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Guerena Memorial March & Ceremony May 31, 2011Tucson Code Pink Tucson, AZ | ||
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Memorial Day I attended a memorial march & ceremony for Jose Guerena, a retired decorated Marine who was gunned down by a SWAT team invading his home in the middle of the night on a drug bust. He grabbed an AK47 to confront the unknown intruders, and there were over 70 rounds fired (Guerena's gun was on safety). The memorial was coordinated the Oath Keepers (active & retired military who uphold oaths taken and challenge those who break theirs - largely NRA & Republicans). I carried our Code Pink Peace Heart (pix attached). A Marine Mom (known to all local peace activists for her rude aggressiveness) got in my face, saying Code Pink were terrorists who hated America. She wanted to fight and I urged her to remember our common goal of respectfully honoring our dead. She'd have none of that, though, and I knew we couldn't have a yelling match at a funeral march. So I started singing, "People we are made for love...love, love, love.....Love each other as ourselves....Because we are one" This calmed her down a little, at least she stopped yelling as much, but she dogged me the whole way, holding her Marine flag and a sign on a stick in front of the heart. Luckily I'm tall and quick and agile. We cat-and-moused the whole way, with me singing and using others to block her as best I could. Several in the gun-totin' crowd came up to talk to me, and established nice human-to-human connections. Many thanked me for being there and representing peace. Related News Article: http://www.kgun9.com/story/14750791/oath-keepers-march-for-former-marine-killed-by-swat |
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