The last weekend together, for a while....

Bella's parents have both gone off to work, her father in (I think) Montana, and her mom and little brother in Florida. Bella is staying with me till Sunday night. I'm not sure what adventures we'll get up to, but it means more days with no time to comment. These are her last free summer days before she starts first grade next Tuesday, the last days we'll have together for a while.

This morning we made a site visit to the place where Buddhist Peace Fellowship is going to lead a public meditation on September 10. That's the day when the Alt Right/Nazi/Fascist people say they are having another of their massive right-wing rallies, and the Antifascist counter-protesters (four groups that I know of) will converge from various regions of the city onto the spot by the river where the Alt Right says they will be. If the pattern holds, the Alt Right will cancel their rally at the last moment and hold a "press conference" somewhere else in town, but the counter-protest will proceed as planned as a way to stand up for racial justice, climate justice, respect for immigrants, Muslims, and all beings. We are setting up a meditation area to create space for silent protest, adjacent to the spot where the Alt Right says they will be. Whether or not they show up, we will. Bella and I were looking for an area large enough and clear enough to hold about a hundred people who will sit, stand, or walk peacefully during the hour before the rallies are to begin. We found the perfect space, and then we headed to one of her favorite climbing structures, where I made this photo.

Last night the Buddhist Peace Fellowship main office in California posted an extensive, very thoughtful article about the relation between Buddhism, Antifascism, and Black Bloc protest. It's long but thorough, and if you feel you aren't up to date on these issues and want to be fully informed, it's a good place to get a reasonably unbiased summary of the terms and the questions.