DUers in DC — Photos inside

[prolesunited]

I'm exhausted but I wanted to get these pics up tonight. We had a really excellent turnout and it was great meeting so many new people. BTW, there were more in attendance than the people in these pictures. I'll elaborate more tomorrow but I need some sleep. I also have some great protest pics. I'll catch up with everyone tomorrow. :hi:

Here's how close we were to the stage. This is Oaf of Office's sign with a DU sticker on it.


Here's some of our group. Standing are jonnyblitz, veganwitch and Oaf of Office


DU shows support for military families.


Front row from left is AWD, boilerbabe, veganwitch and nostamj. Seated behind them is deutsey and lizerdbits. Standing behind them is blue_tires, youngred, tokenlib, johnkleeb and jonnyblitz


First row is AWD, boilerbabe, veganwitch and nostamj. Second row is deutsey, DancingBear and Liberalhistorian.


pbl's adorable son. Be careful, though. He has a balloon and he knows how to use it.


Post-rally party included Colin (Oaf of Office's son), deutsey, Oaf of Office, JohnKleeb, youngred, MountainLaurel. Kneeling are lizerdbits and KG


If you want to see these pics bigger and sharper, click here and click on the slideshow feature:
http://homepage.mac.com/prolesunited/PhotoAlbum44.html

[JohnKleeb]

1. Dont I photograph terrible Proles

head down and shit, and I look stoned, well I will confess did all but that, a couple of cigs, a few beers, and its all good, and I realized that my young liver is strong.

[prolesunited]

2. Well, I'm not your parent

But I think you and I had agreed to something else beforehand. That's all I'm going to say about the whole incident on Saturday. :-(

[JohnKleeb]

3. Oh yeah I am sorry about that

I didnt get drunk though then I would have stuttered or shit. Trust me my parents especially my dad are leanant on that kind of stuff. I can keep my liquor level good, besides Saturday was a learning experience for me.

[Mandate My Ass]

4. Sorry I missed you guys

Judging by the photos of the stage I was about 25-30 feet behind you the whole time. What a great day. Thx for the pics.

[prolesunited]

10. Sorry you missed us as well

Perhaps another time. Glad you had a great day as well.

[Kolesar]

5. this is great. I love your slideshow

I regret that I had to leave the rally to go look for someone. It looks like you had fun.

[deutsey]

6. Hi everyone!

It was really great to meet all of you! I wish I could have stayed longer at the hotel, but the other side of the Bay is a long drive, especially after a day of marching.

:hi:

[prolesunited]

7. More details on the DUers in DC

First off, Oaf and Office and her son Colin were great roommates! They arrived Friday with an entire party in their car — a couple cases of beer, assorted munchies and a CD player. That was extremely nice and generous of them.
:loveya:

Friday night we went out to dinner. The three of us met up with youngred and MountainLaurel and amen1234 met us at the restaurant. We had a great meal and an even better discussion. It's amazing how easy the conversation flows when DUers get-together.

Saturday was TOTALLY awesome! The atmosphere was electrifying and it was great that so many DUers managed to find us on the street corner. Here's the my list of people who showed or at least stopped by to say hello. If I missed anybody, sorry and let me know.

amen1234
AWD
boilerbabe
CheshireCat
DancingBear
deutsey
gristy
idontwantaname
JohnKleeb
jonnyblitz
liberalhistorian
lizerdbits
nostamj
Oaf of Office
RainDog
screembloodymurder
SpikeTrees
tokenlib
veganwitch
youngred
IkeWarnedUs
KG
John_H
pbl
ShimokitaJer
Blue_Tires
bowens43

Not everyone stayed with us and with people arriving at different times, I'm not sure if everyone even met. LOL! I was leading groups back and forth from the stage area and by the time I was ready to sit down with the group, the area was block off and they wouldn't let me in. After spending all this time making arrangements, I can't tell you how much that sucked! :mad:

We decided to head out a little early to join the march and it was great seeing our contingent drawn together under the DU banner. I think we managed to stay together for all of about three blocks. There were SOOO many people and everyone walked at a different pace. I kept my eye on three or four different groups for awhile, but then they kept getting farther and farther apart. Then, I seemed to have gotten lost taking pictures. By the end, it was just KG and I. I felt really bad because nostamj and I were supposed to call Guy James and I had the number. KG did call, though, so Guy's listeners did get to hear about the march.

