I love being in DC. I was riding the metro home from my weekend job, studying my LSAT for Dummies book, and I saw some lovely ladies across the way wearing green t-shirts and armbands (green is the color of the protesters in Iran and purportedly Muhammad’s favorite color; supporters of the protesters wear green). As we were pulling into my stop, I teetered over (the Metro in motion is not for walking) and asked where she got the armband. She said, “oh, it’s just some cloth”. And I said “Oh, ok, I was just looking for one”. We smiled and I went back to looking for the first sign of the station out of the subway doors. Then she said “do you want this? I have extras” and she unwound her cloth armband and handed it to me. I said “thank you” and we were at my station.
I do not usually like wearing protest clothing–before, I always seemed so commercial and so insignificant. Commercial because someone made a killing on those “Stop Genocide in Sudan” shirts, and insignificant because I don’t really believe wearing a t-shirt raises awareness much. However, I believe the story I will tell about my armband will raise awareness.
It makes me feel connected to the students and women protesting in Iran–and there is little I can do. But solidarity and support, even from as far away as my dorm room in Washington DC, has to mean something.
Inspirational Quote:
“Genuine politics — even politics worthy of the name — the only politics I am willing to devote myself to — is simply a matter of serving those around us: serving the community and serving those who will come after us. Its deepest roots are moral because it is a responsibility expressed through action, to and for the whole.”–Vaclav Havel
