I made it back from DC in one piece. I wasn’t arrested, maced, or even
threatened by the cops (yes, security was tight, and the cops in riot
gear wanted to intimidate us, but it didn’t work). And it was an
AWESOME experience. Definitely the largest protest that I have ever
been at, and of course the most intense. Here is a short (as short as
I can keep it) recap. I am writing an article for Chicago Independent
Media, and working on creating a webpage (complete with pictures) so
more will come later.
I left Chicago at 6:30pm on 19 Jan. Four coach busses left from in
front of the Art Institute. About 400 people from Chicago went. It
was great being on a bus of leftists. When we pulled into a rest stop
in the heart of conservative Indiana, we were greeted with confused
looks. I suppose protest busses don’t stop in Lebanon, Indiana too
often. It was exhilarating being a member of such a liberal group
while journeying through some of the most conservative areas of the US.
In fact, we took I-70 across, so when I saw the signs to Springfield
and Yellow Springs, I waved hi to everyone at Witt!
I finally managed to fall asleep on the bus (the sheer excitement was
keeping me awake). In the morning, I woke up to some of the most
beautiful mountain scenery of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
We arrived at a DC metro station in Shady Grove, Maryland at around
9:30am. As soon as I stepped off the bus I could tell how intense this
experience would be. There were protesters coming off busses from
several other areas such as Philadelphia, New York City (about 5,000
people came from NYC), Florida (obviously there were a large number of
Floridians), North Carolina, and Michigan. And that was just at that
moment at that one metro stop. Busses parked at many outlying metro
stops. And of course, many dissenters flew, drove their own cars, or
took the train in. We had strength in numbers.
The weather in DC was overcast. It rained, snowed, and sleeted all
day. I could not have asked for better weather. It seemed like the
forces of nature were sending Dubya a message – they were crying for
the US. But more importantly, the fact that the weather sucked and
that tens of thousands of protesters showed up sent Dubya and his
cronies a message that we are pissed off, that we ARE watching him, and
that we are serious about our message.
The ride into DC on the metro was great. The DC metro is awesome –
much better than the El, and a lot like the Bay Area BART. Protestors
from all over the country filled the train. Dubya supporters were few
and far between. At every stop within the DC city limits, protestors
got on and off the train. There were protests at most of DC’s major
areas.
I was headed to the NOW (National Organization of Women) protest.
Armed with my “Campaign Expenses: 10 Million Dollars; Having Your Lil’
Brother and His Cronies FIX the election: Priceless” sign, pro-choice
and feminist buttons and stickers, and recapping (in my head) my
abortion statistics in case if confronted by a Dubya or anti-choice
person (yah! Putting that women’s studies minor to use!!!!!!!!!), I
was ready. I met up with a group from NYC also headed to the NOW rally
(most of the people on the Chicago busses were off to other protests
such as VoterMarch, the Greens, the Communists, Socialists, Black
Panthers, IAC (International Action Center), Al Sharpton’s march,
Anti-Death Penalty, Free Mumia, Free Leonard Peltier, etc. Almost
every group and every cause had a rally. The beauty was, everyone
basically came together – more on that later).
Once we got off the metro (we could not exit at the closest stop
because two metro stops were closed for I-Day due to security reasons),
we waited in a long line at a police check point. The cops had set up
checkpoints all along the parade route and near the federal buildings
in order to search our bags. They were looking for obvious weapons such
as guns, mace, and knives, as well as anything else which could
potentially harm Dubya and the Secret Service (oranges, tomatoes, glass
bottles, etc). There were also cops in riot gear on hand. They were
there for the purpose of intimidation.
Once I was allowed to enter the protest site and the parade route, I
saw just how massive our numbers were. Protesters flooded Pennsylvania
Avenue. We outnumbered the Dubya supporters by at least 4 to 1!
The NOW rally was excellent. It was well attended by not only women,
but men as well. Very inspiring. Some of my favorite signs said
“Ashcroft is a racist, sexist pig” (I loved how blunt that one was),
“The People Have Spoken (All 5 of Them),” someone had a large picture
of Dubya and wrote in (in one of those comic bubbles) ‘has anyone seen
my brain?,’ “Bush Can Fuck the Shit out of me, You asshole” (nothing
like pissing off the morally conservative), “Illegitimate,” “Hail to
the Thief,” “Save a forest, cut down a Bush,” “Not MY President,” “Bush
is Illegitimate. (To George: That means you are NOT president), “Don’t
abort the pregnant chads,” “Assholes for Bush,” but I think my favorite
(although the “has anyone seen my brain one” was excellent) was a sign
that had a cartoon of Bush sitting on top of a head of skulls. It said
“Bush is pro-gun. Guns kill people. Bush is for the death penalty.
Execution kills people. Bush is against abortion. Illegal abortions
kill innocent mothers. Pro Life? NO!” Rock on! There were also a
sea of pro-choice, Planned Parenthood, NAF (National Abortion
Federation), and NOW Signs. We chanted. We talked to the media (BBC
interviewed me!!!), We sent our message to Bush loud and clear.
