4th of July Celebrated with Anti-War/Anti-Capitalist Street Theatre

It's often been said that free speech is like a muscle - If you don't exercise it, it withers. With that in mind, 7 local activists of no particular affiliation (rumor has it though they are members of SAW) armed with bandanas, card board signs, and a corporate American flag cast what Hakim Bey once dubbed a "Temporary Autonomous Zone" on the corner of Pacific and Soquel.

For approximately an hour (just in time for the lunchtime rush), 6 folks made a circle around another holding an American flag and faced outward holding single word signs that periodically switched.

Though many of the single-word signs alluded to the multiple wars being waged by the American Empire ("Oil", "Torture", "Cheney", "Blackwater"), others were more directed towards the dominant culture at large. Words such as "For Sale", "Corporate Control", "Consume", and "Materialism" mixed in with "Paris Hilton" and "TV Reality," the result being a full spectrum of reactions.

Some folks (tourists to the core) took pictures, others stopped and gawked, still others offered "thank yous", "right on" and "you're just being negative", and at least one old man accused them of "hiding behind masks."

As one participant put it (and I'm paraphrasing here) "it was interesting to see the different reactions depending on which words we held up - "Peace" or "Bush Regime" got a lot of positive looks while "corporate control" and "denial" had folks frowning.

As the clock struck one, the TAZ closed with the singing of the Wobblies "IU 630" into the Pacific Garden Mall. Signs came down and we walked away. Happy fourth.