www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, APRIL 2003
Outpouring of outrage at home as war starts
Chicago March 20, the day after Bush started bombing Baghdad,
15,000-20,000 anti-war protesters blocked Lake Shore Drive (LSD) in the largest
anti-war demonstration here since the early stages of the first Gulf war. The huge, spontaneous march began following a rally by a few thousand in the Federal Plaza, overwhelming the Chicago police, and picking up thousands of students from downtown campuses, people leaving work at 5 p.m., shoppers and baby- and dog-walkers. There were groups of high school students who had walked out of school earlier in the day. One girl from Niles West said that a friend had just earned a three-day suspension. A Whitney Young student said, "We sat in today, because we already walked out two weeks ago." Many of the young people there had heard about the demonstration on the radio and made their way downtown. A police spokesman had to admit that "with a crowd that size there was nothing we could do." For a stolen moment the cry of "Peace!" became real--became power--as the march, which appeared on the raised, twisting section of LSD as a literal rainbow bridge of people curving out of sight in either direction, moved north toward the Gold Coast. There was tremendous support from passers-by, and even
from the rush hour drivers stuck on LSD. A couple of sympathetic cars even crept
along within the march with the passengers flashing the peace sign. At the end when many of us had melted away into the side
streets and the night, the police reasserted themselves and trapped the
remaining demonstrators. Over 400 were arrested, many charged with misdemeanors. One of those arrested told me, "There was no order
given to disperse. In fact, they wouldn't let us disperse. We were completely
surrounded by police in riot gear. We were arrested without probable cause and
many of us were held without charges. The men were taken to lockups on the far
South Side and the women to the far West Side." A class action suit for
wrongful arrest is contemplated. This march didn't stop the war, but it did provide a small glimpse of what could be, as one chant had it: "This is what democracy looks like! This is what your dreams may look like!" And the millions around the world who have demonstrated against the war will continue to be a factor in the calculations of all parties. --Guy Debureau New York City A huge anti-war rally took place in the middle of New
York City March 22. The organizers (Peace and Justice Coalition) claimed 250,00
participants; other estimates ranged from half that number to a million. About
100 people were arrested when the police attacked them, supposedly for refusing
to disperse when the "legal" time to demonstrate was up. In contrast to the Feb. 15 demonstration, which tied up
the East Side for hours because the city prohibited any marching, this time we
were allowed to march and rally, but only for four hours. The march route down
Broadway was completely filled from 42nd Street to 8th Street. At the north end
of the assembly area we had to wait over an hour just to begin marching. By the
time we reached the end point at Washington Square Park the time was up and the
police herded us away from the park. I was surprised at the upbeat mood of the participants,
who shouted, drummed and danced in much the same manner as at pre-war
demonstrations. Again, the banners and signs were hand-made and inventive. They
were predominantly simple calls for peace and criticism of the U.S. government,
including protests against our increasing loss of democratic rights. "What
do we get from a president we didn't elect? A war nobody wants?" I was glad to see a few signs that condemned Saddam
Hussein as well: "Bush and Saddam both equal Hitler"; "How can a
dictator remove a dictator?" New York's internationalism was evident. We met
demonstrators from Greece, Australia, Spain, North Africa, and Trinidad, each
with signs proclaiming their countrypeople's anti-war sentiments, and condemning
their own governments if those governments backed Bush. We also saw signs
demanding the U.S. change its policies in regard to, and stay out of, Colombia,
Palestine and Puerto Rico. --N.Y. News and Letters Committee member San Francisco From early morning on the day the war started thousands
of people made their sentiments known by blocking traffic, blocking the Pacific
Stock Exchange, various big businesses' headquarters and making it as "no
business as usual" as possible. The protests were decentralized: some
concentrating on one target, others picking different places in the city. The
result was that as one protest dissipated because police were arresting most of
those who were blocking entrances, another a few blocks away another was
beginning. Filipinos for Global Justice Not War (FilsGlobe) and
Asian & Pacific Islanders For Community Empowerment (APIForCE) led a hundred
demonstrators to the Filipino Consulate in San Francisc to protest the Arroyo
regime's support for Bush's attack on Iraq. The contingent tried to break
through Market Street whose intersections were blocked for miles with protesters
and police. The riot cop line where FilsGlobe chose to cross opened up to allow
half the group through, then suddenly closed up. The cops had been using such
divide and weaken tactics all morning in their failed attempt to prevent a
shutdown of San Francisco. Many protesters stayed in touch with others through
creative use of wireless technology. However, if you weren't "linked"
and did not get arrested, you stayed at one demonstration for a while, then
walked down a block or two and joined another group of several thousands. It is
impossible to say how many participated in the protests because it was so
decentralized, but on that first day police arrested over 1,400 people. During the day many youth, high-school and college
students participated. There were also student actions in all cities around the
Bay Area. College and high school students held a spirited rally at U.C.
Berkeley, occupying Sproul Hall for a time. During the evening rush hour the police presence was
immense. Police in riot gear were blocking intersections and access to the
bridges, making whatever the protesters did that much more disrupting. The protests continued on March 21 and March 22. While
at previous marches many were still hopeful that we could avert the war, now
everyone was focused on the effects of war, both on the Iraqis and those at
home. There were signs like "Got milk? Iraqi children don't!" and
"Got rights?" as well as visual reminders from 1991 in the form of
pictures of Iraqi victims. Young people from the stage sang about not wanting to
kill or be killed in this war. There was a lot of discussion about the need for
the movement to continue on a deeper basis in the face of the consequences of
this permanent war abroad and at home. --S. F. Participants Detroit The first bombs to hit Baghdad became the signal for the
nationwide mobilization of anti-war demonstrations, including Detroit, where
pre-planned arrangements by a coalition of groups--labor, radical, civic,
social, religious, ethnic and student (both high school and college)--drew over
1,000 demonstrators to an anti-war rally at the Broadhead Armory. Flyers put out by the groups prior to the bombing
established that the demonstration would be held between 4-6 p.m. on the day of
the attack, but many gathered there before the designated time and were joined
by hundreds more who came to the site when they got out of work. Similar, though smaller, demonstrations were held in
suburban communities and on campuses, including Wayne State, Wayne Community,
Michigan and Michigan State universities. Whereas there had been some concerns raised that with
the outbreak of war protests would decrease, just the opposite has happened, and
it seemed that more people were galvanized to demonstrate their protests after
the bombardment of Baghdad. Many were horrified by the scenes of devastation
they saw on TV depicting the carnage resulting from the bombing. Protest demonstrations against the war are continuing
daily throughout Michigan, with demonstrators here gaining strength from the
reports of massive demonstrations continuing to expand and grow in numbers and
frequency. --R.B. Los Angeles Many thousands of protesters marched through downtown
Los Angeles to the Federal Building on March 15, to protest against Bush’s
drive to war on the Iraqi people. The usual left-radical anti-capitalists were present as
well as Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Greens and many
others, but the size of the crowd suggested that many non-activist liberals and
middle class people were present; they are becoming radicalized in opposition to
Bush’s war machine. Also among the marchers was a noticeable increase of
Asians, young and old, as well as many Blacks and Browns. A week ago, on a day
commemorating their mass protest against the Vietnam War, hundreds of Chicanos
and Chicanas protested against Bush’s war in East Los Angeles. As in other recent demonstrations, many signs were made
by individuals independent of any organization. One large banner read “Impeach
George Bush.” One woman held a sign saying “After Afghanistan and Iraq,
who’s next?” Another woman stated, “I’m hoping for a miracle that we can
stop this war.” --Protester |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
