As rush hour began on September 11, protesters began to line Charles Street, from downtown out to Towson. Since I was standing at Charles and Chase, I had to rely on reports from others on how far the path stretched. As the cars drove by, many people honked in support, nodded, of flashed a peace sign. Some drivers shook their heads or shouted, "You're wrong," or "You've got it backwards," (my sign read "war breeds terror").
Given the mixed reactions I saw, and the administration's continuing attempts to link September 11 with Iraq and Saddam Hussein, I thought it was extremely important for us to send the message that war will not solve the terrorism problem; if anything it will make the situation worse (as we've already seen).
I had a couple short conversations with people. Perhaps the most rewarding was with another young man who told me he had driven into town on Charles Street and wanted to say how refreshing it was to see this display of nonviolence in the face of our nation's ongoing jigoism and warmongering.
On a side note, I was reminded of the chilling effect 9/11 has had on free speech, and the dangers of the privatization of public space. Originally standing on the east side of Charles in front of Monumental Life's offices, I attracted the attention of the building's security guards (Allied Security). The first guard to approach me told me I needed to move from the sidewalk because Monumental owned the property out to the street. I politely declined, saying that the sidewalk was public space, even if privately owned. The guard called for an off-cuty police officer, who repeated the demand that I move across the street. When I asked for his name, he replied only "Ray", saying that was his first and last name (what?!) When I asked what company he worked for, he pointed only to his t-shirt labelled "Police"; I then asked for his badge number, and he told me he had no badge. Replying that if he was an offduty officer, he must be employed by a private company, "Ray" finally conceded that he was employed by Allied. Rather than prolong the exchange and detract from the somber, silent nature of the witness, I moved across the street. I kept thinking of all that's we've seen over the past 2 years to discourage dissent, whether actions taken by the government or private entities. It seems so ironic that Bush can claim to be serving freedom in Iraq even as our civil rights and liberties are being gradually chipped away at home (or gouged, crushed, and destroyed, in the case of the USA PATRIOT Act, CAPPS-II, and the insidious new attempts to expand the PATRIOT Act quietly through various separate pieces of legislation).
Well, I hope to hear what some others' experiences were like on September 11...