Point Reyes Light - November 14, 2002
Camaraderie among West Marin women in au naturel protest against war
By Ana Carolina Monterroso
The women who gathered at Love Field in Point Reyes Station to demonstrate against the US government plans for a war would normally never have considered doing something as daring like this, but as organizer Donna Sheehan of Marshall said while we were holding hands: "We are making ourselves vulnerable for a greater cause."
I had gone to the protest to get an impression of it for The Light. As a visitor from Guatemala, I also felt it would also be a good time to meet local women during my stay in Point Reyes Station. As I talked with women young and older – and heard them chat among themselves – I felt that I could no longer be only an observer.
Although I had been raised in a very conservative society, I felt that becoming one of the "Unreasonable Women," as they called themselves, was the right thing to do, if only for a moment. I have participated in demonstrations and marches in Guatemala. I have dressed in black many Fridays in a row. I have signed petitions, all trying to bring a positive change in my country.
Participating in this unusual writing of the word "Peace" required a daring change in my frame of mind and behavior. At Love Field I felt embraced by all women in a mix of camaraderie, warmth, caring, laughter, and by their courageous desire to make a difference and to be heard – not only here but in other countries.
"War is obsolete, not necessary," said Donna. What war will do to lives in all the countries of the world may be something we are not prepared to deal with. Already the "possibility of a war" can be felt globally; we are already suffering its consequences in my country. Foreign and domestic investment have plummeted, and unemployment has risen dramatically.
I hope the feelings we shared lying on the wet grass as photographer Art Rogers on his ladder lined us up to shape each letter – and when we quickly took our clothes off under the cold rain to lie perfectly still until the picture was taken – will reach beyond Point Reyes Station. I hope we will inspire others to join in protest.
"Take this intention home. May it touch the world." Those were the last words I heard as we left the field under increasingly heavy rain. Our bare bodies in the picture are not important. What counts is the "reasonable" demand expressed by the Unreasonable Women in this bold way: PEACE.