CHALLENGING DRONOTOPIA - War Is A Crime .org

about a150 feet from the line entering the rally, our drone display was even hard to see
from the line of people we were leafleting.
For all practical purposes, we were excluded from any meaningful participation in this
major public political event. Our First Amendment right to peacefully assemble to
protest was rendered worthless and violated because we were totally out of the view of
the officials who were the subject of the protest.
“We had no recourse,” George said, “We were like panhandlers.”
“There are no voices of dissent allowed, period,” George said. “All we are hearing are
voices of consent.”
The rules now limiting where and how freedom of speech is permitted ensure, George
said, that “your harmless, you’re completely innocuous.”
People in Congress know that the president is breaking the law in conducting the drone
attacks, George continued, but they do nothing about it.
“People we vote for do not represent us. That’s why we are going down.”
“It looks like we’re in for it, sir.”
When I was leafleting cars at the Urban Nights celebration in Dayton, I handed a flyer
into the window of a car with a young woman passenger and young man driving who
looked like he was in the military or had been. He indicated that he agreed with our
message, “Stop the Drones, Stop the Wars”, but, he said, “It looks like we’re in for it,
sir.”
I was stunned by what seemed to a prophecy, coming from such a young man.
Next Steps
Here are local plans of action resulting from the tour, as reported by local organizers.
Dayton/Springfield
Steve Fryburg: The Dayton area No/Know Drones group plans to continue to put
pressure on Congressman Turner to publicly expose his collusion with the military drone
industry through his accepting contributions from them while sitting on the
Congressional committee providing oversight to the same program.
Additional actions are being planned at University of Dayton, Sinclair Community
College and Wright State. Through the No Drones Ohio Facebook site we are soliciting
for new places for programs and demonstrations throughout the state where the mock
drone can be used. The Campus Ministry at Ohio University has also showed an interest
in a Know Drones program which will probably take place after the first of the year.
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