You can see from the pics who attended the after party in the room. I apologize to the others who wanted to join us. I was trying to be as organized as possible, but I didn't think to give everyone the hotel name and address so you could join us in case we got split up. Sorry!

It was great to unwind and it was the first time I really got to talk to some people. We ended up watching the replay on CSPAN while eating pizza.

In addition to Oaf of Office, special thanks to amen for the signs and youngred for on-site help. He is so nice that he even woke up early Sunday morning to print out my boarding pass so I could sail through the airport.
:pals:

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. I really wish I could have spent more time talking with everyone. There was just so much going on, it was hard to take it all in.

[Atlant]

8. Tesha and I said hello to AWD and a few other early-birds.

> If I missed anybody, sorry and let me know.

"Tesha" (Jan) and I said hello to AWD and a few other early-birds,
and then we went our own way. Apparently, we ended up sitting just
a little ways behind the rest of you, about the tenth row back
behind the "hearing impaired" area on the right side of the
stage.

Atlant

[nostamj]

9. thanks proles!

looking forward to seeing the rest.

sorry I lost sight of you... but a great day overall!

nost

[soup]

11. Thank you for sharing the pics with us

and for participating.

Sending a special thanks on behalf of my 16 year old son. You are truly the guardians of his future.

Also wanted to mention a call from somewhere in Iraq yesterday-

One of my (birthday last week) 20 year-old's lifelong friends got a chance to call home. He'd been out on desert duty for the last 2 months and was headed back out today. It was the first time anyone had heard anything from him in 2 very long months. Luck would have it my son was at his parent's house when he called home, so they got to talk awhile.

He's down to 152! pounds (at 6'4")- the gear he carries now weighs more than he does. The main thing he asked for was a GNC protein powder mix? His dad is sending some out today.

He's been told he'll get 2 weeks leave in March. Hope he gets to come home. Can't imagine the man that will be returning. All I can see right now is the gawky, extremely intelligent, precocious and obnoxious little 8 year old that he used to be.

I think about him every day and hope for his safe return. One of the yellow ribbons on my rear view mirror is for him. The teenager computer whiz who thought he was going to be stationed in Germany when he left. keyboards, not weapons. Now out driving around in a desert looking for bad guys. What a fucking waste. (sorry for the language)

Haunting me today are his remarks that he wishes he'd listened to me. For the life of me, I can't remember saying anything worth listening to.

You don't know him. He doesn't know you. But he is one of the what? at least 130,000 reasons you marched. On his behalf, I want to say thank you.

What a beautiful group you are.

[AWD]

12. Thanks for sharing the pics...

...and for all the hard work you did to organize us. There were SO many memories to share, it'll take a long time to recall every single one of them!

[Terwilliger]

13. HEY! Nice too see you all!!!

Hope you guys added to the roar!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[tokenlib]

14. Great pictures!

Thanks for posting those. It was great to meet everyone and I'm glad the plans to get together worked out so well.

[Aristus]

15. Love and hugs going out to all you guys!

You're the greatest. Thanks for being there.

:grouphug::loveya::grouphug::loveya::grouphug:

[veganwitch]

16. i love how all the pics with me in them...

show me stuffing my face!!

*is stuffing face right now*

[jonnyblitz]

17. you had some good stuff to eat . n/t

[JohnKleeb]

18. heh have you talked to jonny yet

It was fun marching with you two. Remember the fuck hippies college like students. heh now thats funny. :hi: guys

[RainDog]

19. From where I was

a few notes on my experience, which I'm writing up later for my own benefit, if no one else's.

here in brief-

arrived at around 10:30 and saw DUers on the corner, across the street from the march area. by the time I got back to them, they had moved across the street and while we waited for others to arrive, we had the pleasure to hear the unholy word from some guys with signs telling us, among other things, that "God Hates You, Just the Way You Are."

apparently God and Billy Joel are on the outs.

