I could tell you about my first protest - but really - who they hell wants to hear about some fat kid who sat on the ground of the Pizza Hut protesting the fact that one piece of pepperoni on a slice just didn't cut it.
No - you'd rather hear from the folks down at the Bao Phi Blaag talking about their first protests.
Here's a snippet from each of the five:
Protest #1
Just a few weeks into my college years, planes smashed into buildings on the Atlantic coast, and a few weeks after that was my first protest. The energy behind it was all desperation and no strategy, but we were mourning and we were terrified, and that was all we could come up with. Early October of 2001 was a very intimidating time to be speaking out about anything, although the ‘issues’—the ‘War on Terror’ and plans to invade and occupy Afghanistan—begged to be articulated and resisted.Protest #2
In August, 2007 in Seoul, Korea just down the hill from the Samsung-owned, grand Shilla hotel, I participated in the 1st public protest/demonstration against Korea’s continued, systematic practice of exporting Korean citizens to western countries. Today, these citizens are being taken away from their families against their will and are currently being exported at the rate of 2,000 per year and upwards of $30,000 each, most of them being sent to the US.Protest #3
The first protest I ever went to was against the Gulf War when I was in 7th grade. The thing is – I didn’t actually go. The kids in my class had organized a walk out of school – it was during Ms Downes’s social studies class – through a daisy chain the night before. I knew of their plans, and it never once crossed my mind to actually go.Protest #4
I had left home, Minnesota to California back into 2003 after I came out to my family as a lesbian and they denied me of who I am and my rights. For four years, I lived in a small city, Concord, and within that escape it didn’t release me of my internal struggles with identities. It wasn’t until Fall 2007 at Diablo Valley College that I started to educate myself of Womyn’s issues, suffrages and struggles.Protest #5
This is dedicated to my friend Bao Phi's newborn child, and all children, because my first protests were in childhood. When I was about six, I protested Halloween candy. I really hated candy, and didn't see the point of trying to collect something I didn't want. So I decided to dress up and collect money for UNICEF instead.Yes - you do want to keep on reading so just follow the links and get your protest on.
