Hi, friends.  We hope that you are all planning on coming to the
demonstration in Boston on October 14.  While memorializing those killed in
the horrifying attacks on September 11, we will also be voicing our
opposition to the US military response, as well as to the repression we are
already seeing at home, particularly that targeting the Arab-American
communities and immigrants in general.
The demonstration will begin at 3:00 (sharp!) at Copley Square, and it will
continue with speakers, performers, and a march, ending around 6:00. 
Speakers from a wide range of communities will address a number of topics,
including the political situation in the Middle Easts and Central Asia, the
backlaash against Arab-American and Muslim communities, restrictions on
immigrants' rights, the economic effects on workers, general civil liberties,
and much more.  The event will end around 6:00 pm.
Below is information in response to some questions we've received--we' hope
that it is helpful.  For more information, contact [email protected]
Thanks!
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FLOWERS:  You probably saw in the e-mail announcement that everyone is asked
to bring a flower.  Please do so!  In an effort both to create good visuals
and to make the demonstration more engaging than a
stand-and-listen-to-speeches kind of passive thing, there's going to be a
march, and at the end of the march, we'd like everyone to lay a flower on a
memorial we're making for the vicitims of September 11 and the victims of our
country's response.  It should be a powerful image and ritual.  The flowers
can be real or fake.  But if each person can bring at least one, and ideally
more for those who forget, it will help to make this a stronger event.
ART:  Please bring it!  While we do want this demonstration to have something
of a somber tone, we also hope to have as much beauty as possible.  For those
who will be in Boston a day early for any reason, there will be an artmaking
session in Boston that Saturday, October 13, from about 1:00 to 5:00 pm at
MIT Building 5, room 135. 
"ACTION GUIDELINES:  After some discussion, the group organizing the October
14 demonstration has come up with action guildelines that we ask all
participants to adhere to.  Some may feel that this is unnecessary, but we
want to avoid miscommunications.  We want this to be a demonstration with a
tone that recognizes the enormity of the September 11 attacks and the trauma
that people are still dealing with.  At the same time, we seek to make very
clear our opposition to the deadly military response, as well as to the
repression we are already seeing at home, particularly that targeting the
Arab-American communities and immigrants in general.  We call on everyone
participating not to be nonviolent.  We specifically ask that people not use
drugs or alcohol during the demonstration, and that there be no destruction
of property.  We also ask people to refrain from independent acts of civil
disobedience during the demonstration.  We also call on all who participate
to respect the diverse range of opinions and political orientations of those
involved in this demonstration.  By laying out these guidelines, we are not
seeking to make value judgments, but to lay set out what we feel will make
this demonstration safest for all who participate, including those from
targeted communities, while getting our message out as clearly as possible."