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A Day in the Life of an Activist
- Jun 5, 2008 at 4:40 PM
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It’s Wednesday, June 5th and I spent my day yesterday rallying for the safety of all children at the Green Our Vaccines march and rally. Agree with me or not, I did it anyway. And today, I say to each of you, if you have a cause, something you believe in, stand up and be heard!
My day started on June 4th with a shower at midnight and leaving home around 12:45 am, to drive to Pittsburgh to catch a charter bus to Washington D.C. The bus was nearly full and the conversation on the way was limited, after all, the bus left at 3 a.m.
9:15 a.m .to 10 a.m. – I arrive in Washington D.C. We are let off at the Washington Monument, where hundreds are already lined up for the march. I follow the group and get my place in line. This is only the beginning of my life-changing experience. As I look around, I’m surrounded by signs, parents, grandparents, siblings and of course, children with autism. Scattered throughout the crowd were people with state signs…all 50 states were represented, plus Canada, Mexico and the Philippines. Around 9:50, there’s a big commotion and I see a swarm of media converge upon a couple of people. Jenny McCarthy and her son, and Jim Carrey and his daughter had arrived. They stood in front, elbow to elbow with other parents. They morphed just like that, from celebrity to concerned parents. 
10am – 10:30 am – The march started. As we left the grounds of the Washington Monument, the organizers were on bullhorns reminding marchers that we were expected to march 1.3 miles at a quick pace. If we got out of line, we could expect to be arrested and not to give anyone a reason to arrest us. As I turned the corner, I saw the street sign and we began our crusade down Independence Avenue. Then the chants began “Too Many, Too Soon” and “Green Our Vaccines.” The eastbound lanes were blocked and confused tourists looked on and snapped pictures. Motorists put their cars in park. Some rolled their eyes as if to say, “Great, another group protesting in D.C.” and others honked and gave thumbs up. Along the way, huge buildings for the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the FAA, the Department of Education, Voices of America and the last building we would pass, the United Stated Department of Health and Human Services. Each building we passed, employees gazed from their offices, several stories above us. But as we passed the Department of Health and Human Services, two things really stood out. One was the enormous presence of security outside this building and not in front of the others we passed. The other noticeable difference was the lack of employees standing in the windows, watching the thousands of people protest their decisions regarding our children and vaccines. I imagine they were told to stay away from the windows and they were waiting for an angry mob to take over the DHS building. Whatever the reason, we chanted the loudest as we marched passed. The route turned left and we arrived on the lawn of the Capitol Building.
10:30 - As we waited for the entire group to march the route (I was near the front), I had time to really think about and take in what was going on. I looked at the mothers and fathers surrounding me, some with their children with them. I looked at the signs they carried…
Center for Deception and Corruption
CDC You lied to me
Injecting Children with Mercury is Stupid
We are Your Scientific Evidence
I looked at the pictures everyone carried. It was overwhelming. We were all there, asking that our politicians DO SOMETHING. I stood between the stage and the press. We were repeatedly reminded to keep signs down if we were in this area. As I didn’t take a sign, I didn’t need to worry. Although, I saw some REALLY clever signs and kind of wished I had made one. So, there we stood, baking in the sun, waiting for the few thousand still marching. As we waited, music blared. One of my favorite moments was when the Dixie Chicks “Not Ready to Make Nice” came on and so many of us sang. I’m sure the irony was lost on some, but the Dixie Chicks blasting on the Capitol lawn was NOT lost on me. We sang U2 “Beautiful Day” and “Landslide” with a few other songs in the mix.
11 ish – The rally began. Somewhere around 8,500 people were there. The founder of Moms Against Mercury spoke and Congressman Burton and Congresswoman Mahoney were recognized for their efforts in the fight to take toxins out of vaccines. Dr. Jay Gordon (Jenny’s son’s pediatrician) spoke. 
He explained how he gave up the recommended schedule for vaccinations over 20 years ago. He talked about pediatricians needing to speak with parents about the risks. Dr. Boyd Haley spoke and explained the amounts of mercury in the vaccines and other toxins that result in injury. He talked about the fact that he vaccinated his own child, resulting in Autism. He wife told him, “You broke him, now fix him.” Then came Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He’s inspiring! He talked about congress needing a wake-up call and also about the Simpsonwood transcripts http://vaccinationnews.org/DailyNews/2003/January/SimpsonwoodExcerpts22.htm. He talked about the media’s bias and the lies from the CDC. Kennedy stated, “The truth became undeniable to me.” Vaccinations are the ONLY thing given that does not take weight into consideration. A 180lb man gets he same dose as a 10 lb baby.
Next up…Jim Carrey! He talked about visualizing the changes needed. He spoke of how Jenny and her son Evan showed him how to love and made him a man. Jenny McCarthy spoke passionately about using her voice to help change what’s happening to our children.
12:14 p.m. – Jenny asked the crown to turn toward the media and hold up pictures of our children. As we did, Al Green’s “A Change Gonna Come” set the tone. Thousands upon thousands of people held pictures of their children high in the air, for all to see, with sweat dripping off their backs and tears pouring down their faces. Completely moving. I turned to see the people around me and the pictures they were holding up. The crowd was so large that I couldn’t see a beginning or an end. I turned back toward the cameras and listened to the music.
12:20 The rally was over! People dispersed and I hopped in line to meet Jenny and Jim, as I was one of the first 1,000 people to register. Such nice people. While in line, I watched child after child react differently to the situation. Most of the children turned away and each time, Jim would play with them and joke, trying to illicit contact. They took picture after picture with parents and children, always smiling and thanking them for coming. I shook both their hands and the photographer took a picture of me with them as they held up a picture of my son.
Here I am at the 27 second mark meeting them...
I spent the rest of the day trolling D.C. being a tourist. Until the storm came and the Capitol Police announced “This is the Capitol Police. Severe Weather is present. Tornadoes have been spotted in the metropolitan area.” So, the National Gallery of Art became my place to relax for a few hours while the weather was crazy.
6:30 – I loaded onto the bus, sun burnt, sweaty, rained on and exhausted. But I loaded that bus a different person. I loaded that bus as a person who marched on Washington and rallied for change. I loaded that bus a mother who advocated for truth. But most of all, I loaded that bus a person busting with pride at my ability as an American to chant at the Department of Health and Human Services, stand on the Capitol lawn and demand change, and to face the media and tell them how I feel.
There are constant reports about how safe vaccines are. All I can tell you is that what the media says is NOT always true. Realize that big pharmaceutical companies often pay a network's so -called "medical correspondent." Think of the money that would be lost if the CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics or the FDA came out and said that the vaccines HAVE been poisoning our children. There's a lot to lose. 1 in 150 is TOO MANY. Mercury and aluminum (plus all the other garbage) is POISON and it's still in the vaccines. I'm ready to take the heat for my stance, but please educate yourself before you bash, or feel free to ask questions! Here are some links about the rally:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=udxgXp_nsMs
Great video of the rally’s speakers
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/
http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/06/62338/index.html
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4987758
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20204466,00.html
Marching Over Vaccines And Autism, A New Battle Cry For Those Arguing There's A Link - CBS News – I’m around the 1:35mark, digging in my bookbag.
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