I helped to organize the DC Anti-War Network (DAWN) bus trip to New York. Here are our two buses waiting for us outside of Union Station at 6 AM |
Andy Laken rounds up all stand by passengers. Each was able to get on the bus. |
The inside of our Bus #2. Karen O'Keefe did a great job as our bus captain. Ryan Barolet-Fogarty captained the other bus and did invaluable work organizing our trip. |
DAWN participant Mat Hanson, who helped slave with Genevieve and others to put together our lunches, takes a much needed nap. |
I believe this is Leah Harris, one the DC Guerrilla Poets, who all stoked the fire in us to fight the war in Iraq. |
I'm embarrassed that I don't remember his name, but I remember his poem's very powerful impact on us. |
Kevin looked down intensely as he expressed his art. |
Again my memory may be bad, but I think this is Angela Johnson. She was extremely talented in her poetry against the war and against the priorities of our government. |
As the Guerilla Poets entertained us, we approached Manhattan. |
Jim Vaccoro takes pictures of the Guerilla Poets as they perform. |
Shahid Buttar finished up the set in the Lincoln Tunnel with a poem warning us about Chief Justice Rehnquist. |
Genevieve, Kevin, Heaton, and Jim V. hold a banner Genevieve and I created and often take to the White House. Just this week, we ran into Newt Gingrich and flashed him the banner on a DC street corner. |
NYPD presence was quite thick but MUCH more subdued than February 15, 2003. Even so, they blocked us close together inside pens. |
A Dutch journalist interviews Genevieve about war. He had the bizarre thought that because Genevieve opposed the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima that she supported Bush's war to get weapons of mass destruction out of Iraq. |
As Jim and Kevin wait for the interview to end, Genevieve explains that she opposes all war. |
Something over 100,000 people converged on Manhattan along Madison Avenue, although it was very hard to estimate crowd size. What I could observe was a significant amount of healthy discourse. |
"I Don't Feel Safer." He expressed the sentiments of many. |
While this sign's message is indecipherable, the most common theme of signs was anti-Bush. |
The U.S. and France overthrew the democratically elected President of Haiti this March. Here a large number of protesters express their outrage. |
"Ignore your rights, and they'll go away!" Many express frustration that while the crowds have grown since October, they are not nearly big enough to effect major change. |
All sorts of people from all walks of life, religious backgrounds, etc. came to oppose the war in Iraq. |
"Not One more day, Not one more death, Not one more deception." I woke up this morning to discover more deaths in Iraq, a continuing occupation, and no end in sight to the oppression. When will we force ourselves to remember? |
A young boy blocked his face and flashed a sign urging non-violence that did not come through. Yet, his purpose was clear. Stopping the war is more vital than taking cute photos. |
We still have not found any weapons of mass destruction, whose discovery I should point out wouldn't have justified our war anyhow. |
Peace. I learned an important lesson here that you should read about in the narrative about the spirit of peace and the new road we must forge. |
These crusaders aren't after the holy lands or better trade routes. They fight against war. |
That this sign is so obviously ironic is actually a little disturbing to me. |
Many signs compared Bush to Hitler, and others suggested that the US was becoming or already is like fascist Italy. |
The recent terrorist tragedy in Spain led the Spanish voters to overthrow a rightwing government that supported the war in Iraq. They voted, rightly I believe, on the principle that imperialism breeds terrorism. |
Halliburton, Cheney's former employer, has justified the fears that many protesters had before the war that Iraq was about oil and economic imperialism. |
"Stop the War! No Police State!" In recent weeks a DAWN participant was arrested for standing up for someone else's civil rights, Genevieve and I were harassed for exercising free speech rights, and we saw a man being arrested beaten up by 5 police officers in broad daylight. These are all related issues. |
Many vegans will argue, and rightly I believe, that the culture of violence we have against each other is an extension of our culture of violence against animals. So, I found this sign fitting. |
A large statue that drew many admirers. |
I found this sign ironic. Can dollars truly work toward peace? I spent a month selling bus tickets, but did those sales contribute to peace? I think that's quite a stretch. Perhaps, we are not yet radical enough. |
A young girl urges the US out of Puerto Rico. While it is not clear whether she is advocating Puerto Rican independence or the ending of military testing in Vieques, her statement made us all think. |
Some took a sarcastic stance. Here a group claimed to be "Billionaires for Bush." |
Several stories above us on Madison Avenue, this man opened his window, emphatically began waving a white flag, and exuberantly urged marchers on. |
Genevieve looks beautiful as always as we neared the end of our protest day. Kevin H. stands off to the right behind her left shoulder. |
The Empire State Building, now again New York's tallest building. It struck Jim V. for the first time that it is the "empire" state building. He and I wonder why. |
In December 2003, Genevieve and I laid down and protested the way the Enola Gay was displayed. The United States and the rest of the world should eliminate all of its nuclear weapons right now. |
Two police officers stand several stories above the main stage of the rally. Reports said many police stood from spots like this taking photographs and filming the event. I hope that the police saw the colorful, lively sight and discover that we are not the danger to the world. |