August 26, 1968
by Amy
My Father is somewhere around. That’s what Mom said when she called me this morning. I’m supposed to look out for him. I guess he knows where to find me. After all, Kid found me quite easily. I swear, the little guy has to work for the police. He’s quite astute at figuring out our next move.
I think the biggest problem right now is up in Lincoln Park. They had a bad trip last night up there. The police cracked down on the curfew. Who the hell knows why they did it, since people who were there were just trying to find a place to crash. But it doesn’t matter, does it? It was bad. Quite a few people got hurt, and it was inexcusable.
A few hours ago, the Yips held a news conference and told reporters that they sent a telegram to the Secretary-General at the U.N. to try to get impartial observers here. At first, the idea struck me as funny but then I started to wonder what would happen if things got much worse. What happens when one of the richest and most stable countries on the planet goes crazy and tries to kill its citizens? What happens when the U.S. becomes a dictatorship? After all, these are OUR streets, not the Mayor’s.
How would the world react to the news that the U.S. is beating its citizens? Would they write condemnations like they’re doing to the Soviets? Or does the world think that everything America does is justified and wonderful?
*******
We just found out that Tom has been arrested. Or perhaps a better word for it is “detained.” They arrested him for “letting air out of tires.” Because he was out in the park – in a baseball field – it’s clear that he wasn’t anywhere near a car.
You can’t arrest someone without due cause. They want him off the streets. Lots of angry people around. No one is going to stand for this nonsense. Neighborhood parishes and churches have been woken up and now they’re on our side. Priests say that they will be going into Lincoln Park tonight to stand in the way of police beating people up. They are going to sacrifice their bodies for us. One girl began crying when she heard this. I, too, felt like hugging them.
All of us are going to march on the police station to demand Tom’s freedom. I don’t care if I get hurt anymore. Kid has been quietly following me, though he’s not nearly as boisterous as yesterday. Instead, he looks scared.
