I am two for two on DC Indymedia
3 minute read
September 29, 2004, 10:48 PM
What can I say? I’m good. Twice I’ve submitted photos of an event to DC Indymedia, and twice I’ve managed to get my images on the front page of the DC Indymedia Web site.
The most recent is from a protest held near the US Treasury. Here is the full article. Where I actually submitted the photos is actually low on the page. But guess whose image that is small and up in the corner. Mine! That’s the one that also ended up on the main page of DC Indymedia. (Note: If it’s not on the main page anymore when you see this, it’s dated September 21 and entitled Picket in front of US Treasury calls for 100% Debt Cancellation: 10 Days until the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF, and you can scroll back to find old front page articles at the bottom of the main news feed)
This is also about the only time you’ll ever see me actually defend George W. Bush (I’m as surprised as you are, especially in the highly-liberal Indymedia venue). The poster just before me said:
Look how far away the demonstration is from Treasury. It’s only since the second Bush Administration came in that demonstrations have been forced to move back and way back away from their intended target, in the name of security but in reallity it’s an attempt to marginalize protest and dissent.
I responded like this:
Whoa, there, cowboy. The protest was about as close to the Treasury Building as it could safely get considering the activity in front of the White House. Currently, Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the Treasury Building, the White House, and the Old Executive Office Building is very much a construction site, with the intention of reconstructing the area into more of a plaza type area than a street. So in this case, it was far more mundane than you’re making it out to be. I don’t think anyone there would have wanted to have the protest in a construction zone, a place that’s not yet safe for the general public to use. Once the work is finished (I’m told it will be done by November 2), I’m sure the area will be a popular protest location again.
But anyway, to slide back on topic, the other is over here, down a bit. This features this article with one of my pictures from Kalorama Street right at the top. I was impressed.
If only I’d discovered Indymedia back when I did the April 12 ANSWER protest. That turned into my big Protest Against the War photography set. I could have put those on Indymedia as well. But realize that for April 12, I was just getting my feet wet as far as protests and activism and such went. I’d had less than 24 hours notice that it was happening. Actually about 16 hours – I found out around 8 PM the night before, and the demonstration started at noon, though I was on the scene around 11:00 or so the next morning to catch the early birds.
That was when I was introduced to International ANSWER, to Vote No War, United For Peace, etc. It was also my first time seeing the way literature is passed around at these protests. I saw a Black Bloc for the first time (though I didn’t know that was what it was called at the time). I saw it all. Would I have done things differently if I could do the same protest a second time, with all other things held constant? Probably. For one, I would have gotten a better look at the march route through Washington, and as a result might have been able to get better spacing of the two marching sections. Those were actually only a few blocks apart, and was run-run-run from the first spot to the second. If I’d planned better, I’d have probably dropped McPherson Square for something a little earlier. Maybe then I also wouldn’t have had such a lengthy downtime between the big rally at Freedom Plaza and the two marching sections.
Still, in researching that protest is how I discovered Indymedia, learned the identities of various sects within a big protest march, discovered Protest.net, which is basically an activist calendar, and a whole slew of other things, including discussions on tactics and such. My, the Internet is a wonderful thing.
Still, I was impressed on getting two-for-two on cover stories. Maybe this Saturday, when I’m in DC again, with a procession from Arlington Cemetery to the White House, and also a “Drop the Debt” vigil (related to the picket I attended on the 21st), maybe I’ll keep my record going. Who knows…
Song: "Istanbul Not Constantinople", interestingly enough.
Quote: "Secretary Snow, the debt has got to go!" - One of the chants from the September 21 Treasury picket
Categories: Activism