This afternoon, drinking a cup of coffee while sitting in the Jesse Brown V.A. Medical Center on Chicago’s south side, a Veterans Administration cop walked up to me and said, "OK, you’ve had your 15 minutes, it’s time to go."
"Huh?", I asked intelligently, not quite sure what he was talking about.
"You can’t be in here protesting," officer Adkins said, pointing to my Veterans For Peace shirt.
"Well, I’m not protesting, I’m having a cup of coffee," I returned, thinking that logic would convince Adkins to go back to his earlier duties of guarding against serious terrorists.
Flipping his badge open, he said, "No, not with that shirt. You’re protesting and you have to go."
Beginning to get his drift, I said firmly, "Not before I finish my coffee."
He insisted that I leave, but still not quite believing my ears, I tried one more approach to reason. "Hey, listen. I’m a veteran. This is a V.A. facility. I’m sitting here not talking to anybody, having a cup of coffee. I’m not protesting and you can’t kick me out."
"You’ll either go or we’ll arrest you," Adkins threatened.
"Well, you’ll just have to arrest me," I said, wondering what strange land I was now living in.
1 comment:
The rest of the story:
By jaf. Comment posted 03-Jul-2006 @12:55pm:
Art, he was being allowed a 15 minute restroom break. The actual protest was being allowed outside. Of course he doesn't mention that in his little sob story, or that he actually had a sign and was protesting.
Earlier I sent a recounting of my arrest at a V.A. facility in Chicago titled, "Has This Country Gone Completely Insane," I neglected to include that I was at the Jesse Brown V.A. Medical Center because I'm participating in the Voices for Creative Nonviolence's 30-day, 320-mile "Walk for Justice," from Springfield to North Chicago, Illinois, to reclaim funding for the common good and away from war.
Today was my first day on the walk (it only has 5 more days to go) and we stopped at the Jesse Brown VA center and stood on the sidewalk outside with signs against the Iraq war. The sign I held said, "Demand quality healthcare for all veterans."
At one point I took a break to use the bathroom and get a cup of coffee. The rest, as they say, is in the story
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