2003-02-16 - 11:30 p.m.
WHAT DO WE WANT? PEACE!
WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW!
My voice is hoarse from yelling, and I'm tired from a long walk in the cold, but what an absolute high to join with hundreds of others in a demonstration against the war. No matter how little it may matter, I wanted to go out and just do something to express my growing fear and anger that Bush is leading us into a deadly confrontation with Iraq. This was a day of big protests all over the world, and I am anxious to hear how many people in other cities did similar things. But for right now, I can at least say that I am proud of the people in this city. Although this is not exactly a hotbed of political activism, here in the midwest, far from the centers of attention, there was a crowd of sixteen hundred people gathered in a small park in our central city. Every kind of people. All races and ages and persuasions carrying every kind of sign, from giant banners to sheets of typing paper. People beating on drums and singing and shaking maraccas and ringing bells. People raising their voices.
NO WAR WITH IRAQ! NO WAR WITH IRAQ! NO WAR WITH IRAQ!
The crowd was mostly already formed when we arrived and protesters were lining the edges of a busy intersection at one end of the park. Many people had signs that said "HONK if you are against the war" and the continuous sound of car horns was deafening. Probably at least three-quarters of the cars passing by not only honked but waved and gave us the peace sign or the thumbs up. Only a few people looked guiltily away. I am amazed and heartened to realize how many people are against the war.
Skootie and I were part of a small, morally outraged crowd that gathered in that same park two years ago to protest the inauguration of the "unelected" president, and many people heckled us. Now there are many anti-Bush signs.... and chants.
DROP BUSH, NOT BOMBS! DROP BUSH, NOT BOMBS!
After gathering, this enormous group marched a route through the shopping district, on the sidewalks since apparently a parade permit could not be obtained. We ended up walking with a group of people who kept the chants going, and it was cathartic to yell out, within the strength of numbers, and make a lot of noise, create a disturbance. For once I don't just sit at home and feel powerless.
I am old enough to remember protesting the war in Vietnam. And I did protest, but I didn't know the first thing about the politics of the war. I just knew that guys my age got drafted and that seemed like the worst thing I could think of. My x-husband and I and several friends (male) watched on television that nerve-wracking night the government officials drew birthdates from a glass jar to determine who would go. I remember the process went on for hours as the group got increasingly agitated. Barry was lucky enough to get a high number (274) but one of our friends was not so fortunate. And what do you say to someone who will likely be yanked from his life, stripped of his individuality, and forced into a situation where he will kill or be killed? I think we all just got really stoned.... not that that helped matters any.
In those times there was a line drawn in the sand down the middle of American, and those who opposed the war (the young, students, hippies, radicals) and those who supported the war (the military, the conservatives, older people, veterans of previous wars) had no common ground. And there was instant identification. The anti-war side had the peace symbol and the other side had the "Love it or leave it" bumper stickers and of course the flag. (My old friend, the peace symbol is making a comeback. There were years I didn't see it at all, and then when I did it was maybe on somebody dressing up for halloween as a hippie. In fact, during the eighties, students at one of the more affluent local high schools were going to have a "Peace Day" and they made some banners with what they thought was the peace symbol. When someone pointed out to them it was actually the Mercedes-Benz symbol, they just decided to have a "Mercedes Day" instead.)
But the lines are not so clear today. I saw clean cut middle-class-looking people with kids in tow, soccer moms, elderly people. Many of us had signs saying "Peace is Patriotic- No War with Iraq" And I saw people who wanted to demonstrate they learned something from the last war: SUPPORT OUR TROOPS-- BRING THEM HOME.
I saw a lot of people enjoying the day, the music, the incredible energy that such a crowd generates. But I also saw the barely disguised fear and anger on so many faces. Because these are people who have considered what a war could mean in our lifetime, and they are unwilling to accept that without a whimper.
The local news made us all look goofy.... they interviewed an inarticulate guy, and spent most of the twenty seconds of their coverage with the camera trained on a dog with a little sign pinned to its sweater that said "No Iraq War." (I am always amazed at how they can trivialize anything. But hey, they had to get through the anti-war protest story so they can cover the big news: slow postal service. That's right, letters are taking too long to get across town.... complete with an in-depth interview with an elderly woman in a headscarf who is NOT having a problem with her mail. Some things I just never get used to....)
We brought our sign home and planted it in the front yard. But I'm afraid this will not be the last time we march.
�
