PROTESTORS, media and police will never agree on the numbers, but from the packed streets and the endless sea of signs, it was clear that Saturday's demonstration in Washington, D.C. represented a growing movement, one that drew Americans from all over the country in protest of the war. From the crowd, I saw a diverse group of citizens with a variety of signs and banners, but the protesters were united in opposition to our government's destructive actions abroad.
The demonstration began in front of the White House with an emotional rally that included activists, artists, veterans and parents of soldiers. We heard stories of violence and death and the traumatizing effect that fighting this war has had on our soldiers. Cindy Sheehan spoke as just one of the thousands of parents who have lost a son or daughter in the war -- a war that has resulted in two years of violence and chaos for the people we supposedly liberated.
In addition to the speeches on Iraq, organizers included speakers who criticized the Bush administration for its actions in other countries, including Haiti, Palestine and Venezuela. These speeches were added to the rally by the Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition which insisted that the rally include speakers for each of its causes. One of the speakers accused the administration of engineering the overthrow of Haitian President Aristide, and several speakers criticized Bush for supporting Israel's actions against the Palestinian people. These speakers addressed the larger theme of the demonstration, summed up by ANSWER as a call to end colonial occupation.
While all of ANSWER's concerns speak to the larger problem of global hegemony, their message was probably lost on Americans who are not used to connecting these causes. The idea that our policies toward Israel and Haiti are related to the war in Iraq is not one that seems obvious to Americans who are rarely exposed to foreign news. When a speaker talked at length about Haiti, some members of the crowd expressed confusion or disagreement: this was supposed to be about Iraq. Later, on the metro, a woman saw my sticker and said, "You were at the protest! How wonderful." But then she pointed to the phrase "Iraq, Palestine, Haiti" and said that she couldn't participate because she disagreed with the organizers' message about Israel.
But for many of the protesters, and for peace activists around the world, all of these conflicts speak to the destructive impact of America's ruthless quest for global dominance. In the Arab world, the administration's unconditional support of Israel and its invasion of Iraq represent the same disregard for the sovereignty and dignity of the Arab people.
The pain of parents who have lost their children spoke to the destructive impact that the war has had on both Americans and Iraqis. Several speakers expressed solidarity with citizens of other countries, including the people of Iraq who have suffered under the occupation. The protesters hoped to show the world that the actions of our government do not represent the American people, and that many Americans are victims of the same administration.
I saw a number of signs that condemned the federal government's failure to respond to Hurricane Katrina, pointing out that the president doesn't even take care of his own people. This is not a government that represents our interests, and its actions abroad do not represent our people.
The demonstration drew criticism from a group of counter-protesters who called the marchers "Sheehanistas" (how clever) and claimed to represent most Americans. RightMarch.com President William Greene told the crowd "We are the majority," a statement that rang somewhat hollow when only 200 people showed up to support the war.
The pitiful turnout from counter-protesters comes at a time when President Bush's approval rating has plummeted. War supporters can try to paint the demonstrators as fringe radicals, but according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released last week, support for the war in Iraq has fallen to just 32 percent, and 63 percent of Americans want the troops to come home.
Activists who want an end to the war are frequently accused of wanting to abandon Iraq to chaos, but the administration has showed no intention of ending the chaos and working toward true Iraqi sovereignty. Despite continuing violence and declining domestic support, the administration has refused to map out an exit strategy or a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. The administration claims that the United States will withdraw when a secure democracy has been established, but the fourteen military bases under construction suggest that our leaders have no intention of reducing our presence in Iraq.
President Bush is so checked out from reality that he may not be aware that a demonstration occurred on his doorstep, and diehard war hawks will still cling to the illusion that success in Iraq is just around the corner. But the demonstration sent an important message to the world that the actions of our government do not represent the American people.
Cari Lynn Hennessy's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at chennessy@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
SULLIVAN: Ramp up physical accessibility on Grounds
By Scarlett Sullivan | YesterdayThe University must take responsibility for the inaccessibility of Grounds and work to promote accessibility for all students despite misguided laws.
EDITORIAL: Scapegoating students will not stop hazing
By Editorial Board | 3 days agoInstead of retroactively responding to extreme hazing allegations, we, and especially the University, must begin asking more probing questions about the role of fraternal organizations on Grounds.
EDITORIAL: Celebrating and reflecting on The Cavalier Daily’s independence
By Editorial Board | April 18, 2024Our independence grants us the ability to ask the hard questions and to say what University representatives cannot.
