhat and comfy sneakers, hoping the Baby Bjorn hides your beer gut and wondering what happened.

The police were trying to look authoritarian, but their hearts were not into it. They were letting people walk in the streets, they held up traffic for the protesters, they did not harass the cyclists. The man in the read bandanna is riding a Citibike, which is kind of cool.

Reverend Billy from the Church of Stop Shopping was there.

I like him better in this picture, but that handsome young man is hogging the foreground, texting.

I am pretty sure these two people are Tea Partiers, which shows how diverse it was, I guess. We rarely see those guys around here.

I did not go all the way to Federal Plaza (birthplace of the constitution). I have lost a bit of faith in the power of protest, at least when it is not the whole population descending into the streets. I wanted to stay long enough to be polite. I wanted to be sure the police were not being jerks. Everyone was fine. So I headed home to a small barbecue and an evening of the neighbors blowing things up.

Here is a link to Restore the Fourth, and here is the nyc protest's facebook page

Visit to the Revolution

I stopped by Liberty Square today to see how the Occupy Wall Street people were doing. The media all seem a bit amused by the protesters, emphasizing the earnest young vegan types and their lack of cohesive agenda. So I was pleasantly surprised to see a relatively diverse mix of people. There was an intelligent young woman seated at an information table encouraging people to sign a petition. There was a kitchen area, a library. Admittedly there was a drum circle and many young people tucked into sleeping bags. There were also people in suits and business attire who were clearly not journalists.

I am way too shy to photograph strangers on the street, which is why I am not a photojournalist. I photographed their feet instead.

These boots belong to Reverend Bill of the Church of Stop Shopping. He is one of my heroes. I would have voted for him when he ran for mayor, but then he got arrested at a G20 meeting in Pittsburgh and I realized that he was not actually suitable mayor material. I still love him and I would go to his Black Friday protest at Macy's except that I am usually recovering from Thanksgiving and cannot cope with going anywhere - no shopping, no protesting. We smiled at each other. I am also too shy to do the groupie thing with celebrities which is why I have never spoken to Willem Defoe despite having seen him on the street three times (I even saw him at the protest of the Iraq war). I liked the way Reverend Billy kind of shimmered around, chatting with people, listening to the earnest youth perched on his overturned megaphone.
 

One of the people in suits had his trousers tucked into these boots. He seemed like a lawyer, of the public defender variety.
 

The lawyer type was talking with someone from Reverend Billy's entourage, a man who wore a well cut suit, but had long hair and sunken eyes giving him the look of a roadie with a heavy metal band. I think the sandaled feet belong to Riley Waggaman who is sending dispatches to Wonkette. These are my celebrities; anti-capitalist reverends and political blog interns, no Susan Sarandan for me (I think I just missed her)

This was a real photojournalist, judging by the shoe and cuffed jeans I am guessing he was French.
 

Lest one think it was all public defenders and hippies...
 

Although there were plenty of hippies.
 

I love this woman's feet because they demonstrate a fashion faux-pas, she should really get those trousers hemmed.
 

At least she was protected from the mud unlike this fellow with his rope sandals.
 

This sneaker was on the foot of a cool gentleman with his hair in a wrap. It was really peaceful in the park. The noise seemed subdued, the air felt a little cooler. A grey haired man in a suit walked slowly through the gathering with a smile on his face. I really liked the energy there. The information lady tried to convince me to come back for a sleepover, but I do not think I am up for that. I did bring them apples though.
 

When I walked away back uptown, I saw the statue of Audrey Munson on top of the Municipal Building, holding her wreath of victory.