February 4
by Amy
Our positions are fluid. My work within the Movement – literally the place I go to everyday – is different. Some days I am asked to monitor the media. Sometimes I make transportation arrangements for Dave or Tom or others. I’ve been known to type on occasion, but I stink at it. To get out of typing, I usually find one of the other girls in the office and trade jobs.
Today it was Leslie. When Leslie first started showing up, people thought she was a narc. She was shy, mostly, so she didn’t talk all that much. I might have been the first person she spoke with on a personal level and I think that was mostly because I’m persistent.
I learned that Leslie took part in a number of actions last year. Her last one was at the induction center two months ago. We were doing a holiday themed action, which turned rather ugly.
One of the guys dressed up as Santa Claus. We stationed Mr. Claus near the front entrance, so he would block draftees from entering the building. The police were called, of course. They arrived, as did the media. Santa put on quite a show that day, being dragged off by four cops. Photographers were there – it was quite the scene. I loved it.
The coverage of that event was far and wide. Brilliant. How many kids woke up to a front page of Santa being hauled off to prison?
Anyway, we laughed at the ingenuity and brilliance of the scene. And some of us got arrested. One of which was Leslie.
Since that experience, she’s a little afraid of actions. I can understand backing away and all. Putting her strengths into background work. She told me today that she feels guilty about being afraid.
If being out on the streets isn’t your thing, then you shouldn’t do it. That’s what I told her. Or maybe she could face her fear about being arrested.
