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Spokane.net »
Sudoku
 | Sunday, October 27, 2002 |
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Spokane Anti-war rally in Spokane called largest in decades Jim Camden
A throng of protesters that longtime peace activists believe was the largest Spokane has seen in decades marched through downtown Saturday to oppose a possible war with Iraq. The mix of protesters -- estimated at more than 1,000 people -- ran the gamut from senior citizens to parents with children in strollers and infants in carriers. Teens with multi-hued spiked hair and pierced lips marched next to clerics and college professors. They chanted "Bombs fly, people die. No war for oil!" as they snaked down Spokane Falls Boulevard on their way to the Thomas S. Foley Federal Courthouse. They danced along the sidewalk to the beat of other protesters who banged out rhythm on drums or empty 5-gallon paint buckets. They waved as passing motorists gave them a thumbs up. When one motorist rolled down a window to shout, "You're all commies and gutless wonders," they shouted back "We love you, too." They chanted, "Living wage. Not war. Health c Some in the crowd waved signs that called for "Regime Change in Washington, D.C." or joked about "Weapons of Mass Distraction." Mothers breast-fed babies on the plaza benches as a series of speakers denounced President Bush and any plans the United States is making to go to war with Iraq. "As bad and nasty as Saddam Hussein is, we have supported worse," said Marianne Torres of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane. She urged people in the crowd to write their congressional delegation, write to newspapers and talk to friends and co-workers about opposition to a war. The Spokane rally was part of anti-war protests around the nation, which brought tens of thousands into streets and meeting squares from Maine to California. Jesse Jackson addressed a crowd near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and thousands protested in Rome, Tokyo and other international capitals. Tom Jeannot, an associate professor of philosophy at Gonzaga University, agreed that Saddam was a tyrant and a dictator, but argued he posed no imminent threat to the United States. Iraq has no air force and no navy, Jeannot said, and the United States has no right to try to impose its own peace or "Pax Americana." "The United States has never been afraid to ally itself with military dictatorships and totalitarian regimes ... including Saddam Hussein who was once our ally," Jeannot said. "It was not Iraqis who carried out the attacks on September 11." Gary Jewell, from Spokane Council of Ecumenical Ministries, read a letter that the group was sending to the United Nations, urging the international body to find a way to reduce or eliminate weapons of mass destruction everywhere. "Do not allow United States military and economic power to hold sway," said Jewell, reading from the letter. Before they marched, the demonstrators listened to the rules of nonviolent protest from one of the event's organizers, Rusty Nelson of PJALS: No damage to property, no insults, no swearing, protect even opponents from insult or attack, no drugs or alcohol. The march and rally was peaceful and well-behaved, said a security guard at the federal building who added: "As always." Except it was much bigger than the regular Tuesday anti-war demonstration that draws a couple dozen people. Nelson, who has been active in peace demonstrations for nearly 20 years in Spokane, said Saturday's march and rally was the biggest he could recall. Tom Westbrook, who helped organize protests for fair housing and against the Vietnam War in the 1960s, said it was bigger than any anti-war protest he attended in Spokane. "If this war goes on and the horrors predicted come true, everybody will claim they marched in this protest," Westbrook said. "Look at this cross-section of people. They love their country just as much as the people who drive by and give us the finger." In the crowd were people from Colville and Chewelah, Pullman and Walla Walla. One group carried a sign proclaiming themselves to be the Idaho Green Party; others were from Spokane area colleges. Melanie Klitzke, 26, and Stephanie Smith, 23, attended the protest dressed in black capes and faces painted as the Grim Reaper. The costumes weren't going to do double duty as Halloween party outfits, they said. "I'm going to be Red Riding Hood," said Klitzke as she reapplied white powder to her face and black lipstick before making the march back from the courthouse. Klitzke said she wasn't attending the protest with any group, "just my conscience." She added that she is a medic in the U.S. Army Reserves and is worried about the prospect of war with Iraq. "I don't want to be treating people for Gulf War syndrome and I don't want to be exposed to Gulf War syndrome," Klitzke said.
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