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Dec. 13th, 2014 06:02 pmContent warnings: Protests, police. I was neither arrested nor physically harmed.
In 2009, I went to my first World/Inferno Friendship Society concert.
Now, I am not punk rock or cool or intimidating, but I can be stubborn. So as the opening act finished up, I realized I was standing very near the stage and so made a conscious decision that I was gonna watch from the very front row. It was at TT the Bears, so when I say front row, I mean that Jack Terrycloth was within arm's reach almost the entire time.
There was moshing behind me, and a near constant barrage of other fans swaying and flinging themselves closer, trying to get a better view. But while I am strong, I am also stubborn and so no one --fucking no one-- was gonna get in front of me and block my view. I set my feet and shoved back at the people twice my weight and by golly, I managed to enjoy the whole show, and encores, from that coveted spot. It's not an ability I use often, but if I want to stay solidly at one point in a crowd, I can.
***
Today I went to my second protest march. It was the Millions March Boston, in protest of the racist justice system and the unpunished murders of _so fucking many_ black men and women I can't even keep count.
We started in front of the state house --I joined the march at about 12:45, which was luckily just a few minutes before they started moving. We marched through Boston, until we hit a point where the cops had barricaded our path (!!) and stopped us moving. At that point, we turned around, and continued a different path until we arrived at the Suffolk County Jail. We protested outside the jail for a bit, and then again our path was blocked by the police.
We decided to link arms, and assert our right to march and to demonstrate peacefully. The word was spread to march forward and push through the cops standing there.
Remember that vignette I posted at the beginning of this entry? As our crowd of protestors shifted, I found myself in the third row, then the second, then the first. We were pushing forward, and the police were pushing us back. It is not an ability I use often, but if I want to stay solidly at one point in a crowd, I can.
Today I had a riot cop's hands on my chest, his visor against my face. It is so far the closest I have ever been to being arrested. I feel lucky that the police did not turn to excessive force, but then again, I am small, female-appearing, and white.
There were four arrests, I was not close enough to them to know any more than that. Eventually, we lost enough of our crowd support that we had to turn and march back to Park Street instead.
I am small. I am female-appearing. I am white. I should not be afraid of cops. But then, no one should be afraid of cops, and that's the system we're trying to overturn. Eric Garner. Mike Brown. Tamir Rice. Darrien Hunt. One more black man every 28 hours.
On Monday I am going to call my representatives, to ask for justice for these men and women who have died. I am going to ask for laws that protect all the nation's people. I am going to ask for a world where the police are a group who serve and protect Americans, not attack and murder them.
I am going to ask for a world where we do not have to march. But until that world gets here, I will use my talents. I will stand firm when I need to, for all the people who can't.
~Katarina Whimsy
PostScript: As one last parallel, the stage at TT the Bear's is only about sixteen inches high. When I looked at myself the following day, I had some truly impressive bruising around my knees. I wonder what bruises I'll have tomorrow, from being peaceful
In 2009, I went to my first World/Inferno Friendship Society concert.
Now, I am not punk rock or cool or intimidating, but I can be stubborn. So as the opening act finished up, I realized I was standing very near the stage and so made a conscious decision that I was gonna watch from the very front row. It was at TT the Bears, so when I say front row, I mean that Jack Terrycloth was within arm's reach almost the entire time.
There was moshing behind me, and a near constant barrage of other fans swaying and flinging themselves closer, trying to get a better view. But while I am strong, I am also stubborn and so no one --fucking no one-- was gonna get in front of me and block my view. I set my feet and shoved back at the people twice my weight and by golly, I managed to enjoy the whole show, and encores, from that coveted spot. It's not an ability I use often, but if I want to stay solidly at one point in a crowd, I can.
***
Today I went to my second protest march. It was the Millions March Boston, in protest of the racist justice system and the unpunished murders of _so fucking many_ black men and women I can't even keep count.
We started in front of the state house --I joined the march at about 12:45, which was luckily just a few minutes before they started moving. We marched through Boston, until we hit a point where the cops had barricaded our path (!!) and stopped us moving. At that point, we turned around, and continued a different path until we arrived at the Suffolk County Jail. We protested outside the jail for a bit, and then again our path was blocked by the police.
We decided to link arms, and assert our right to march and to demonstrate peacefully. The word was spread to march forward and push through the cops standing there.
Remember that vignette I posted at the beginning of this entry? As our crowd of protestors shifted, I found myself in the third row, then the second, then the first. We were pushing forward, and the police were pushing us back. It is not an ability I use often, but if I want to stay solidly at one point in a crowd, I can.
Today I had a riot cop's hands on my chest, his visor against my face. It is so far the closest I have ever been to being arrested. I feel lucky that the police did not turn to excessive force, but then again, I am small, female-appearing, and white.
There were four arrests, I was not close enough to them to know any more than that. Eventually, we lost enough of our crowd support that we had to turn and march back to Park Street instead.
I am small. I am female-appearing. I am white. I should not be afraid of cops. But then, no one should be afraid of cops, and that's the system we're trying to overturn. Eric Garner. Mike Brown. Tamir Rice. Darrien Hunt. One more black man every 28 hours.
On Monday I am going to call my representatives, to ask for justice for these men and women who have died. I am going to ask for laws that protect all the nation's people. I am going to ask for a world where the police are a group who serve and protect Americans, not attack and murder them.
I am going to ask for a world where we do not have to march. But until that world gets here, I will use my talents. I will stand firm when I need to, for all the people who can't.
~Katarina Whimsy
PostScript: As one last parallel, the stage at TT the Bear's is only about sixteen inches high. When I looked at myself the following day, I had some truly impressive bruising around my knees. I wonder what bruises I'll have tomorrow, from being peaceful
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