Yes, today is the day we’ve been dreading: the day when all those lucky people get to go to D.C. and participate in what promises to be the biggest protest of the year (www.turnyourbackonbush.com). Rumors are swirling about all the great stuff everybody has planned, including the never-before-seen security our president and his men have secured for the event. And here we sit, 1,500 miles away, slumped in front of our computer screens miserably watching the War in Iraq’s death toll rise. (As of Monday, Jan. 17, according to CNN.com, there have been 1,525 coalition troop deaths and, according to IraqBodyCount.net, more than 15,365 Iraqi civilian deaths).
Luckily, living on an anomalous progressive island in the midst of the bloody red sea that separates the coasts has its good points, one being a tireless activist community that helps us all feel slightly better about ourselves. At least they’re doing something, right? But, hey, why not join in? It is not too late, even if you haven’t heeded the Inaugurate This! call to organize and educate people about issues you feel strongly about, whether they be economic or racial equality, reproductive rights, sexual freedom, privacy rights, or any of the many causes that seem to be in immediate peril. Thanks to the tireless organizing of local groups like Code Pink, Austin Spokescouncil, and Austin Against War, all you need to do is show up. Your presence matters, no matter what the jaded old-timers and no-good naysayers may grumble. The message that you don’t agree with what the current administration is doing either home or abroad is an important one.
That said, here’s our town’s offering of what you can do today as the passionate, dissatisfied citizen you know you are deep down inside.
Counter-Inaugural Demonstration
5-7pm. Congress Avenue Bridge, Congress Avenue & Town Lake. www.austinagainstwar.org.
Crawford Peace House Fundraiser/Anti-Inaugural Ball
7:30pm. Mother Egan’s Irish Pub, 715 W. Sixth, 478-7747. www.crawfordpeacehouse.org.
McCallum & Garza High School Walk-Outs
Meeting at the Capitol, 4pm. McCallum High, 5600 Sunshine, 414-2519; Garza High, 1600 Chicon, 414-8600.
Not One Damn Dime Day
www.austinspokes.org.
Black Thursday
www.black-thursday.com.
Screening of Last Man Standing
Ventana del Soul CoffeeHouse HotSpot Cafe, 1834 E. Oltorf. Optional dinner 6:30pm, screening 7:15pm, discussion and Q&A 8:45pm. 454-7971.
Go forth and cause trouble.
This article appears in January 21 • 2005.