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The March 15 Anti-War Protest in DC
BUZZFLASH
READER COMMENTARIES
by Dwayne Eutsey and Mary
That's One Helluva Focus Group
by Dwayne Eutsey
Saturday, March 15, 2003 -- Tens of thousands of antiwar demonstrators from around the country converged in the seat of power of the Bushevik Banana Republic again to participate in what strongman George W. Bush dismissively calls a "focus group."
The numbers may be in dispute (police estimate 50,000, organizers say 100,000), but as one speaker at the rally put it as he surveyed the spirited crowd thronged around the Washington Monument, "That's one helluva focus group."
Later, demonstrators jamming the streets and surrounding the tightly guarded area encompassing Lafayette Park, the White House and the Ellipse put it another way: "This is what democracy looks like!"
And what a powerful display of democracy it was, too. Despite the carefully scripted pro-war reality marketed by corporate-owned media, citizens traveled great distances (some for over 10 hours) just to go "off script" and voice their opposition to the impending Bushkrieg in one thunderous voice.
Busses arrived from as far away as Iowa, Michigan, Florida and elsewhere for the daylong event. Groups as diverse as America itself were represented as well. Ages ranged from parents carrying infants to veterans of World War II. I even saw signs that read:
"Republicans for Sensible Foreign Policy" and "Republicans for Peace."
"Make Coherent Sentences, Not War."
The speeches went on for too long and were sometimes too strident for me (the rally was organized by ANSWER, after all), but the crowd remained enthusiastic. ANSWER speakers even struggled at times to keep control of the rally's focus as protesters erupted in spontaneous chants of: "Impeach Bush! Impeach Bush!"
There were some inspiring speeches given. Referring to the Bushevik Junta and its apparent plans for endless war, Democrat-With-A-Spine John Conyers encouraged the crowd to continue demonstrating, picketing, protesting and marching "until this madness is ended." He assured us that he was among those in Congress trying to "win the peace."
A boy from Kids Against the War chided Bush for not understanding how democracy works ("he must have missed school that day," the boy said.) He also spoke out against Wal-Mart and Kmart for selling Easter baskets filled with war toys (what better way to celebrate the death and Resurrection of the Prince of Peace?).
"We don't want your war toys," the boy said. "We don't want your war."
* * *
Rally on Saturday, and forever...
Dear Buzz,
The rally in DC last Saturday was stunning. We thought the turn-out would be light because of the other rallies coming up and the short notice. Anyways, we were so busy hanging around the Washington monument visiting with the peaceniks there, we didn't realize it was already 3pm. Only then did we look across the mall and see the march was already underway and -- as it turned out -- had been for about 2 hours! Bus loads of people must have skipped the rally and gone straight into the march. We were laughing so hard as we ran to join this amazing procession of people. Here we had reconciled ourselves to a light turn out when in fact hundreds of thousands of people had queued up and we hadn't even noticed it! One reason we hadn't noticed was that the assemblage was so quiet compared to usual.
When we joined we noticed that people would try to start chants and no one would take them up. It was very solemn and intense. Finally someone started the "What do we want? Peace!" chant and everyone joined in instantly. It was like we were acting according to some deep common impulse. Along the route we noticed that the cops and people on the sidelines were blown away by the mass of people and the utterly calm intensity of purpose.
The pro-war people were stationed about 3/4 of the way along the route -- and they were so silly! There were more than usual, about 130 or so and they were standing in lonely clumps huddled thematically around signs that were so stupid, they were just utterly tragic. Here's the ones I remember and some of the counter-chants they evoked from the crowd:
--Save the Iraqi children, Bomb Saddam! ("It doesn't take 3000 cruise missiles to bomb one man!!!")
--Come my children, out of Babylon ("We AGREE! Stay OUT of Babylon!")
--Remember 9/11! (We DO and YOU'RE CONFUSED!!!)
--God Bless President George Bush ("Because HE NEEDS it!")
--Someone was dressed as Saddam Hussein (We congratulated him on the likeness)
--And then there was the huge poster of George Bush as CAPTAIN AMERICA, practically naked, with rippling muscles... (We were speechless)
--We
also shouted at them "That's okay, we still love you!" and "Hey,
you got a few more people this time, congratulations!"
Listen. We may be discouraged, terribly. But we must still come out
for the peace rallies. This will be the real test. If we stop it will
only get harder.
We are in for some seriously depressing times: The UN has caved. Kofi Annan
should not have recalled the inspectors, he should have convened the Security
Council. The Pope did NOT go to Baghdad, and if he had I do not believe even
George would have bombed. Some of the few people in Congress who have spoken
out against George have said they will no longer do so once war begins. And
with the media "embedded" in George Bush's behind, we can expect
glowing reports from Baghdad. They will declare a victory there whether there
was one or not, just like Afghanistan which everyone knows is crumbling into
disaster. They will declare victory and they will find weapons of mass destruction
under Saddam's bed. They will show pictures of Iraqis weeping with joy. And
Captain America and his bad boys will beat their chests and crow -- for the
rest of our lives, unless...
We STILL MARCH FOR PEACE!! You know why? We'll never get to this point in history again where the whole world has shown they WANT peace. Everyone wants peace except for a few, and a few governments and the military-industrial complex creeps.
We
can't go back to sleep this time. We have to stay awake and we have
to march -- and whatever other nonviolent actions it takes -- to create a
world of peace. Not
the MOAB-motivated peace, or the Depleted Uranium peace -- but the real peace,
where there will still be problems and chaos and all of that -- but it will
be tending toward, and it will be bending toward, and it will be aspiring
for, and it will be motived by -- a real HARD CORE vision of peace
(not a Halllmark
peace), NOT of war!
Peace Rally: MARCH 22 -- no matter what horror and terror and sadness the
next 5 days bring. We cannot back down, no matter what bag of tricks they
have ready
for us. Or we will lose everything worth living for....
Peace, above all,
Mary-NYC
PS:
A woman just called in the radio and gave contact info for the Pope.
Let's call and write him. I think he WANTS to go but he has handlers,
too, and they'd rather cover their own behinds than stick their necks
out for Baghdad... 011 3906 6982 -- the telephone number of the Pope.
Real people answer, she says. And here's the email address: accreditamenti@pressva.va)
Tell them to send the post the Pope-mobile to Baghdad...
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