What I've decided to do.

[StellaBlue]

Outrage.

Then disbelief.

Then outrage, reborn.

Then determination (to move far, far away).

Then hopelessness.

Then horror.

Then contemplation.

* * * * *

I will stay. I will continue to do what I can to fight this. I will never surrender, nor shut up. If I do, it will make everything these people did meaningless.

So. I suppose I am prepared to die. We, the people, unafraid, unintimidated, are what they fear most.



"Though thou shouldst be going to live three thousand years, and as many times ten thousand years, still remember that no man loses any other life than this which he now lives, nor lives any other than this which he now loses. The longest and shortest are thus brought to the same. For the present is the same to all, though that which perishes is not the same; and so that which is lost appears to be a mere moment. For a man cannot lose either the past or the future: for what a man has not, how can any one take this from him?"

"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."

~Marcus Aurelius, Meditations


* * * * *
























































and

[niyad]

1. welcome back to the fight, stellablue, and thank you for that

awesome reminder of the price some have paid for freedom and liberty and justice.



to all of the neocons, pnac'ers, ss agents masquerading as dhs, etc. I say, (to quote one of my friends) "F*** you AND the horse you rode in on"

[StellaBlue]

2. thanks

and I would like to say that I make no judgements whatsoever against anyone who chooses NOT to remain under a tyrannical government.

But it's not realistic for all of us to leave, anyway.

So we must fight.

As my man David Van Os, Democratic candidate for Texas Attorney General, says:

[Gabi Hayes]

9. wonderful, inspiring images! the one above reminds me of this, which

I took at a Cindy Sheehan vigil last year

[hootinholler]

13. Leave never entered my mind...

If there's a draft, I may take my boys out of country and return to fight, but, fight I shall.

-Hoot

[Jeanette in FL]

3. Awesome, fucking, awesome

Just today I was thinking to myself, that this is crazy, I need to find some balance in my life. Immediately, the next thought was "What if Gandhi decided he need to take a break, what if MLK decided he needed to bail out for a spell or what if the Suffragettes decided this might be to scary to pursue".

Fucking hell no, I will not rest.

Thank you so much for putting it into pictures for those of us who are fighting. What a jolt for the soul. Thank you.

[Clarkie1]

4. Very nice. I enjoyed those images.

Thanks Stella Blue.

[Timbuk3]

5. The battle for America

There was a video published at this web site right after the last election. http://www.thebattleforamerica.com/ It consisted of a series of ordinary looking people in ordinary settings speaking various parts of the text below. The last time I checked (12/22) the video wouldn't load. (1/19/05 the video was back online.) I mirrored it here for a while, but the file is huge (34.5 MB) and I didn't have permission to publish it, so I took it down. I may make it available again on a limited basis if there's enough interest.

http://www.timbuk3.com/battle.htm

In the meantime, what these people said is important. Here's the text, as best as I could transcribe it.

I'm reposting it here, now, because of what you said.

-----|-----

Hello friends, family, comrades, rebels, insurgents, refugees, exiles, ex-patriots, people in hiding, and all the ships at sea...

I debated whether or not I should say this. I wondered if it would do any good. I have profound fears for the future, and deep anger and sadness for my country.

Our country. Our country that's been stolen away from us. Captured by those who traffic in fear, and hatred, and bigotry, and poison.

I feel like we're lost in a forest right now. We're down the rabbit hole and there is no end in sight.

I know you all feel the same sentiments. The rage against the unanswerable abyss, the terror of what lies ahead, the confusion of what this nation has become.

I will not attempt to glide over the monumental disaster that was this election. There is no silver lining. There is no redemption. The illusion of hope in this last year has been mercilessly stripped away.

The monster we face is now unleashed, and free to wreak havoc and spill the blood of innocents.

We are in a dark place. Perhaps the darkest place. Unable to even conceive of the idea of light.

But we have been in such midnight moments before.

