Lit Live

Catholic Workers at the Hamilton International Air Show, 2000.

Busted during a "Litany of Resistance."

Peace versus Militarism, aided by Police. Criminal charges of Mischief, eventually dropped by the state.

The Air Show also dropped by the state: after three years of peaceful demonstrations and 27 arrests the air show folds up its operations in Hamilton.

"What was the mischief, officer? the singing? the praying?"

Right on Target

Our very first video, back in '99, before we learned to spell independent, apparently, and before DIVA Dave came fully out in the credits (he credited himself as David Wayne, rather than use his last name, Fordham.)

This is pre-digital camera DIVA, and Murray Lumley, who shot much of the video when we were doing recon at the air show, had a shaky hand that forced DIVA DAVE to use gravol(tm) to get through the editing!

Drugs nothwithstanding, we activists were extremely pleased with the end result, and the beginning of a years-long collaboration born out of neighbourliness and an interest in issues and working with video. DIVA DAVE, we couldn't have done it without you!

Long story short: five arrested went to trial, only to see the charges "quashed" on a technicality - next year, bigger demonstrations featuring a "Festival of Life" and 22 arrests for non-violent civil-disobedience (some of the arrests by coincidence, almost replicated the '99 arrests, with prayer vigils in front of the same plane - A-10 - but with criminal charges rather than provincial trespass tickets that were handed out in '99)

One more year of actions and the air show (re-dubbed the War Show for its overt militarism) folded.

We learned a hell of a lot in those three years, and it is great that we had access to video equipment to make a visual record.