This is an e-mail I sent my friends and political allies upon return from DC. Enjoy!
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 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, Campaign to End the 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!
:-) Karen
Copyright 2001 by Karen R.