Categories
People Political

When you pray, move your feet

Steve Himmer responded to criticism about peace marches, in particular the individual actions of self-expression:

The individual voice in an election doesn’t individually matter. Done. In a march or a rally, on the other hand, that voice can matter–and it can matter without having either the individual voice or the collective subsumed. As 10,000 people march in a street, there is necessarily a unified message–we’re all marching for the same overarching goal, stating our opposition to war, in the current case. At the same time, each of us holds an individualized sign, or wears a uniquely sloganed t-shirt, or a mask, or performs a piece of personally important street theater. While the collective voice of the march can’t be ignored, neither can each individual voice welling up into the collective.

In response, Jonathon wrote of the circumstances in which he would participate in a march:

Recently my friend Natsuko asked me what it would take for me to attend an anti-war march.

‘Everyone would have to agree to wear only plain black clothes,’ I told her. ‘There would be no chanting, no placards, no street theater, no drumming, no red-painted faces. Nothing but hundreds of thousands of black-clad people marching silently through the city.’

Steve responded in comments:

Interesting–the other day, while marching, I wondered at what point what other kinds of mass events were possible, and one of the ideas I considered was a silent river of people flowing don’t the street with signs or chants, without looking left or right. I, too, think it would an incredible piece of street theater, and definitely one worth trying.

march2.jpgMarch 7, 1965 600 people began a walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama unified behind one goal: voting rights for blacks. These were simple, peaceful people of all ages from all professions and background, with the men primarily dressed in black or gray suits, the women in dresses, white or black, maybe a bit of color with orange or pink or green mixed in. Six blocks later, they were set upon by police who gassed and beat the peaceful crowd as they walked silently through the street.

There was no screaming at the police, and no thrown rocks, sitting in the street or other acts of civil disobedience. The weapon the marchers carried was more frightening to the authorities of that time – a message of equality.

march1.jpgHowever, neither the message nor the marchers would be stopped. Led by Martin Luther King Jr, they marched again two days later, but this time as a means to convince the federal courts to give them explicit permission to march from Selma to Montgomery. The judge granted this permission, and on March 22, 2500 marchers started a walk in Selma, Alabama that would end with 25,000 marchers, five days later in Montgomery, Alabama.

The photographs and television coverage of the brutality of the police, played against the quiet dignity of the marchers and the simplicity of their unified message, more than any other event, led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

One of the photographers of the march quoted the old African/Quakers proverb to describe it: When you pray, move your feet. To this I add: decide what’s important, and act accordingly.

march3.gif

Categories
Critters

New squid on the block

Knowing my obsession with the giant squid, Jonathon sent me a link to a relatively fresh story from the BBC about an intact speciman of giant squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni found in Antartica waters. This in itself is exciting because so little is known about this species of squid outside of what’s recovered from the stomach of its chieftest enemy – the sperm whale.

However, the floor dropping aspect of this story is that Dr. O’Shea, well known New Zealand marine biologist estimates from the size of this specimen – an immature female – that this species is larger the Architeuthis Dux, or Giant Squid. In fact, according to Dr. O’Shea, the species of specimen he’s currently studying, which he is now tentatively calling Colossal Squid, is an order of magnitude bigger. Considering that the Giant Squid has been estimated to obtain a length of 60 feet at best (18 meters) – well, if Colossal lives up Dr. O’Shea’s estimates this creature could reach lengths of 25 meters. Or more.

Having problems with lengths? Consider that if each story of a building takes about 10 feet – 25 meters is about 80 feet, which is about the same height of a 8 story building. But don’t stop there, this building has a tearing beak and razor sharp hooks, as well as a reputation for being one of the most tenacious and aggressive hunters in the Ocean. As the specialists keep saying – we are squid crunchies to this creature. Shishkabob and shishkajane and shishkashelley and…

Dr. O’Shea told reporters:

“This squid is a really nasty aggressive sort of squid . . . a gelatinous blob with seriously evil arms on it. If you fall in the water, you’re history.”

If Dr. O’Shea’s findings are independently verified, this is an incredible find. For someone interested in giant squid as I am, well, this would be equivalent in the music world of discovering Elvis, alive and well, and living in a trailer park outside of Eureka, Missouri.

More later as I find other stories. Also at:

New Zealand Herald
Stuff
The Tonmo thread
Merco Press
Reuters
ABC News
Google News Search with several sources, most the same story
CNN Story

I actually used my Architeuthis Dux article as an example of a web resource for the PostCon RDF sample vocabulary in Practical RDF. Luckily, this news doesn’t impact on the RDF and technical accuracy in the book, it’s been delayed so much by the changing specification. As my editor once mentioned not long ago, so many things have impacted on finishing this book. What else?

I did have this evil twin moment when I thought of writing Simon an email:

Dear Simon

You remember when you said, what else could happen to the book? Well…