The Tide has Turned? Writer Gretchen Nielsen is an Inspiration
I enjoy reading poet and peace activist Gretchen Nielsen’s guest opinions in the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Citizen and the Tucson Weekly wherein she shares with readers her observations of the changing landscape of anti-war protesting in Tucson. And she invites the rest of us to stand alongside her.
In one of these articles, she describes her experience as a ‘Woman in Black’ anti-war protester, waving her sign on the same busy street week after week.
And as the frequency of war-lover-drive-by-cuss-outs has waned, expectations of other ‘regular’ passers-by has grown, as has the joining of new faces and new stories of war, loss and sorrow...
Gretchen writes that she’s learned to wear waterproof mascara to the weekly ritual so tears born from fresh stories don’t blind her completely…
Her articles remind me of a friend of mine who told me that protesting is a waste of energy. But for the Women in Black and other protesters like me, protesting is a symbol of hope. And grief… I even used to call it 'church’ because I seriously think there’s something supernatural about a people using their bodies to publicly and non-violently channel a message.
Years before, when the majority of the mainstream media morphed into a propaganda machine, I conceded to stew in ignorance, accepting as normal the incongruence of intuition, fact and fiction…
But now, how can I avoid protesting? Now that the truth is as plain as a convenience store trip where the clerk apologizes for working ‘under a cloud today’ because her daughter’s being deployed to Iraq.
“What’s her job? My fiancée came back,” I say, trying to sound supportive.
“My uncle went,” my son adds, when the seven-foot-tall, tattooed biker holding two 42-ounce bottles of beer whispers past the other customers to the cashier.
“God bless you, ma’am.” Then after a pause, he adds, “I lost my son there.”
The line is quiet.
Do I say, “God bless you, sir.” I say it.
Like a breath held, I stand. I pay and leave.
“Support the Troops! End the War!”
I hold my sign and stand beside my Iraq Veteran fiancée as he reminds drivers who gaze at him over their sugar-free-vanilla-ice-coffees waiting for the light to turn green that his fellow soldiers are still fighting and dying this minute! Every minute!
Traffic continues, as does the war. The death toll rises. Traffic continues, driving past Gretchen Nielsen and the Women in Black.
Click to read more of Gretchen Nielsen’s articles:
http://www.azstarnet.com/opinion/244011
http://tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Opinion/Content?oid=111607
Note: Gretchen stands with "Women in Black" on Friday at 5PM at Speedway and Euclid. "End the Wars" demonstrations (those have been going on for many years) are on Thursday at 5PM in front of the Federal Bldg. Wednesday morning Gretchen and other protesters stand in front of the Recruitment Offices. (This demonstration has been on-going since the invasion of Iraq).
Per the Recruitment Office protests, Gretchen writes, "I was arrested there twice, but it's calm now. That one is really important to me -- so glad to have your mother is with us. The other one dear to my heart is Sunday morning when I stand alone on the corner of Swan and Grant because that's where I get to meet people who walk by. We also protest once a month at Raytheon and at Davis Monthan."
Rock on, Gretchen! |