Some chants were (do the rhyming for yourself) “Racist, sexist,
anti-gay, Bush and Cheney go away!” “Hey Bush we know you, your father
is a killer too!” “Oh no! Gore’s ahead, I think I’ll call my brother
Jeb!” “Hey hey, ho ho, Dubya has got to go!”
At about 2pm I tried to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to join
VoterMarch at the Ellipse. The parade was well under way. But the
sidewalks were packed. Sure there were a few Bush supporters, but we
seriously outnumbered them. You could barely hear any pro-Bush cheers
over the chants and boos. When I neared the end of the route, the
streets were blocked. So I had to walk up a few blocks and around to
get back on the route.
I never did make it to the Ellipse. Everything was just too blocked.
But that turned out for the better because I found one huge protest
right at the end of the parade route. It was the most unifying thing
ever. Instead of fighting over minor differences in policy issues, or
Gore verses Nader, about 1,000 liberals stood together to protest.
People were advocating every cause from getting US troops out of Korea
and to work for the unification of the Korean peninsula (I proudly
supported that) to saving the arctic wildlife areas, to freeing Mumia
(Free Mumia always seems to turn up at every portest that I attend,
even if the protest has nothing to do with Mumia. It's just funny,
that's all. But I have no problem with that because I support freeing
Mumia and ending the death penalty) I was again surrounded by a sea of
signs, and I was screaming chants again at the top of my lungs. That
is when I was spat on. I guess a certain 13-year-old Republican could
not stand to see so many leftists outnumbering her. So she spat on my
shoes. Her parents were silent (they just wore a Bush pin…they weren’t
even cheering on their man). I guess that is the spirit of the
Republicans today.
I saw some acts of civil disobedience. Yes, breaking down a barrier
and flooding the streets would have been great fun, but I also had to
be back on my bus in an hour and a half. I didn’t have enough time to
get arrested. Although the protests were VERY peaceful, the riot cops
were called in. They stood between us and the police who were not
dressed in riot gear, smacking around their batons. Their goal was
intimidation. It didn’t work. We had to laugh at them, they looked so
ridiculous. On the bus ride home, one of my friends told me that where
he was (Freedom Plaza), his group chanted at the riot cops “we’re
peaceful, aren’t you?” After that, the riot cops left the scene. They
had outsmarted the riot cops!
On the Metro on the way back to the bus, the funniest thing happened.
I boarded at Farragut North. The trains were packed so I held on to a
pole. I heard a girl whisper to her friend “Someone nasty is near
you.” I looked up and saw two teenage girls wearing pins that said
“Bush and Cheney: Cleaning Up the White House,” “Make Your Day: Taunt a
Liberal,” and “Pro-Life Kansas.” I just glared at them. They glared
back. It turned into a staring contest until they got off. About 30
seconds before their stop, the one who had called me “nasty” looked at
me and said, “Where are you from?” I answered, “Chicago.” She was like
“I’m from Kansas. I have a long bus ride.” (No shit, your PLK pin
didn’t give that away). As she and her friend were getting off, she
turned to me and said “I’ll pray for you.” I told her not to bother.
Yeah! I was spat on by a Republican and prayed for by another! What a
day!
On the bus ride home, we talked about ORGANIZING. We want to unify
liberals and other anti-Dubya people. The fact is, the majority of
people in this country do not like Dubya (that was evident on I-Day).
He did NOT get the popular vote. And if you add Gore’s and Nader’s
votes, he has even a smaller percentage of popularity. Not to mention
that millions of people did not vote at all because they are just
pissed with the system (something I do not advocate, but to each her
own). We want to encourage the Democratic Party to reach out to some
of the more leftist liberals. We want to urge some of the more radical
leftists to compromise. Sure you may not agree 100% with the candidate
who is running against Bush, but you must admit, ANYONE is better than
Dubya. We need to unify. We do not need a spoiler (and this was all
coming from an even mix of Gore and Nader supporters). Our other goal
is to make sure that the more conservative Senator from Illinois is not
re-elected. We are going to begin looking at possible current Illinois
lawmakers to run against him. And of course we are going to watch
Dubya. We are not going to let him get away with nominees like
Ashcroft. If needed, we WILL go back to DC. And of course, for his
first visit to Chicago as ‘president,’ we will give him a warm
welcome…a protest!
Finally (I know that this is getting long!) please don’t believe
everything the media said about the protests. Most of the reports were
accurate (ABC, Washington Post, etc). But I read one extremely
inaccurate report from the AP. The writer claimed that protesters left
as the weather became worse, and that we only outnumbered Dubya
supporters by a small margin. Not true! We stayed all day, braving
the snow, sleet, and rain. AND we outnumbered them by at least 4 to 1.
People from all over the country came out. I met a woman from Alaska.
We were all there for the same reason...to send Dubya, his cronies,
and this country a strong message.
Again, I am sorry that this e-mail is so long, but I had so much to
report. Remember to take a stand against Dubya and his cronies!
Rock on!
