After reading Durango's most poignant post about the movie, Salt Of The Earth, I felt empowered and moved in a way that required taking action. I remember viewing that movie in my Chicano Studies course. The film covers many social issues. I viewed it with equality in mind, not just for the Hispanic American community, but for women, as well.
The feeling of wanting to gather people together and stop Chesapeake from putting a sixteen inch odorless gas line under Carter Ave, remained strong. I thought, "Surely, with all the residents of Ft Worth, Dallas and the surrounding areas that thousands upon thousands could be counted on to rally support for the residents on Carter Ave, Steve Doeung in particular.
Then sadly I read Don Young's comment:
"It depicts the kind of resistance that I've been urging in FW for the past 5 years to no avail. When I announced a protest in 2008 to stop the gas well on Scott Avenue I was the only one who showed up. At another in 2006 I was one of 4 people. The CREDO group drew a pretty large crowd in 2008 but the group later fizzled. It may take a few body bags to wake people up. Problem is, gas drilling is a slow killer."
Then I remembered Durango's post about the Toy Run. I'm not knocking Christmas presents for kiddos, what I found amazing is the amount of people lined up just to see a horde of motorcyclists delivering presents. I know a local motorcycle group. They're always looking for a good reason to ride. I'm thinking about asking them to do a Move The Pipeline Run.
2 comments:
Thank you for your many heart-felt and well-expressed support for the poor people living on Carter Ave. Steve D. was saying on a tv news story last month that he felt like a defender in a modern-day Alamo, which is a pretty good paralell. He was knowledgible enough of history (heard he's a certified teacher) to point out that with enough time/delay "maybe" needed help will come in time to produce a different ending to his little version of the Alamo. He is probably counting on people of goodwill like yourself and Durango to "ride in to the rescue"--a loud and proud fleet of motorcycle cavalry would definitely lift his spirit and might even wake up the citizens of FW from their apathy. Of course, such a spectacle would probably attract media attention (esp. if coordinated with local folks like DY and TXSharon) and scare the @#$$%% out of the gassers and their city friends and Mayor Gasbag. Bet DY, Sharon, Durango, and Steve could give directions to the "freedom riders" in case they need to empty their bladders.--Scott Carter
Mr. Carter,
Thank you for the very kind compliment. If a motorcycle rally could be a catalyst to raise awareness, then I can definitely organize it, or at least talk to the right people.
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