We have been in the pits of Viet Nam and the hanging trees of Jim Crowe. We have despaired on the cotton fields of Mississippi and the breadlines of the depression. We've been beaten down by crooked cops, pushed around by factory bosses, terrorized by the Klan and the Fascists and the Nazis. And neonazis, and the fat cats, and robber barons, and the fraud politicians and wicked masters.

But we have never surrendered. We have never weakened or wavered.

Did we surrender at Kent State? Jackson State?

No.

Did we surrender at Selma, Alabama?

No.

Did we surrender at Haymarket?

No.

On the lettuce fields of California, in the textile mills of Massachusettes, in the coal mines of Colorado, in the meat packing plants of Chicago, at the stone wall to rights, at the pro-choice rallies, at the equal rights for women marches, at the anti-war demonstrations, at the strikes and walk-outs, and the bus boycotts?

No.

No.

NO!

Remember, we have history on our side. We have the march of progress, the struggle for what is right and good and pure and free and equal and just and beautiful. We have the raised fist of every fighter. We have the righteous yell of anyone who's been wronged by the system, anywhere, at any time.

We have the power of the powerless.

We have the moral clarity of the dispossessed.

We are the heart and the soul of the struggle of the battle that never ends.

Look to our heroes. We are the inheritors of a proud past populated by giants, heroes, artists, revolutionaries, thinkers, believers in mankind, defenders of the oppressed.

We have the pen of Walt Whitman and Hemingway.

The determination of Cesar Chavez, and Margaret Sanger.

The faith of Martin and Malcom.

The beauty of Billy Holiday and Duke Ellington.

The strength of Roosevelt and Kennedy.

The joy of Mark Twain.

The history of America has been written by us. It does not belong to demagogues, the fear-mongers, the war-profiteers, the rich, the greedy, the theocrats, and the mullahs.

They twist the constitution, but we make it straight.

They wrap themselves in the flag, but we fight for the freedoms, not the fabric.

They shout out their pledges of allegiance but we do the dirty work of democracy.

They claim to represent the real America, but we are the keepers of the tree of Liberty.

It ain't over yet, folks. Not by a long shot.

So cry a few tears. Bang against the walls. Scream into the wind.

Then collect yourself and get back to work.

It's time to punch the clock.

The battle for America has begun.

[mom cat]

6. Thanks. I just put these in my liberty folder to spark me when I'm down.

[mdmc]

7. thanks

thanks

[bonito]

8. Totally awesome! Thank You

Been thinking tonight of becoming the media or town crier, get a sack like the paper boys used to carry and hand out information.

[Jcrowley]

10. You really put together

some fantastic images. Well done.

[bleever]

11. Hell yeah.

You go, girl.

You make us all stronger.

[Gregorian]

12. The end is the beginning.

What a great post!

Totally invigorating. Like a page that is about to be turned. Let's see what is on the other side.


Edit- I'm still worried. But there's lots of company.

[StellaBlue]

14. Looking at this again

it's the Normandy one that really gets me.

That and the Rosa Parks, because she's challenging us directly.

[bleever]

16. That look in her eyes

clears away the distractions pretty quick.

[bonito]

15. Kick

[LSK]

17. Awesome!

:thumbsup:

[spuddonna]

18. What a moving post!

Thank you! :)

[mhatrw]

19. Fight!

We shall overcome!

[guruoo]

20. Yeah...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y77HC9BeC0E&mode=related&search=

[mogster]

21. Great post!

Never give up!

[SDDEM06]

22. K & R

Awesome!

[StellaBlue]

23. kick for the weekenders

[Poll_Blind]

24. The Eugene Debs quote at the end is stingingly-relevant. Thank you. n/t

PB

[catmandu57]

25. I have to believe that we have built this country on a foundation

strong enough to withstand the assault of a wanna be tinhorn dictator, we may have a pretty rough and rocky road ahead, but, we Americans are built of some pretty stern stuff. Your photo essay proves that, and we will come through in the end, the people will wake up of that i haven't a doubt.
In the meantime however, we all must be prepared to sacrifice whatever may be necessary, I am.

[Kurovski]

26. K&R.(nt)