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Activists visiting Houston should learn to call "soooeeee!!" -- and don’t leave your pig noses at home.
Usually when anti-war activists gather locally for a protest action, there have been a few advance planning meetings and at least one sign-making session. They coalesce at the protest site and hang around for a few hours, hoping to make a difference in an increasingly dangerous world. Occasionally they amuse themselves playing "Spot the Narc" during peace actions. Work schedules and the diversity of types of people involved (hey, we’re not a bunch of hippies!) don’t encourage hanging around for socializing afterward, although a footloose few do.
This gathering was definitely different! Fifteen activists, primarily representing the Dallas Peace Center and North Texas for Justice & Peace (NTJP), left Dallas on Tuesday, May 18th, to join a protest action in Houston in front of the annual stockholders’ meeting for Halliburton Corp. Because we were traveling in one activist’s highly-decorated "peace bus" and spending the night together in dormitory conditions, we took the opportunity to get to know each other. This resulted in a much more effective protest action!
Led by cheerleaders Hadi and Sherry, the trip quickly became personalized. Each activist was loudly encouraged to explain why he or she was on this bus. As Bruce so eloquently put it, he was there "because Bush, Cheney, and Halliburton are just different fingers on a hand that is strangling this country." Another activist said, "Because Hoggiburton is proud to say that they ‘make war easy’!"
Whenever anyone did or said anything well, the chant would break out, "Way to go, , way to go! ", continuing 5 or 6 times. Frequently the driver and owner of the peace bus, Richard , was treated to this chant (as was his bus). The official name of the bus is "Furthermore" and she avoids using ExxonMobil gasoline, perhaps in solidarity with Greenpeace.
This energy carried forward into brainstorming (and I do mean storming) and competing to create chants for the next day’s peace action. One of our entries was popular because it is aimed at investor consciousness:
Investors, Investors, Let’s have a talk --
Now’s the time to dump your Halliburton stock!
Cindy’s chant turned out to be one of the most popular during the action:
Halliburton, Halliburton, corporate whore !
How much money are you making on the war ?!
Since Hadi had volunteered us to help with a giant inflatable pig the next day, we all practiced our pig calls.
Sooooeeeee!! Soooeee, sooee, soo-soo-soo-sue-we !
Despite this evidence, there were no alcoholic beverages or mind-altering substances on the bus. Which was fortunate, for our Tuesday night destination was a center for religious retreats deep in the heart of Houston, the Saint Dominic Diocesan Center.
The beds were being made afresh by local Houston activists when we arrived at a late hour. We were instructed (sans yardstick) by a very nice retired Catholic nun to quietly split into male and female groups, and we were escorted into our dormitories. We enjoyed too few hours of sleep, then -- donuts and coffee! (protesters hyped and ready, at your service) The accommodations were excellent and the hospitality was above and beyond.
We made a few more signs (most of our signs were already made and had been used effectively in our weekly Halliburton protests in Dallas). We received encouragement from some of the more permanent residents, then it was back on the bus. Our first destination was a park about four blocks from the hotel (Four Seasons) where the Halliburton shareholders’ meeting was to be held.
The march was to start here and wind up in another park, directly across from the Helliburton meeting. We went there early (about 7:15!) to help Dallasite Cesar and others to position and inflate a giant pink pig. After complaints about heat and humidity were temporarily banned, and after the pig was full, we returned to the originating park.
That is one enormous pink pig, but not as enormous a pig as the war-profiteering corporation we were protesting. We were determined to show the Four Seasons Hotel that there could be a fifth season -- pig-hunting season!(Okay, we’re not animal killers and most of us are vegetarians, but we were loaded up with caffeine and sugar ... )
One of the few negative incidents occurred as we were airing up the pig. An irate female investor made several attempts to whack an early sign-holder with her purse. The Houston police were only yards away and observed this, but despite entreaties by the protester (a young lady who showed good self-control), they simply looked up and around and vacantly into the air. The investor stormed into the hotel. "Cop Watch" observers were not yet on the scene, but interviewed the protester later at our urging.
The pre-march rally began, with about 200 people listening to speakers, organizing their signs, practicing their chants, and tuning their musical instruments. Pig noses and pig masks were in abundance. One very realistic Dick Cheney mask was being used with appropriate clothing and body shape. The energy was positive and determined, too serious to be a festival but creative enough to make us laugh.
Texas’ major cities were represented, and there were a few activists from other locales. The ACLU had an observer. We were proud to represent Dallas, to try to counter the image of our city as a cesspool of right-wing encrustations and pro-war floaters.
The activists in Houston on Wednesday were not flower children or marginalized extremists, but a diverse group of informed, concerned citizens trying to bring attention to the active harm this corporation inflicts upon the world. It was encouraging to hear the speakers, and this author was personally glad to see Sissy Farenthold on the podium.
The march began to wind a circuitous path, on the sidewalks, stopping at (most) stoplights, raucously noisy but staying on message. The Code Pink ladies from Austin always provide a colorful energetic presence, and kept us going well. Our chants and signs were a hit !
The police were herding us along with their horses. They were able to very precisely have their horses back up, go sideways, or lunge forward. I was glad they had given up the old tactic of having their horses defecate in the marching path.
The march was crowded, and bunched up at the destination. Many marchers defied the police by crowding onto the front-door area of the hotel, and marched in the middle of the street in front of the hotel. The crowd had swelled to an estimated 300 or 400 people (but we’re not professional estimators). Our voices were becoming hoarse from yelling.
For just a few minutes, the Houston Fire Department attempted to block our messages by parking two long firetrucks between us and the hotel. We yelled at them that they had no business there, and they left within about 8 minutes. When some of our marchers were blocked at one corner, at least one police officer was restrained by his fellows after he had drawn his (unusually large) nightstick. Some police officers expressed solidarity with us when the others weren’t watching.
Some marchers began circling the park, and the horse-mounted police (no, I’m not being nasty) committed several instances of unnecessary rough handling. A symbolic "die-in" spilled into the street; The precisely-guided horses threatened to step on the "dead" protester’s heads, then bumped and shoved others onto the sidewalks. Most of the on-foot police officers there were professional and didn’t fall into the stupidity of believing they were working for Halliburton. But, we can’t ignore what happens all too often...
After more than two hours of chanting, we believe we had an impact. The press had covered the event, the stockholders could not ignore our messages, and we could not ignore our need for lunch. It was time to allow the homeless people to reclaim their parks.
During the action, we met two memorable individuals. First, a man dressed like one of the Blues Brothers came out onto a balcony and began filming us; Hardly inconspicuous. We shouted at him until he went away.
Second, I noticed a small, obviously shy man walk into the hotel entrance at the height of the chanting and activities. His demeanor and suit, and the way he clutched his small briefcase, were noticeably a stereotype of Mr. Meek the Accountant. He smiled apologetically at us as he went in.
After the pig-deflating and sign-stacking, after the crowds had left, he came out of the hotel and walked toward a row of taxis. Again, he had the same apologetic smile, so I asked him whether he was an investor. He told us he is the investment representative for New York and had made a speech at the stockholders’ meeting urging them to replace their executives. He couldn’t come to talk with us because he was still "on the clock".
The Houston activists donated a bag of pig noses and some other props to us after we told them about our weekly Hoggiburton protests in Dallas. We repacked Furthermore (the peace bus, remember?) and got out of town, after visiting a Vietnamese restaurant.
Some of us slumped unconscious in our bus seats, but occasionally all would stir for another round of the "Way to go!" chant aimed at Richard, the driver. Eventually we all recovered and engaged in various political and literary conversations. Although most of us believed we had effectively communicated to Halliburton stockholders, we also wanted to see whether and how the news services would report the protest (not a complete survey that night, but Faux gave us 6 seconds and estimated the crowd at 500, and WB33 gave us 8 seconds, both with value-neutral comment).
For a complete performance of the excellent chants which were developed during this trip, and to more fully appreciate the artistic talents which contribute to putting pressure on Halliburton Corp., come to the weekly rallies in front of the Helliburton plant in Dallas, at the intersection of Webbs Chapel and Belt Line Road (every Friday, 4:30-6:00pm).
The participation of a Dallas group in this political action would not have been possible were it not for the considerable financial contributions of several individuals, most especially Richard, Sherry & David, Hadi, Cindy, and Marie, and for the organizational contributions of the Dallas Peace Center and the NTJP. We hope that every reader will put extra effort into thanking these people and organizations at your next opportunity!
We also hope that every reader will, when confronted with a Halliburton investor or member of top management, forthrightly tell them:
Sooooeeeee!! Soooeee, sooee, soo-soo-soo-sue-we !
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