Protests Continue, Placards Get Angrier

As the Gaza operation drags on and violence once again becomes the norm, people around the world have been sounding off about their opinions and concerns. There isn't much difference presently between rumor and "respected" news (partially due to the fact that Israel has blocked all outside media people from entering Gaza). News we receive by word of mouth carries just as much power as if it were disseminated by a major outlet, maybe even more. In 1948, news of the Deir Yassin massacre had reached every ear in Palestine before it hit the papers. Media blackouts in Nazi Germany kept journalists from reporting what actually happened to the Jews in the camps, but word spread anyway.

This week, there has been word that Israel is purposefully bombing schools and hospitals, that Hamas has not allowed the sick and injured to flee into Egypt. There has been word from supporters of Israel that Hamas gunmen use crying children as human shields. And there has been word from supporters of Gaza that Israel drops leaflets to the Palestinians, telling them where it is safe to hide, and then bombing said safe place with an unmanned drone.

It is easier on the psyche to make your enemy into a monster. In fact, it is well-documented that human beings have a strong tendency to assume the worst about the out-group and assume the best about their own in-group. It is survival, and it is as old as our species.

I will let the video and pictures from this last protest speak for itself. The people will tell you what they think through the signs they carry.

[Note: The lack of signs supporting Israel is due to a lack of any counter-protesters at these events, not my disinterest in letting them be heard.]


























[Enough chit-chat in Gaza!]




[This one looks to be a leftover from this week's Oakland protests, wherein a police officer shot a subdued and unarmed young man in the back. Perhaps they thought their sign would be appropriate for this protest too.]




















[There is no god but God and Mohammad is his prophet.]

F Market Tours: the way to see San Francisco

Riding the F Market, past the shopping hoards, past the junkies, past the gays. San Francisco laid out in all its varied splendor. Our personal F Market driver for the day was very serious about her job.

My first sight of her was when she insisted on helping an elderly couple off the train, even though the husband was perfectly capable of helping the wife.
"Let me help you!" she yelled.

Next, she stopped to lower the wheelchair lift back down to street level, then remarked to all her passengers, "Some people have nothing better to do, so they mess with that."

Ringing her bell at every car or person that got in her way, we continued up Market Street. Typical for 6th street, two riff-raffs got on the back door entrance but our driver was quick to spot them, "Hey you. You get on front. All passenger get on front!" They ambled up to the front, mumbling, "How much is it?" They found that between the two of them, they didn't have enough, so they got off. "Better to walk, you lazy ass!" yelled our driver.

Two more stops with indistinguishable names later, a homeless man with a cart full of cans got on. He stopped at the front of the train to get his money ready and the driver snapped, "After you're done, please move to the back." He got his transfer and did so, but as he made his way back, some of his cans fell out of his cart. Again, our driver was quick to handle the situation, "You better get your stuff together!"

At the end of the line, Castro and Market, Cru and I got off and I asked our lady driver if we could take a picture. She reluctantly posed at first, but after a couple outtakes, she was happy. After we showed her the final picture, she framed her face with her thumb and forefinger and said, "But it's TOO ROUND!" Then chuckled gaily.