NoDAPL Protest, Tucson, November 15, 2016
More than a thousand people gathered in downtown Tucson at twilight to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, the largest outpouring in Arizona of support for Standing Rock (so far). And we didn't forget the fights for Oak Flat and Rio Yaqui, which are ongoing.
Yes, we stand with indigenous people!
**edited to add 1-minute video below**
We were on all four corners of the intersection. Sage, drumming, chants, and lots of positive honks from cars passing by.
At one point (see image below), people tried to take the street, but one angry driver revved his engine and plowed through the crowd. Unfortunately, we were unable to get clear photos of the incident (no one was hurt). After that, everyone stayed on the sidewalks and medians, though people regularly crossed the streets, moving around the intersection.
The demonstration went on for a couple of hours. We left before it was over, but there were still several hundred people there. Tucson cops were typically low-key, but one arrogant security guard wouldn't let us sit on a wall "for our own protection." He, of course, had nothing to say about the driver that had just tried to run people over.
Despite his smarmy presence, it was a lovely evening!
All photos by cRDejolie.
Comments
Thanks for being there!
I was working, a 14 hour day.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Some things are Not Negotiable
Seeking ways to proceed is not compatible with negotiating in good faith. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not supposed to be an advocate!
Please support "WE CANNOT NEGOTIATE FOR THE WATER"
We were there.
We probably rubbed shoulders and didn't know it. I always like to meet other bloggers. I believe it enhances the blogging experience and I know it keeps the threads more civil. It's hard to call somebody names when you know the real person behind the handle. Maybe next time.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Glad you were there!
I'm a bit of a hermit and actually quite shy. It's difficult for me to meet new people, especially under those crowded circumstances. I hope you can understand that it's nothing personal --- at all.
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
That's me in the video.
Right at the very start there's a guy in a cowboy hat standing by himself in that planter with the cactus, arms behind his back.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
For Omaha, we had an okay turnout. At least it was
larger than I thought it would be. The Omaha Weird Harold says there were 'over 200' of us. Yeah, there were. At one point I might guess another hundred and for this place that's something when you're fighting corporations. (Nebraska, Omaha in particular, gives land, tax breaks, everything they can, to make corporations happy. Of course they are snakes and after bleeding the taxpayers dry they sometimes up an leave, like when ConAgra moving it's corp headqtrs to Chicago.)
My crazed Clinton supporting grandson was there with me. I finally had to tell him to shut up or I was leaving him after he started whining about her loss. But he's the only one in my family who will stand in the protests with me. At least someone listened to what I've said for all these years.
SNIPPET FROM OMAHA WORLD HERALD ARTICLE
American Indian drummers and singers led a prayer and protest rally Tuesday outside the Army Corps of Engineers office in Omaha to show solidarity with opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
More than 200 people were on hand when the rally started near 17th and Capitol about 4:30 p.m.
“We implore the Army Corps of Engineers to enforce their authority and not grant Dakota Access the permit required to bore under the Missouri River,’’ said Marisa Cummings, a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. “The Dakota Access Pipeline has and will further desecrate sacred sites and put our ... ecosystem and water quality at risk.’’
Bold Nebraska co-hosted the rally. The gathering was one of more than 100 actions planned nationwide Tuesday to encourage the corps not to grant Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners a permit for the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe, the Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota. Opponents fear the pipeline, which would transport crude oil, could affect the water supply and disturb tribal cultural sites.
http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/over-protest-dakota-access-pipeline-in-d...
END OF SNIPPET FROM OMAHA WORLD HERALD
***
Bwahahahahahaha!!!!!!! See that weird looking person on the far right with the glasses and the really stupid look on her face holding the PEOPLE OVER PIPELINES sign? That would be me.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
We protested too! In Louisville, KY
They said there were several hundred. Our cops are like, "Break out the keg and we'll join you as soon as we're off duty". http://www.courier-journal.com/picture-gallery/news/2016/11/15/north-dak...
I haven't found myself in any of the photos yet.
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I was on a corner quite a way in back of the speakers and
Native American singers UNTIL they gave that young Native American protester/speaker the microphone. I turned around to listen to her (never could hear her she spoke so softly) and I looked past her and there were the darn news cameras. I thought **fark** (as that look on my face shows) because it had gotten so congested at that point there was really no where to go. The cops wouldn't allow anyone to step in the street so I was stuck where I was. And anyway, by that time it was too late.
My kids laughed.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa