another peace march on saturday...this time in phoenix. no clue what the turn out was. the police department says one thing, the media reports another, the "legal observers" report another...it was a lot of people though. the march itself was a lot longer than last time. i think it was a mile, which really gave time to form a cohesive group. it's amazing to be walking through the streets of a metropolitan area, and everyone is chanting so loud that you can't hear yourself. it was also cool when we went around one block to start the walk back to the park, and looked down a street and saw the tail end of the march walking.

i'm really relieved to find that the turn out was bigger than anything since the vietnam war. and people are saying "well, war hasn't even started yet. why are you doing this?" pretty much because there's never been a situation where a country has been considering a preemptive war.

the numbers at US rallies were pretty stunning, but i don't think i was expecting the millions in europe and elsewhere.

so far, i've noticed that the best speakers at these events are from churches, such as the methodist church, which have come out in opposition. the speakers are powerful, stick to the point, and use the administrations own faith to proove their point. as far as the worst speakers? well, i'm pretty sure that anarchist groups are going to be causing lots of problems for peace movements all over the world. most of the arrests revolved around them. they spew a lot of hatred and their energy really messes up the whole vibe. i wish people would keep special interests away from these events, as it alienates more conservative participants.

anyway. yet another good experience. maybe it's giving us false hope. but i know that getting out and doing something makes me feel better about the situation.

and no, i didn't hand out dmb lyrics. ;)