Hempfest is very fun to photograph (for people pictures,) competing with SF Love Parades, Gay Pride & Leather events, the Fremont Solstice parade/naked bikers or other gatherings of those who are not necessarily insulted when conservatives call them "outside the mainstream." What the conservatives don't realize is that they do not speak for the "mainstream" any longer and what they fear crosses so many more boundaries than they can even conceptualize in their simple world. Their "control" is a media illusion created by our corporate-owned and controlled outlets. We should stop feeding this machine.
These photos are mostly individual shots. I also documented the groups of like-minded souls who created peaceful impromptu circles in which to commune or who crowded around the music, speakers and food. There were young people with their parents or there on the sly, baby boomers to geriatrics from the 'burbs, medical users and those in high places who wore sandals for a day or two. There was a pretty open "420" with people were smoking giant bongs and spliffs so heavy took two to lift. All the police did was make them keep the sidewalks free, some easy overtime for them.
It was interesting to see what a relatively free social society would be like, with people making their own decisions about the choices they make having to do with what they take in - food and other natural substances, information (not necessarily corporate-sponsored or endorsed), etc. Rick Steves the Travel Guru spoke both days. The event crossed all generational, class structural and racial boundaries seamlessly. It's gruesome to picture Coke Fest or Meth Fest and we all know how Alcohol Fests turn out. Hempfest generally gathers hundreds of thousands without a single arrest. People come from all over the US, the Caribbean and many parts of the world. One statistic I heard was that our government spends $40 odd billion dollars per year on the "Drug War" and that $3 billion or so would fund children's health and $20 billion or so would give each teacher in the country a 30% raise.
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No comments here but a few at Politico, which linked to Howie in Seattle, who linked to our photos and article -
Here is a sample:
Great visuals; for our side. Just wait 'till Denver!! When America sees what many only suspect Obama will go into freefall!
Gid help us all if these brain fried idiots get to vote. They should all be rounded up when the show up and sent to rehab, or shipped off to Amsterdam permenantly, where they can finish frying their brains and let the rest of us have a chance to live our lives safely and raise our children without the dangers idiots like Obama would put them under.
Obama team should even register the homeless, the prostitutes, the retards, drug dealers because he is going to need every vote,
If crazy evangelicals can vote, so can crazy pot heads. At least pot heads aren't judgemental :)
McCain was tied up during Woodstock . Rambo will be at the RNC in St.Paul and said Mr.T is a wussie just like Obama .
Wheee haddddaaaa lotttaaa fuuuuun. But when we finished the munchies, we found out we hadn't 'registered hundreds', we'd registered one doper hundreds of times. But whatsa difference, we had fuuuuun. And he said he's gonna vote 'hundreds of times', so it's all the same thing, innit?
Heaven help us.
You don't have to be high to think Obama will be a good president......but it helps.
as soon as the Repugs figure out how to corner the "weed market", they will legalize it, tax it and stock it right next to the cancer sticks at your local corner store. And then the Hemp lobbyist will have Repugs in their pocket...
I do not smoke, have never smoked, and don't plan on ever smoking, and yet I still support the decriminalization of weed. It's silly to waste so many resources on busting people for smoking pot. Plus, doing so would take much of the profit out selling it, which is really what any serious crime associated with weed is about (unlike other hardcore drugs where people often commit crimes to get the drugs and people on the drugs are more likely to commit crimes simply as a result from being on the drugs).
Nov 5th: Dude, I was supposed to do something yesterday, sh^t I can't remember. Oh man I was supposed to do something with that ballot thinggy for that Obama dude. Oh man, I feel so lame. Oh well, you want a hit dude?
Everyone has the right to vote in this country.. Pot heads..evangelistics....fanatics..alcholics....celebrities....people with mental disabilities...EVERYONE GETS A CHANCE TO VOTE. THose who think they are better than others...man I hate to see you on judgement day.
We are all Americans. Every one of us. With all our addictions, our lifestyle preferences, our prejudices, and...our votes. WE ARE ALL AMERICANS.
You guys keep bashing stoners. They are much smarter than the drunks at Sorgi. I bet they didn't have a Miss Buffalo Chip contest.
ED, Should I go into stereotyping beer drinkers like you did to pot smokers? Do I also need to educate you on the dangers of alcohol? Should we discuss how prohibition didn't work and why it was repealed and how it compares to the current drug trade? Do I also need to remind you that Cindy McCain has made millions selling beer? I'm sure with enough digging we could link many "incidents" to the beer she has profited from selling. Do we really need to go there?
John McCain's Dark Side: He's a Crazy, Lying, Old POS Fueled by Obsessive Ambitions! Why isn't the media providing the public with this kind of information on this guy! He should NOT be anywhere near the red button.
I support it ....THANK YOU. This country wastes money just to do it. Let's not even go into the justice system and what they do to drug pushers and addicts. Dan - I believe most pot heads will actually remember to vote on NOV 4th... so much is riding on this election. We cannot do another 4 years of Bush....only those who earn 5 million or more will actually own the house they live in.
How many of these new voters are not dead, have all their faculties, and will finally actually go vote? Obama proved his inexperience Saturday night at the forum, McCain shined more than ever before. Prepare for an Obama free fall!
God bless Seattle, Hempfest, Obama and the U.S. of A.
Wow - that poster speaks volumes and volumes - "Hempfest"? Wake up America - the Democratic party - the party of my father and mother - has changed! It has been taken over by the left wing - ultra liberal - "irreverant" "young" Democrats! The - Prompter Reading - Flim Flam Obamaman - meets their criteria of a leader! Is this the party you want to be a part of? Definition of "flim flam" by Merriam-Webster on-line: deception, fraud, double dealing.
dear Patriot and other McZombie lovers: if he becomes prez and starts another war, are you going to enlist? if not you are a total hypocrit..if you are not of enlistment age, will you encourage your children and other relatives to go?
bigotry, hatred, racism?...not this time.
Yes Denise, we will, we have, and we will contiue in order protect America while you sit on your @ss with your hand out, smoking dope, and tearing down this country.
<> So it is irrelevant to talk about 800,000 people in jail a year for cannabis possession?
Posted by: Slugbug | August 18, 2008 at 11:10 PM