Today was my first official day in the CODEPINK house after our eventful fieldtrip to NY this weekend. I spent the morning painting a big banner that says: support the troops! bring them home!, while everyone in the house encouraged me with oohs and ahhs. The positive attitude of the women here is amazing! When I was talking to Corby, the newest visitor at the CODEPINK house (yes! there is now someone newer than me!!!) he said that one thing that had attracted him so much to CODEPINK is that he felt it was open and welcoming. He has never been involved in activism before and he was inspired by Medea's interview on Democracy Now! Welcoming new activists into the political scene is on of the most important roles of activist organizations right now, and the positive attitude at CODEPINK is doing just that.
In the afternoon, Desiree, Kit, Celeste and I dressed up in pink slip Bush outfits and pink parasols and strolled around Georgetown attracting smiles, laughter and peace signs everywhere we went. Liz took pictures of us with men, kids, and women of all ages who were interested and amused by our outfits. We got a lot of positive response and look forward to doing it again soon, this time with flyers to hand out to people who are interested in getting active!
Our next mission was to meet Nick, a man who had been walking for 5 days from Virginia to DC in protest of the war. We walked the last mile or so with him, until the end of his march at the White House. I was really inspired by his commitment, especially seeming him limp along with horrible blisters on his feet. He acted genuinely thankful that the 10 or so of us from CODEPINK, The World Can't Wait and a few other groups were there to support him, but I was disappointed that there weren't more people and that there was no media. After this guy had made the commitment of 5 straight days of walking, the least we could have done was to have some media coverage! Next time we will have to try to work more closely with the other activist organizations to plan events better.
I also came up with an idea that I'd like to try to organize while I'm in DC. I really want to get more young people active in the anti-war cause. We need the creativity of young people to attract the attention of the media, other activists and our legislators. So, I was thinking of organizing a chalking in front of the White House or somewhere else with high visibility and inviting young people to draw and write their feelings about the war. So, if anyone is reading this post and has some good ideas about how to get in touch with young people or has any suggestions about this action. Please please please let me know!!
It is now 2 am, and while I could probably babble on for the rest of the night, I think its time for bed. Until next time!!!
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