It was pretty hot yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles, but not as nearly as hot as the fire raging inside our hearts for Julian Assange. Recently an underwater pipeline rupture in the Gulf of Mexico set the ocean on fire, and I'd wager that's still not as hot as the fire raging inside us. Metaphorical flame talk aside (for now), yesterday was Julian Assange's 50th birthday he spent in HMP Belmarsh prison for the crime of journalism, and there were actions held all over the world to honor this. At Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles, which is where that beautifully scuffed cake you see above is from, we held a simultaneous "celebration" with food and good conversation and a rallying call to action issued to many people. You can watch the full event here which included food, a mini street corner rally, speeches, music, and of course singing Julian Happy Birthday here:
We also did a shorter recap of the event here:
One of the things that always warms my heart about any event is when you can disrupt but also reach people. The subtle nods of agreement, fists in the air, people who join or come over to talk, it all builds up into a rising tide of support for the cause. Once you plant the seed in someone, you never know what that might grow into, but it will never not be worth it to plant those seeds. And we need to keep doing that, because ultimately to free Julian Assange it is probably going to take a public pressure movement similar in scale and significance to the Free Nelson Mandela campaign.
And even once Julian is free, we can't dare stop. Remember that the Empire went after Julian not just because he exposed their crimes, but because they wanted to go after all of us as well, which is why we say We Are All Assange. We have to fight for the rest of our imprisoned freedom fighters, we have to keep fighting for our own freedom, for it is our duty to. Once you set your heart ablaze, don't extinguish that fire until we fulfill that duty, and win back our freedom from those who put us in chains.
~ Hasta Siempre ~
