Three hundred Tucsonans support Cindy Sheehan at local vigil : AZ IMC

TUCSON – More than three hundred people gathered at El Tiradito Shine downtown Wednesday night to show solidarity for Cindy Sheehan, the mother who lost her military son in Iraq and who has been camping out in Crawford, Texas demanding to ask President Bush why he sent her son to die.

The local Tucson vigil was part of the approximately 1,500 vigils that occurred simultaneously last night in support of Sheehan and ending the war on Iraq.

The Tucson Raging Grannies, a local collection of women working to promote global peace, justice, and social and economic equality by raising public awareness through the medium of song and humor, dedicated a new song for Sheehan.

“Hey Mr. President, come and talk to me,” rang the chorus in the warm Tucson air. The song, sang to the melody of Bob Dylan’s “Hey Mr. Tambourine Man,” tells the story of Sheehan and how thousands of Americans feel about the war. The group recorded the song last night to send to Sheehan. (Video is available of the song at the link below.)

Five members of the Tucson Raging Grannies, along with an Arizona Indymedia reporter, were arrested on July 13 for criminal tresspassing when they tried to enlist in the U.S. Army. All the charges were dropped. (see http://arizona.indymedia.org/news/2005/07/28889.php)

Gripping candles and signs supporting the growing anti-war camp in Crawford, a moment of silence was dedicated to Sheehan, all the mothers of military personal, and the innocent people of Iraq.

David Ray, a local poet who has published the only book of anti-war poems against the Iraq war, read the poem, “from Lonesome Mom, that he had written for Sheehan ten days ago.

“…you are the Rosa Parks who has boarded/ the bus that George Bush is driving./ You demand to be heard and respected face to face…When he showed up for a closed-door/ session with a few families like yours/ he did not know your son Casey’s name,/ although he called you ‘Mom’ as if he could for few minutes replace him…”

At the end of his poem, Ray criticized the media who is calling Sheehan an “emotional predator” saying that if Sheehan, who lost her son is an emotional predator, than so is he. Ray, who has a son-in-law in Iraq, said he is terrified that his daughter will end up a widow with two children.

Ray said that he has been in a perpetual battle with the letters editor at “The New York Times” because he feels they don’t run enough anti-war letters in the newspaper. He said that his book of poetry is being censored because Barnes and Noble won’t carry it in their stores nor will libraries put it in their collections.

One woman stood on the fringes of the vigil holding a sign, “Military wives against the war,” with tears bulging up in her eyes.

“It’s been a miracle that my husband has not been sent to Iraq,” Erica said. Erica, who teaches college-level English in Tucson, said she felt uncomfortable giving her last name or her husbands name because his military career could be jeopardized by her speaking out. “If your wife is not towing the party line, then it is considered that your husband is not either,” Erica said. “It is illegal for him to speak out about how he really feels.” Her husband is an A-10 pilot currently at weapons school in Nevada.

“Wives feel so alienated when their husbands come back from Iraq,” Erica said. “She said that many wives say they can sense their husbands did terrible things, like kill innocent Iraqi civilians, and that they no longer feel comfortable being with their husbands. There are a lot of wives against this war, they are just scared to speak out. I am not,” Erica said.

A man wearing an “Iraq veterans against the war” t-shirt, came up to talk to Erica. He is starting a support group for families of military personnel in Tucson and wanted her help (see http://www.ivaw.org).

Ray Baune, a veteran of the Korean War who now organizes for the Democratic party in Benson, drove 40 miles to join in the Tucson vigil. “I wish every veteran were here. All veterans I know are against what is going on in Iraq,” Baune said. Baune fought in Korean when he was 18 years old, when he said, “he was young and stupid.”

Many of the Tucson Raging Grannies will be traveling to Crawford, Texas to join Sheehan in her effort to speak to President Bush in public. The vigil was organized by the local chapters of MoveOn Political Action and True Majority.

El Tiradito Shrine is the common area for vigils in Tucson. Lighted candelabras cause the old adobe brick wall to be silhouetted. Years of candle wax have saturated the soil. A plaque reads, “The shrine is dedicated to the soul of a sinner buried in unconsecrated ground. It is affectionately called “El tiradito – the castaway.” There are many legends about its origin, but all involved a tragic triangle love affair in the early 1870s. The mysterious powers of El tiradito are still an important part of local Mexican lore and culture.”

The Tucson Raging Grannies, a local collection of women working to promote global peace, justice, and social and economic equality by raising public awareness through the medium of song and humor, dedicated a new song for Sheehan.

El tiradito (the castaway) is a shrine dedicated to a man who was involved in a triangle love affair in the 1870s. The myth around El tiradito is important for local Mexican lore and culture.

The song, sang to the melody of Bob Dylan's famous song, was written for Cindy Sheehan. The video is about 1 minute long.

David Ray, a local poet, wrote the poem for Sheehan. Ray is the only author of a complete book of poems against the war on Iraq. The video is about 1 minute long.