Shortly after election day, November 7, 2000
I found myself dismayed, shocked,
outraged-and alone.
Zap came an e-mail.
An on-line activist group was
holding protests around the nation
This was an electronic group, or e-group for short.
I had never been part of an e-group before
but I joined.
Electronic personalities soon emerged--
e-intellectuals and e-reactionaries
e-peacemakers and e-rabble rousers
e-angels and e-assholes
better than TV, and all in the comfort of my own home.
As it turned out, the election wasn't over yet,
and so another protest.
When I drove by, I saw that another group
had crashed the protest
They were mean.
I freaked and went home and
posted my very first message.
Within minutes there was a response.
A woman who called herself Diva
told me not to be afraid, and sent me a picture
of herself arguing with a skinhead.
I liked her immediately.
I began to develop e-friendships, e-suitors and e-enemies
and finally, I showed up in person.
I was excited to know what faces
went with what e-names.
"Hi" I said, "I'm neecanna@earthlink.net. Who are you?"
And so I finally met machturtle@earthlink, elbop@loop, jon@rokcircle,
squeers@juno.com
As it turned out, the election still wasn't over.
We e-celebrated or e-mourned with each turn of events
and when the supreme wave finally crashed,
we helped put on a counter-inaugural protest.
Between meetings, we had e-debate and e-quarrels--
once you click "send" you can't take it back--
Sometimes I was certain I'd had e-nuff-
but there of course there are e-apologies as well.
Eventually, January 20th came
and we watched Pershing Square fill with thousands of people
Some heard about it on-line, others on the radio, and some on old
fashioned flyers.
It was a magnificent day.
We rode back on a flatbed truck
singing songs of peace and protest, and
exhausted, I felt myself slip into a blissful union
with these kindred electronic souls--
and everyone and everything it seemed--
e-love, e-peace, e-lated.