cannabisnews.com: Give Peace a Chance, 600 Say at Fair Give Peace a Chance, 600 Say at Fair Posted by FoM on February 24, 2002 at 13:35:48 PT By L. Anne Newell, Arizona Daily Star Source: Arizona Daily Star Charles Hartung had a simple reason for stopping by the 20th annual Tucson Peace Fair and Music Festival on Saturday: He wanted to find out how to get involved again. The Tucsonan, who described himself as a "quite moderate liberal," protested against the Vietnam War, marching in parades and criticizing U.S. foreign policy. He slipped away from the activism as the war ended, he said, but recent world events brought him back. "I want to get active again in the crusade against our foreign policies, which I do think are the wrong policies," he said while collecting information from one of the many booths at the event at Reid Park. "We need to do more with negotiation and aid." Some of the more than 600 people who attended the event, designed to bring together various causes and connect their followers, echoed his words, saying the day was more important than it had been in years. Others disagreed that world events gave the peace fair more validity. "I don't think this year is any more important than in prior years," said Tucson resident Steve Parker. "We've been waging war around the world constantly. The larger issues are decades old." Lisa Stage, a board member and president of the Tucson Peace Center, which sponsored the fair, said calls to her organization increased after Sept. 11. She said people have asked how they could protest civil-liberties violations and attacks on innocent people. But those issues - and many others - have been there much longer than that, Stage said. "These are issues that have been alive for years," she said. "The things our government has been doing this year may make them more salient and some people may feel more purpose, but pretty much, the new issues are just the old issues." People from a wide variety of backgrounds attended the fair, from those in dreadlocks and tie-dyed everything to those in button-down shirts. Young girls in flowing dresses spun across the yellow grass with flowers in their hair while guitar-driven folk music drifted above them. "This is very reminiscent of 40 years ago," Hartung said. "I never expected to see something like this again." People stopped by a variety of booths, too, from Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Sierra Club to the Communist Party USA, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the Tucson Organic Gardeners. The event also had an emphasis on patriotism. An American flag was displayed next to the stage and people spoke proudly of their country while debating its policies. Susanne Sambale brought her son Victor, 9, to the event because she said it was important to show support for the various causes represented there. Source: Arizona Daily Star (AZ)Author: L. Anne Newell, Arizona Daily Star Published: Sunday, February 24, 2002Copyright: 2002 Pulitzer Publishing Co.Contact: letters azstarnet.comWebsite: http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/Related Links:ACLU -- http://www.aclu.org/NORML -- http://www.norml.org/Amnesty International -- http://www.amnesty.org/CannabisNews Articles - NORMLhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=NORML Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by Nuevo Mexican on February 24, 2002 at 18:58:00 PT I saw Ram Dass at Reid Park! and many great concerts as well! Good to see ole Toostoned, Arizona living up to its reputation! I was anti-pot, pro-acid, until I moved to This great town and that changed everything about cannabis for me. From midwestern ditchweed and Orange Sunshine, to mexican sensimilla and thai sticks. Easy conversion! Very outspoken, peace-loving community, even with Davis-Montam AFB nearby. Thanks for posting the article FOM, you know what I like to read with my C-News! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment