SILENCED PROTEST

by M M Carson MacRaven

The Snow Warrior Woman came to life on January 20, 2001. She wears a "gown" of snow white and stands in a circle of loving heart-shaped rocks. Her heart and eyes are made of heart-shaped rocks, for love beats within her chest and she wishes to someday see a world that again understands the meaning of love. In one hand she carries a bouquet of flowers reminding the world of the beauty of life. In the other hand, defiantly raised, the wind blows the yellow/purple chemical injury awareness ribbon in protest of the injustice that surrounds her life and the life of so many others on the planet. A heart-shaped pin decorates her red tam similar to the one worn by Che Guevera when he battled for the rights of his people. Her face and the tears she sheds, are hidden by the Darth Vader-ish mask she must wear. She may go down, but she will go down standing up for her rights.

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I had lost my voice a month earlier in another in a string of feeble attempts to make a bit of much-needed money and was relegated to my home like a prisoner, who had done nothing wrong, wondering if some semblance of health would return this time. The news media was abuzz with stories of the huge amounts of money that would be spent on many elite parties in Washington, DC, as happens every four years with the changing of the guard--what a spectacle: the gorgeous ball gowns, the gourmet food, the pomp, the gaity, the bands, the entertainers, the hair-dos, the make-up, the spectators waiting for a glance of the country's "royalty", the security, the closely guarded protesters. I was overwhelmed with sadness then that my voice cannot be heard in this country, and wanted to protest also about the conditions under which I and others have been forced to live, but protest isn't quite fashionable enough and besides I had no voice and was under chemically induced "house arrest." I, and the legions of my fellow sufferers, have lost our right to take part in life. There are no fancy parties for us, in fact, we cannot attend most social events. Our diets are highly restricted and we dare not tread where poisons permeate the air we breathe. A grave injustice looms over us in the name of progress, as industrial disease has stolen our lives. They say a country is defined by the way they treat their marginalized citizens--we are the sad proof of the soul of this country.

But please know that many are protesting, won't you join us. Our Snow Warrior Woman stood bravely against the wind on a mountain top high in New Mexico, until the sun invited her to become water for the grass.

I, too, may go down, but I will go down standing up--and, unlike our Snow Warrior Woman----I won't melt!

M M Carson MacRaven