A sunny day in New York -- and a hopeful one. A while ago I walked to Union Square to go to the Farmers' Market that they have on Saturdays on the W. side of the Park. As I passed by the park, I saw some incredible, beautiful, and poignant sights. There were the 'usual' sights: posters with haunting pictures of the 'missing', candles, flowers and posters that read "Mourn the Dead". But there was more: As I entered the Park, I heard gospel singers and Hare Krishnas. There was a classical band playing which reminded me -- due to their appearance and music selection -- of the band that played while the "Titanic" was sinking. Most poignant musically, perhaps, was a young woman who played soothing chords on the harp surrounded by a silent and contemplative crowd. Thousands of people were walking through the park reading the posters. My eyes brightened as I read them. There were lots of religious messages, but they were mostly in theme ANTI-WAR and ANTI-RACIST. For instances, there were banners that read: "Please don't hurt our Muslim neighbors" "War can't heal our wounds. Only peace can heal" "War is terrorism" "NY loves Peace. Hate crimes are crimes" ""Peace - yes; Revenge - No" "Act now to Stop War and End Racism" "Stop the backlash against Arab-Americans" "What would Gandhi do?" "'Only light can drive out darkness' - MLK, Jr." There was also a reproduction of an AP photo hanging from a fence which read: "Iranian women holding a candlelight vigil in Mother Sq. in Tehran 9/18 in memory of the victims of the attack ....". And, in a throw-back to the 1960's: "Love & Peace" "Give peace a chance". There were some pro-war messages (like "Don't be fooled by protestors -- Anti-War = Anti-Justice") but they were in a distinct minority overwhelmed by anti-war and anti-racist sentiment. As I left Union Sq with a bag of apples, I ran into a former student of mine named Lisa who was in a class I taught on "Urban Economics". She is a physical therapist training to be a nurse and had just returned from three days at ground zero giving massages to rescue workers. She described her work as "hard". I mentioned to her and some of her friends that I was encouraged by the signs in the Park. Two of her friends said that last week there were even more banners and crowds. I didn't hear about that on the news, though: did you? As I walked home, I passed a shop with a poster that read: "I love NY more than ever" with a picture of an apple with what looked like it had a wound in the SW corner. I nodded my head in approval. The politicians and the media beat the war drums. The people of New York City, however (if Union Square is any indication) feel grief rather than hatred and seek peace. In solidarity, Jerry
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