World
Fest at
Woodley
Park
By
Tim Jim
Meat
is Murder. Friends of Tibet. Cruelty ls Not Entertainment. Hemp Food. Animal
Holocaust. Bush Is Evil. The World Teacher Has Come. One Love. Signs of
the times? Certainly signs at Worldfest 2002 held September 29 at Woodley
Park in Los Angeles.
"We
have something happy to play about a slaughterhouse," said the lead singer
for Lucid Nation. The band's song about a COW" featured a creepy guitar
solo. Off Stage, a sign called protesters to a rally the next day against
the fur industry and, in particular, Neiman Marcus. For its animal cruelty,
so dubbed "Neiman Carcass."
Julia
Butterfly Hill was the keynote speaker. She rallied the crowd with a cry
for individual leadership. Hill once spent two years in a redwood tree
to protest the destruction of ancient forests. Backstage a large sign read
"Widening the Circle of Compassion"
Compassion
was a theme. The event was subtitled "a solar powered celebration of music,
food, and the environment." Vendors sold cruelty free products (not tested
on animals). The Gentle Barn showed off rescued cats, dogs, and birds.
A Holy Man pleaded for peace. Protesters exposed the immoral, often illegal,
practices of the fast-food industry, the Bush administration, and and other
violent governments worldwide.
"Welcome
to the Shock Horror Animal Holocaust Museum of Death."
Clubbings! Hangings!
Castrations! Iron-jawed traps that snap on heads and snouts and leave animals
to a slow, mutilated death. -- |
MacDonalds.
Neiman Marcus. Bush and his cohorts. Consumers eat it and wear it.
They
all profit from it! -- Animal
Cruelty!
Jingles of
Venice Beach runs the Museum of Death,
a grisly photographic indictment against the meat and fur industries. A
camera crew from Showtime interviewed him. Like his adversaries, Jingles
pulled no punches.
"I said it all,"
he said later. "The connection with Bush to the animal killings and everything.
Everyday
is 9-11 for animals."
President Bush
was a bumper sticker favorite. Fear Bush. Bush Knew. George W. Bush: America's
New World Order Hitler. Many pictures depicted the president in a Nazi
uniform.
"I think he's
(Rush) the Anti-Christ," said one booth attendant.
A sign near her
read "War Is Not the Answer."
Despite the dire
massages, Wortdfest 2002 was a celebration of free expression. A full day's.
line-up of guest speakers and bends of different genres performed on three
stages. DaKAH featured a 60-piece orchestra that showcased music: ranging
from classical to jazz to hip-hop and included 13 rappers and singers.
After sunset,
the inspiring documentary The Witness discussed cruelty to animals
and one man's mission to stop it. Shayn Alameida, a D.J. on one stage,
and Medicine Drum, a progressive trance group on the main stage, both displayed
multimedia shows, combining music with film presentations.
Nearby, the Female
Fire-eater performed. After her thrilling dance she extinguished the flames
-- but not the hopeful signs -- of Worldfest 2002.
RockCityNews.com |