The best comeback to those guys was when we were actually starting to march. Boilerbade and Veganwitch and Johnny Blitz and KG and I joined the group who were yelling back at them "We Love You."

The most effective response to them was when the Jammin' for Justice drummers arrived and simply drowned them out with polyrhythmic goodness.

I don't know if I showed up in any pics with DUers, but lots of people at the rally asked to take my pic...well...a pic of my sign, actually. I had a collage of signs with George as Alfred E. Newman, Cartman asking "Who Killed Kenny Boy's Indictment" and the DU "Supremos" logo among other things.

Started out marching with DUers, and gradually faded back. But I then met a couple of other DUers who were not with the group, plus dozens of other fun and friendly people who share a similar concern that Bush will destroy this country if our citizens do not come out, en masse, to just say no to Georgie.

Apparently some here thought the entire crowd was nothing but dreadlocked white boys, but I can assure you that the majority of people at the rally would not have scared your aging mother in their jeans and khakis and tees and mainstream hair.

funny that that becomes an urban legend so soon. I, personally, LOVE people like the Radical Rah Rahs and others who freely express themselves with fun outrageousness.

That's what democracy and freedom look like.

I came to DC with some people who were not with DU and stayed with another guy in Tacoma Park, MD, so I missed the fun after the march, but my group went to a GREAT southern Indian restaurant which is apparently a consistent "cheap eats" winner in the area. The food was fantastic. We all ordered different dishes and shared. (Does someone here know the name? It's also in Chicago.)

On Sunday morning, my fellow travelers went to Saint Aloyisious (sp?) for the gospel service. What a great parish. There is a mixed race congregation which is dedicated to social justice and the love of God. If I were a church-goer, that would be the place for me.

After the service, we had a picnic at the church with our leftovers from the Indian restaurant, then headed off on our twelve hour drive back home.

I got the Sunday Washington Post, and the New York Times. Very different coverage. Eric Litchblau, who writes for the NYTimes, is apparently living on a planet populated by repuke stereotypes. The Washington Post articles were much, much more accurate.

I wish I could get the Post where I live because I've become more and more alienated from the Times...I've seen so many instances now when their coverage of an event or an issue are not consistent with what is, or what becomes known as reality.

Sad, that.

I encourage anyone who hasn't yet attended one of these marches to go. It is uplifting and energizing. I don't agree with the organizers of the event in many ways, but they are the ones who are putting these events together, so I'm grateful for the opportunity to join with others who want to reclaim our country from the current dangerous crew who have hijacked democracy.

[JohnKleeb]

20. that was you with the south park poster

shit I am sorry. I was with jonny, vegan, boiler, and KG. I was wearing the courdory jacket.

[RainDog]

21. I tried to say hello

but lots was going on. Yes, I know now, who you are. I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to meet.

I did get to meet so many...I know I'll miss a name if I try to list them all, but I think I met most people on proles' list. I don't know if they remember me or not, cause I kept going back to the people I came with (who had tables for stopthewar and peace and justice groups.)

I also got to meet the guy who edits Covert Quarterly, and apparently just missed the chance to meet Blum, the guy who wrote Rogue Nation and Killing Hope. Their table was beside the people I came with.

Can't remember the online names of other DUers I met on the march, but one was a fine lady marching with two of her friends. they had a banner. Another was a person who came up to me when I was watching the march pass for a while.

I also got to meet JohnK. He must have seen the DU sign on my collage. He was a sweetie pie, too.

KG made the AP photo slide show, btw.

Hopefully, since I know of at least twenty people who asked to take a picture of my sign, they'll seek out DU when they get their pics developed. :)

I walked behind "george and laura" for a while and would ask, loudly, from time to time, "hey george, who outed Valerie Plame?"

I heard one person, at the freeper rally part of the march, say, Oh, conspiracy theory. apparently they don't bother to read the newspapers or watch television??

[prolesunited]

22. What AP slide show?

Do you have a link?

[RainDog]

23. I'll go look for it

it was from your post in the lounge, I think.

from yahoo.

[JohnKleeb]

24. Is KG home yet?

Ive yet to talk to my comrade lol. Its all good, I loved the south park thing.

