This is the third post on my personal history of various protesting styles. I've evolved from the 'street fightin' man' of 1969 to the 'jailbird demonstrator' of 1975 to the 'meditatin' man' at last summer's Human Summit for peace at the G20 in Toronto.
Following is my letter-to-the-editor on this event, which was published in the Northeast Edition of EMC newspaper, July 8, 2010.
Meditating on the G20 Summit
Dear Editor,
I felt compelled to visit Toronto last weekend for the G20 craziness. Not as a traditional demonstrator (did that in the 1960s against the Vietnam War; even wrote about it in my online memoir "Eel Pie Dharma), but as a participant in an experiment in human evolutoin called the Human Summit Project - a group hour-long mediation ceremony in Woodbine Park.
While the Tweedledee and Tweedledum of black-clad riot cops and 'black bloc' provocateurs played out their billion dollar charades, several hundred of us sat in yoga poses, walked a labyrinth, and calmly focused our thoughts and intentions on pacifying the weekend vibes and sending the G20 leaders positive thoughts.
And congratulations are overwhelmingly owed to the people of Toronto and the peaceful protestors for not falling for the provocations of Harper's jackbooted imports or the infantile black blocers. As Kanye West might say, "Stephen Harper doesn't like Torontonians." But almost before the weekend was over, calm had begun returning to the most global city on our hillbilly planet. Jackboots or prayer flags? The people of Toronto passed this test, our Prime Minister did not.
For an evolved planet,
Chris Faiers
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