I just got back from Unity 2000, in Philadelphia, yesterday, which was amazing, and I thought I should share. I have never been stirred so much as I had been during Unity. The people protested everything, from corporate greed, to prison industrial complex, to political prisoners, to police brutality, to abortion, to environmental issues, to gay-lesbian-bisexual rights, to demilitarization of foreign countries by the US, to nationalized healthcare, etc. etc. The main overall focus however was to protest the Bush-Cheney ticket, as well as serve criticism for Gore's unpromising campaign, and how they both resemble a Tweedledee-Tweedledom scenario, with the only true issue distinguishing both candidates, is their stands on abortion. Nader was the true winner apparently amongst the ralliers. However Patricia Ireland spoke, and as expected endorsed Gore (the lesser of two evils, obviously). Then there was a pro-choice march, during which a pro-life van with a gigantic picture of a dying baby was circulating the streets. It was really, really explicit and disturbing. One boy had his arm broken when he tried to stop the van from moving. There were also about 500 pro-life supporters (all old white people, with their grandchildren) standing around a couple of blocks, holding up signs saying 'abortion is murder', and literally doing Hail Maries on their rosaries. They had these wicked smirks too (they probably all thought we were going to hell, and got a big rise out of it). So two dozen of us kids decided to walk on the street in front of them holding up pro-choice signs and shouting chants. At first, just because our lacking in number made it somewhat intimidating. But before we knew it, everyone else from the rally joined us, and there were over a thousand people marching behind us, it was so unforgettable and empowering.

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