[RainDog]

25. here's a link to a link

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=16&u=/ap/20031026/ap_on_re_us/war_protests_22

on this page, there is a link to a slideshow with about 163 pics of the protest, and other protests.

you'll just have to go through them to find the one with KG.

I copied it to my desktop, but I don't have a site to host photos, but I can send to you, proles, if you want?

[nostamj]

26. found it!

there's the DU meet-up sign!

[nostamj]

27. and here's symbolman (as Cheney) in SF

[prolesunited]

31. Damn!

If he only had it turned just a little bit you could see the full name of the Web site. Thanks for tracking in down Jeff and thanks to RainDog for e-mailing it to me.

[nostamj]

35. you're welcome!

there are 163 photos in the slideshow! I was SO glad that it turned up in the first 25 or so...

[youngred]

37. that girl with the blue hair in back

standing next to KG lives in my building at school. I was talking with her about the protest beforehand

[prolesunited]

30. No, he stuck around

to drive me to the airport Sunday and then was taking the scenic route home to Florida.

[JohnKleeb]

32. oh ok

nice drive I bet.

[nostamj]

28. a couple more

[RainDog]

33. Code Pink!

they were great. when I was marching, you could hear this whoop swelling ahead...I didn't know what it was for. then I came into sight of the sign they had hanging from the building.

the crowd I was with started chanted "Bush Lied. Fire him." After I passed that point, I heard others behind me start to cheer when they got to that sign, too.

Also, three little children were sitting in a red flyer wagon, taking a break from the march, and they were yelling "What do you want?" thousands of people responded with "Peace."

...and the children shall lead them...

I also stopped to listen to the Raging Grannies sing again.

When I waited on the side of the road to watch the march, I got to see the Bush guy with the crown of ceasar on his head, and a chinese new year sort of banner which was beautiful, but I can't remember what it said.

[nostamj]

34. i love code pink!

there's a great shot of medea benjamin in the AP slideshow too. probably should have posted that one too...

how cool is it that DU made an AP slide show like this ???

[nostamj]

29. kick

:kick:

[nostamj]

36. DU made the AP.... kick!

on edit: see post #26 for DUer KG and the DU sign!

[KG]

38. kewl!!!!

saving a copy, to send to my mom! :)

[Generic Other]

39. A beautiful and brave bunch of DUers!

It's fun to match online personas to faces...

[Forkboy]

40. Thanks to all of you!!!!

You people are awesome!

[RainDog]

41. I'm also gonna hear Will Pitt speak next week

and I'll get to meet another DUer!

I'm on a roll. Salin will be there, too, and Sinookas and Hippiechick and anyone else near Bloomington, IN should head this way too.

Again, it was so much fun to meet you guys.

I was shocked to find out that while I was gone someone had tried to kill Wolfie two times!

it's tragic, to me, that it seems the powers-that-be will have to let too many soldiers and civilians die before they will admit that Bush and his crew were wrong to do what they did, that they were and are the wrong people to fight any "war on terror," and that butter, not guns, disarm faster than force.

[qanda]

42. There's my baby boy!!!

He looks so cute! Thanks for posting this. My son thinks he is famous now. I will have to do some major work to bring him back down to earth. It was wonderful meeting you. I hope that next time I'll be able to stick around and get to know you guys better.

[KG]

43. you sure he's not a commie infiltrator disquised as a black 6 y.o.?

:hi:

cute kids. and your make-up was perfect for an anti-war protest!

[prolesunited]

44. He was so cute and sweet!

BTW, your son IS famous now. LOL!

Here's some more pics:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=602150

[Tinoire]

45. Awww! Those are some fantastic photos!

I am ecstatic to see what so many DUers I like look like!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Can't wait to share our San Francisco photos!

That is too cool and Pbl's little boy is too cute!

[JohnKleeb]

46. You have known what I looked like

I hope you guys in San Fran had a good time.

[Blue_Tires]

47. thanks for the pics

i had a really great time meeting all of you!!

[prolesunited]

48. Glad you found this thread

and glad you were able to join us on Saturday! Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk with you more. It was just so crazy that day. What and introduction to DU. Apparently, we didn't scare you off. :D