As we drive through the Indiana cornfields on our way toward Indianapolis, I wonder whether this is the subsidized corn that floods the Mexican market, undercutting campesinos and pushing them al norte. Most, if they had the choice, probably would not want to come to Indiana. This is Bush country – the heartland of America – where poor farmboys with no future get shipped off to unpronounceable places to kill and be killed. It’s also KKK country (historically Indiana has had the biggest KKK presence of any state). And yet even in Indiana there is a kernel of resistance…
Three high school punk rock kids (one with a mohawk and a band) from Indianapolis and three early 20s punk rock kids (one with a Mohawk and a band) from Marion are that kernel.
We arrive at Ricky’s house in the cookie cutter suburbs of Indianapolis. Today is his dad’s birthday, and we all eat burgers and baked beans together. Ricky’s dad describes himself as a “hillbilly” and says he’s proud of his son’s activism and that this bus tour “”is a great thing.” As we sit down to talk, I come to realize that everyone should be proud of these three courageous teenagers.
Ricky first heard about WCW right before November 2nd from the Anti-Flag website. He immediately knew he had to do something. He told a couple friends about it and they decided to organize a walkout at their school. But when it came time to walk out, it was just the three of them. Since then, they organized a protest of around 40 people for Bush’s state of the union address on January 31st. Later, they organized a Drive Out the Bush Regime punk show that 100 people came to and, as Ricky says, “”went nuts when we held up the “Don’t attack Iran” posters because most of them have family in the military and hate the war.” Before the recent immigrant rights marches in the Spring (10,000 marched in Indianapolis), it was almost unprecedented to protest in Indiana. They”ve been confronting what they call “militant apathy,” and have had a hard time getting people that come to events to become organizers. But, as Ricky puts it as we talk about plans for October 5th, “It’s because we”re from Indiana that we have to do it. It would be such a big fuck you [to Bush on his home turf].” James (WCW Indianapolis) describes conversations with pro-Bush people at his school and elsewhere – how they always lay out a bunch of facts that they”ve learned from fox news and talk radio – but, as he says “”I may not know everything, but I know that Bush is lying to us and that this war is wrong and that we have to do something about it.” It’s inspiring.
The Warped Tour
The other three youths from Marion, Indiana (along with a young woman from Chicago) have been traveling around the country with the Warped Tour for over a month, living out of an old van and going without showers for a week. These people are dedicated! And they are on a mission to get the Call out to millions of young people. They”ve stopped at dozens of cities along the way and have had overwhelmingly positive responses everywhere they”ve gone. Interestingly, they all said that the best stop was Texas. In San Antonio, the story goes, they took the “Stop the Attack on Iran” posters and the “Support Our Deserters” posters over to the Marines booth and started doing agitation about the war. They were soon surrounded by a bunch of angry off duty soldiers, and ended up getting escorted away by security. It seems that the more conservative the area, the more rebellious and political the Warped Tour crowd is. Whereas in a place like San Francisco being “punk rock” can be merely a fashion statement or a benign musical preference, in places like Texas and (we learn) Indiana it becomes an act of rebellion. These are the outcasts, the non-conformists and critical thinkers – imagine being the one kid that wore black and had piercings at your rural Indiana high school – and they really gravitate to the anti-war/anti-Bush message of bands like Anti-Flag and NOFX.
Today is not just another stop on the Warped Tour; it is also the homecoming of the Warped Tour volunteers, a major outreach opportunity for Ricky and James from Indianapolis, and the intersection of the Bus Tour. We set up our booth at the beginning of the all day concert and almost immediately begin signing people up and selling t-shirts. The Trojan condom booth next store gives us free condoms and we begin distributing them with the Call, telling people to “Get them before Bush makes them illegal.” Tyler and I stay at the booth all day without water (it costs $3.50 for a cup) in the muggy Indiana heat and gain a deep appreciation for the people that do this everyday. Drenched in sweat, we have some great conversations, although the noise makes it somewhat difficult. As Anti-Flag closes the their set, screaming, “Your gonna die, die, die” die for your government, die for your country, that’s shit,” an out of place frat-boy whispers to his girlfriend, “Man, that’s one angry band.” Yeah dude, and these are some angry kids. The average age is 14-18 and the sentiment is anti-war with an especially strong “Fuck Bush!” attitude, unique to this particular crowd. Most people, as it turns out – and as has been the case throughout the Bus Tour – have never heard of World Can’t Wait and we hear a lot of people say, “I”ve been waiting for something like this!” At the end of the day, the three kids from Indianapolis are happy, with a new sense of possibility for October 5th. For the first time ever, they were around people like themselves, people that wanted to hear what they had to say.