It’s Getting Hot In Here

Today we marched through the streets of downtown Detroit towards the Cobo convention center where the North American International Auto Show is taking place. We were going to the heart of the auto industry to tell them loud and clear -with a bullhorn and banners in hand- that we are not going to be driving cars that drive our addiction to oil and global warming. We were more than 60 strong -including students from a half-dozen schools across Michigan and organizers for the Freedom from Oil campaign.

It was a high-energy affair with drumming, dancing and chanting -not to mention spray-painted coveralls and green hardhats. Too bad police stopped us a block away, opting to protect the automakers’ greenwash instead of young people’s voices for green jobs and green cars.  But that didn’t prevent us from reaching out to the public on the intersection with our message.

Check out some pics.

And then we saw about 100 green balloons floating in the air …an ominous sign since two students had taken a different approach to get inside. We had created a sign that read” Toyota: Pull Up Your Pruis, Your Tundra is Showing,” and hoped that they could release it attached to the balloons inside the lobby to float up for all to see. Turns out they were unfortunately restrained and detained, but luckily not arrested.   However, what we found out later which is quite insulting is that they wouldn’t allow us to be nearby for social interaction and visibility by the general public and journalists, but they allowed CATTLE in the streets as props.   Got freedom of speech?  Got freedom of movement?  We had a lot more important things to say than “moo.”

Anyways, all in all it was an incredible weekend. A full day of skills training, prepping and art building on Saturday and late into the night with some chilly outdoor action today. Did I mention this was historic? This was the first-ever, student rally at the Detroit auto show and vows have been made to return in bigger numbers if we have to.