Uncle John Goes to Washington

What an amazing event the ANSWER march has been. I've met dozens of people united in their desire to end the war.

I followed the parade as it made its way from the White House to Capitol Hill.

The mainstream media, as expected, made its presence scarce. I did see some Japanese reporters and a local news channel.

The Iraq Veterans Against the War made an impressive point guard in the march, wearing fatigues and carrying an upside-down American flag--a symbol of distress.

Things were peaceful although the counter-protesters did hurl insults and really wade into the much larger antiwar crowd. The only violence I saw was a Prowar protester smashing an antiwar protester over the head with his sign, which I attirbute largely to a video camera being thrust into the arguing duo's faces: a wholly unnecessary and confrontational method to stir confrontation out of a difference of opinion.

There'd been a package of speakers but I didn't hear speeches. Marchers were under the impression speakers would be present on the South lawn of the Capitol--the march's terminus. The march itself was the main attraction.

I have tons of video in addition to interviews with people from all over the nation. I will post as much as I can, as soon as I can go through it.

Now as for this blogger, I've given all I can to the cause by gathering the footage I have and don't have enough energy to follow up at this point. I need to recharge my batteries and review all that's happened in order to blog effectively.

The computer I'm using is communal in a hotel, as my laptop is dated. My video camera is a hand-me-down. Still they work, and at least I don't contribute to e-waste, a huge problem in our consumption-oriented, "mine-is-newer-and-better-than-yours" society that requires constant newness. I'll put my footage up against theirs any day.

There was a lot of interviewing going on, so if you are hungry for content in the meantime, it should be available on the Web somewhere.

I did see "Not So Peaceful Protest" on Headline News this Sunday AM, literally showing just as I talk about how non-violent the protest was. Of course, the mainstream wasn't there--that's the only way they could assume it was violent (and the violence comes from video footage by ringers of the end of the march, when 200 or so got arrested as no media person actually there could presume the march was violent.)

Oh well, I guess with no derelict news I wouldn't be writing this blog. I wouldn't have come to Washington without a war either.

I guess I've become a blogger largely because of the inadequacy of mainstream news sources, so in this sense the incompetence of others is a positive.

Anyway, I'm working under lousy conditions and need time and a break. I do have tons of content for you, so you'll have to be patient in the meantime. I think you'll be pleased with what I have.

Now hopefully this post will work--the text on the communal PC here is in Russian, so I'm not sure if it will work.