State College Protests continue...

For the past 102 weeks most every thursday at noon, a person or persons have stood in front of the PSU gate to protest the various facets of the so called war on drugs. Today marked the last protest of the 1900's. There was no bullhorn, no pot smoking, a single man held a sign which read Petitioning for a redress of grievances Our Right Our Duty, a simple statement, covering the embodiment of the first amendment. I was that man. Several people stopped to take a picture, a few to talk. An older man stopped by surveyed the scene and asked me, " is this about smoking pot?" I replied," yes and no," and as I began to explain as Dr. Heicklen has so many times that Marijuana is not the message, just a messenger. He rudely interrupted me halfway through my first sentence, "oh I thought you were doing something important", then with a wave of the hand he turned his back and walked away... While I am the first to admit that there may be other issues, like the destruction of the environment, which are more important, why stick to a single issue? I guess this man felt that those other people in the streets, who were either building ice sculptures or watching the process, for the year end festivities were doing more important things then I. Perhaps they are they are trying to draw tourist dollars into town, to make up for the money that the students don't spend while away...
I guess that man doesn't think the erosion of of civil rights is important. I guess he doesn't think that the invasion of our homes and bodies by the government is important. I guess he doesn't think that the fact that at least once a week, that innocent citizens are being gunned down in their homes and bedrooms by over jealous officers in the middle of the night is important. His actions proved to me once again, that there is no way to reach those who are deaf and blind by choice. There will come a day when the war on drugs touches him, it could be the arrest of one of his children or grandchildren on drug charges, or it may be when an officer of the law confiscates his cash and ruins his vacation. It may be when a DEA agent with the wrong address busts through his door at 3am and blows him away, when he finally does decide to protest something. Perhaps then he will realize what is important !

Past State College reports 1999 and 1998