Speaking from the heart

This is actually Sue's photograph. I wasn't making photographs because I was involved in presenting a workshop called "What does Buddhist direct action look like?" We were about 15 people, all asking each other and ourselves how to cope with the explosive situation in our city. What is wise action? How can we be skillful? How can we bear witness? What does courage look like? 

Tomorrow we are hosting a meditation during the hour before the rallies begin. The person who will lead the meditation has trained for years with Thay Thich Nhat Hanh. She is bringing a temple bell made of shell casings from North Vietnam, melted down with bronze and re-shaped into a bell of peace. We will stand or sit in silence, invoking compassion for all beings, invoking safety for all beings.

Tonight, while London mourns another horrible attack, Facebook is ablaze locally with reports of the arrival of extreme right-wing operatives from various hate groups. Some have come on motorcycles, others have come in buses, vans, and trucks. They are coming to Portland for a major rally opposite Portland City Hall tomorrow afternoon. They are calling it "Trump Free Speech Patriot Prayer."

In the park adjacent to where the Alt Right is massing, there is a rally of local anarchists "Antifa" (anti-fascists). I fear for them, as they are being targeted not only by the Alt Right but also by the police and many liberals who object to their tactics. 

Nearly two thousand say they will mass at City Hall in a rally called "United Against Hate." They say they have taken steps to assure the safety of all who attend their rally, but they advise not bringing children. All these rallies are taking place in the three-city-block area where the Occupy encampment stood in October and November, 2011.

The police and riot police, accompanied by Homeland Security with backup from all over the region, will be present. 

It is a volatile, dangerous set-up. Yet many are going: to bear witness, to reject domination by Alt Right terrorists, to stand with Antifa and to stand for peace. We don't know how it will go.