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so, i got home from work today and there was this big thick envelope sitting on the counter with my name on it -- from a lawyer's office. at first, i was scared that i did something illegal, but actually...okay. my roommate and i drove up to DC to protest on inauguration day of 05. we protested at the parade first, but later went to a concert that was in Adams Morgan.Actually, the concert was pretty good. *Anti-Flag*, *Q & Not U*, *Del Cielo*. It was called the Anti-Inauguration Ball or something, and it was in this little church theater (which was strange to say the least). Right before the show ended, the concert organizers got up on stage and announced that there would be a peaceful march to an Inauguration Ball being held at the Hilton that was pretty nearby. We really were peaceful. We didn't do anything wrong. But all of a sudden we were swarmed by cops a few blocks from the hotel, and they cornered about 60 of us in an alley and ...well, blah blah blah. Pepper spray and batons and the usual, I guess. I don't really like to get into it. I'm going to take shortcuts with this.Basically, they beat the shit out of a bunch of us and pepper sprayed us after we were already on the ground, and then kept us kneeling in these patches of ice for upwards of 3 hours (got mild frostbite), and actually broke a few people's bones and from what I heard, one girl had a miscarriage. And we really fucking were just marching.In the end, after hours and hours of ridiculousness, we were charged with "parading without a permit" and let out for 50 bucks apiece.Normally, my instinct would have been to fight it. You know - go to court, bitch and make a scene, etc. But (and I know this sounds stupid) it was honestly the single scariest night of my life, and I just didn't want to think about it anymore. I got the money out of an ATM, tracked down my roommate (not arrested), got back to my dorm and stayed in bed for 2 days straight. And that was that. I've always felt stupid for not having done more, but at the time, I just didn't have it in me. That same week, I dropped my Political Science major and took up English, and I've spent the last 2 years trying to disengage myself from politics before realizing that I just can't possibly help that I am addicted to all things political. It's an illness, really.So this envelope. There's a class-action lawsuit that they want me to join and testify for. While I'm still wary of getting into it all over again, I've been sort of waiting for the envelope to come for almost 2 years. Feels good.Oh, and if by some magical form of coincidence, you were involved and didn't get a letter, go here:http://aclu-nca.org/boxSub.asp?id=102Carr v. District of Columbiathere's contact info on there for the lawyers, and the ACLU's been doing a lot of the work on the case.*i feel i should mention exactly how fucking amazing Q & Not U was. They blew my mind.*
that's the lead singer of anti-flag. we got some pretty sweet photos; at one point, the audience got onstage with the bands and started sharing the microphones. you can't see in this one, but there was a huge banner behind the stage with a W crossed out. i wish i'd -stolen- liberated it. i was taking pictures for the campus paper, but they (lol) ended up putting in a girl's article about her experience AT an inaugural ball instead of merely being beaten up outside of one. heh. and people wonder why i dropped out.
that's the lead singer of anti-flag. we got some pretty sweet photos; at one point, the audience got onstage with the bands and started sharing the microphones. you can't see in this one, but there was a huge banner behind the stage with a W crossed out. i wish i'd -stolen- liberated it. i was taking pictures for the campus paper, but they (lol) ended up putting in a girl's article about her experience AT an inaugural ball instead of merely being beaten up outside of one. heh. and people wonder why i dropped out.
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