From San Francisco Chronicle: “A few thousand protesters of all ages rallied in San Francisco’s Civic Center, then marched down Market Street in San Francisco today to protest Israel’s bombing of Gaza. At the rally there was a group of 300 to 400 pro-Israel demonstrators, who stood across from the pro-Palestinian group, but did not join the march down Market Street. Chanting “Free, free Palestine” and “Stop killing children,” the pro-Palestine group carried banners, waved pictured of bloodied children and carried white helium balloons representing Palestinians killed in Gaza.”
The one time I made sure I wasn’t fashionably late to an event, our train to San Francisco broke down and we had to evacuate the train, waiting for this one to be cleared and for another one to come and take us to the “Let Gaza Live” peace demonstrations in San Francisco. By the time my son and I arrived, quite a large group of people had already left. What was there for us to see and to join, however, was more than enough to evoke emotions and provoke thought. I did manage to listen to many speeches and the passionate speech delivered by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.
There has been so much talk and debate and emotion on the site associated with this topic lately. How can there not be? There has been so much talk and debate and emotion in the world on the very topic lately. How can you be a citizen of this world and not care? How can you avoid the news and those images, and once you have heard the news and seen the images, how can you not be haunted by the sense of grief and loss that is evoked in their wake? In good conscience, can I agree with those who say this is not “our” problem? Who are the “we” in “our?” Iranians? Americans? Human beings? Mothers? Fathers? Brothers, and sisters? Could we take a detour path each time we come face to face with what now sits like a giant wart, smack in the middle of humanity’s face these days? Could we go on our merry ways, pretending like “even if it is happening, it’s none of our business?” What is our business, anyway?
I was late today, but that didn’t stop me from feeling proud to be an American. I am proud of a country that is founded on principles which would guarantee its citizens the right to congregate and to protest against the very policies of itself. I am proud to have the right to show up and express my opinion and show my support on an issue that has touched the very core of my humanity for a long time now. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm day in San Francisco today, peaceful, and full of compassion. As I stood at the Civic Center Plaza, watching and listening to cries for attention to a human catastrophe in progress, I found myself praying and wishing for the same peace and freedom for all others all over the world, and particularly for Palestinians in Gaza. 123 next › last »
The one time I made sure I wasn’t fashionably late to an event, our train to San Francisco broke down and we had to evacuate the train, waiting for this one to be cleared and for another one to come and take us to the “Let Gaza Live” peace demonstrations in San Francisco. By the time my son and I arrived, quite a large group of people had already left. What was there for us to see and to join, however, was more than enough to evoke emotions and provoke thought. I did manage to listen to many speeches and the passionate speech delivered by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi.
There has been so much talk and debate and emotion on the site associated with this topic lately. How can there not be? There has been so much talk and debate and emotion in the world on the very topic lately. How can you be a citizen of this world and not care? How can you avoid the news and those images, and once you have heard the news and seen the images, how can you not be haunted by the sense of grief and loss that is evoked in their wake? In good conscience, can I agree with those who say this is not “our” problem? Who are the “we” in “our?” Iranians? Americans? Human beings? Mothers? Fathers? Brothers, and sisters? Could we take a detour path each time we come face to face with what now sits like a giant wart, smack in the middle of humanity’s face these days? Could we go on our merry ways, pretending like “even if it is happening, it’s none of our business?” What is our business, anyway?
I was late today, but that didn’t stop me from feeling proud to be an American. I am proud of a country that is founded on principles which would guarantee its citizens the right to congregate and to protest against the very policies of itself. I am proud to have the right to show up and express my opinion and show my support on an issue that has touched the very core of my humanity for a long time now. It was a beautiful, sunny, and warm day in San Francisco today, peaceful, and full of compassion. As I stood at the Civic Center Plaza, watching and listening to cries for attention to a human catastrophe in progress, I found myself praying and wishing for the same peace and freedom for all others all over the world, and particularly for Palestinians in Gaza. 123 next › last »
