I just wrote a long comment to Melanie who asked how to become a Vagina Warrior, but it was erased. I went to this amazing and empowering celebration and all I can say is, you're already a Vagina Warrior all that is left to do is getting out there and becoming an active role in women's lives- Start a women's circle, volenteer, just be active in bettering women's lives in your community. It's a start. And here is a raised fist to all the Vagina Warriors out there! I love you all!
<3 Bri

Dear Gigi,

Thank you so much for this beautiful document of that amazing weekend.

My big question for all of you who attended V to the Tenth, is: How do we combine what Jane Fonda said with what Jennifer said? Jane said she had to be there that weekend because that was the place to find the courage, love and solidarity to change the world. And Jennifer expressed her fantasy that the incredible experience of V Day would ripple out throughout the world.

My question, then, is: How do those of us who couldn't attend ride the ripple and propel it along? How can everyone, everywhere tap into the V Day movement?

V Day is a bit like Brigadoon - this enchanted, magical place that pops up periodically for a short time only. Because it isn't itself a charity, but funnels money into existing grassroots organizations around the globe, V Day is able to give a huge percentage of the money it collects (85%, I think) to actual charitable work. But that also means it's a bit ephemeral, so that's my big question: How can every OurChart member become a Vagina Warrior? Now that we've been inspired by your storytelling about the event, how can we tap into the movement?

Thanks again for all you do.

Love and Light,
Melanie

I don't know why Jennifer is so hot,hot,hot and hot!!!!
She's so incredible cute and emotional and so sexy.....
Hey Jennifer you are .......

beautiful.

May I get the opportunity for a call ?

I just received a tract about a walk in Paris at night against violence done to women on saturday 14th June 2008

SAMEDI 14 JUIN 2008 à 19H30,
à PARIS, place Armand Carrel.

There is a special mention about violence against lesbians.

To read the tract, go to my blog :
http://www.ourchart.com/node/393784

It's also an information to recall that things are moving (a little) in Paris too. But there are very few people participating, especially if you compare it to America.

THANKS

I wish everyday interaction among women could be like what's portrayed here. I wish people could remember the experiences that unite us as they go about their daily lives.

A fantastic video diary Gigi. The wonderful Eve Ensler ends the video with: “…it is the decision of those of us who have come here to change the basis of power: to shift to wisdom, to vision, not domination, not occupation, not invasion, not unprepared for evacuation.”

Three decades earlier, Martin Luther King linked “the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism [and poverty] and militarism” in his famous speech: Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence (April 4, 1967, a year to the day before he was murdered):
You can see a transcript of King’s speech or view it at the indy media website Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/21/dr_martin_luther_king_jr_1929

In the historic speech, Martin Luther King said: “A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war, ‘This way of settling differences is not just.’ This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering our priorities, so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war. There is nothing to keep us from molding a recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned it into a brotherhood [and sisterhood]

…. If we will make the right choice, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our world into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood [and sisterhood]. If we will but make the right choice, we will be able to speed up the day, all over America and all over the world, when justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Gigi, could you give us a sense of how much this V-day event discussed the imperative of immediate and unconditional withdrawal of US forces and mercenaries from Iraq and Afghanistan? It was great to hear from so many women, including TLW women and celebrities like Jane Fonda as well as the women of New Orleans as Lezbeth noted below. Jane Fonda bravely made a 1972 trip to northern Viet Nam. This is an excerpt from one of her speeches:

“I cherish the way a farmer evacuated from Hanoi, without hesitation, offered me, an American, their best individual bomb shelter while US bombs fell near by. The daughter and I, in fact, shared the shelter wrapped in each others arms, cheek against cheek. It was on the road back from Nam Dinh, where I had witnessed the systematic destruction of civilian targets- schools, hospitals, pagodas, the factories, houses, and the dike system.

As I left the United States two weeks ago, Nixon was again telling the American people that he was winding down the war, but in the rubble- strewn streets of Nam Dinh, his words echoed with sinister (words indistinct) of a true killer. And like the young Vietnamese woman I held in my arms clinging to me tightly- and I pressed my cheek against hers- I thought, this is a war against Vietnam perhaps, but the tragedy is America's.”

Today you can hear very similar commentary from brave veterans speaking the ground truth at the Winter Soldier’s Testimonies organized by the Iraq Veterans Against the War: www.ivaw.org
and for an American Iraqi peace activist voice see Dahlia Wasfi’s website: www.liberatethis.com or watch http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ELjgVq6GtPA.
Or http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=colcD8UVr90

I wish Our Chart would interview Dr. Dahlia Wasfi and female IVAW vets who spoke at the Winter Soldier’s Testimonies. It’ll help bring an end to the war and avoid "the spiritual death" Martin Luther King warned of and release money for 'social uplift' in New Orleans and elsewhere.

democracynow dot org

It's very powerful. I wish I could have been there.

Will there be more video coming up?

Thank you so much for the video.

Amazing to get a glimpse of V-Day 10th! Seems so empowering, connecting, uplifting, emotional, uniting.... To honor oneself, each other, women... Thanks for sharing this video Gigi.

Thank you so much for releasing this diary. Though I could not make it to the event I could feel the power and importance of what occurred. I wish there were more open opportunities to share stories of this nature, hearing others experiences is empowering and makes me feel less alone.

It was great to see Joan Halifax there. I'd met her many years ago (before she had the Roshi in front of her name) when she came to do a ceremony for a dear friend of mine who died of AIDS. It's also great to see Jane Fonda, Eve Ensler and the L Word stars. Most importantly, though, I liked the segments of women who were there in attendance. I imagine that releases would be hard to get from large group shots (so that images could be used). I'd really love to hear more of the women from New Orleans telling their stories (like the one whose grandmothers lost their homes. Seeing the women of New Orleans getting attention, pampering and support is inspirational. Thanks to whomever it was who produced this event. Thanks for posting the video.
Lezbeth

It is indeed an honor to hear the womens' stories. And this video is a testament to the healing power of stories.

This was very powerful. To see all these women and hear thier stories touched me. What a great event, I wished that I could have gone to it.

thanks for sharing your diary to the V-Day 10th with us. Jane Fonda makes me smile. I'm just gonna to read in Lenelle Moïse's piece. :)

New! Teddy bear wanted?
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"God is Love"(1 John 4:16) Chiara Lubich R.I.P.