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Anti-War March in DC

By John Zutz

Everyone kept saying how cold it was. The coldest day of the year in Washington, DC, they said. I didn't feel cold. Twenty degrees Fahrenheit. Not cold enough to see your breath. Tell people it's mind over matter. You know: if you don't mind, it doesn't matter. I never wore my gloves, though I used my pockets for warmth.

It was January 18, 2003. A brisk, sunny day in DC. A day when hundreds of thousands of people would try to influence our government to stop this senseless war, specifically the one against Iraq.

It was like being surrounded by thousands of friends. All those friends helped keep each other warm.

More importantly, I was there with close to three hundred organized veterans to remind our government of the true cost of war. Vietnam Veterans Against the War were represented, along with a larger contingent of Vets for Peace. There were VFP banners from all over the East Coast. Many were members of both groups. Some were individuals who approached, identified themselves as vets, and asked to march with us. We all blended together.

I got to DC in a bus full of peace activists (one of twelve buses from Wisconsin) on what can only be described as a brutal schedule. Leave Milwaukee at 5:00 p.m. Friday. Arrive in DC at 10:00 a.m. Saturday. At about 6:00 p.m. leave DC. Arrive in Milwaukee at 10:00 a.m. Sunday. Stop to stretch every four hours whether you need it or not.

Pile out of the bus around 10:00 a.m., about a block from the vets' rally point. Take a few photos with friends from the bus, then on to the rally point. There were many vets there ahead of me to make me welcome. I got the banner displayed, and when I began handing out VVAW buttons I became very popular.

The banner was a photo-op right from the start. Everyone wanted to take a picture. A photo even made it onto one of the big news websites. But it was the individuals who rejoiced at having veterans in the demonstration, and thanking us for being there, that were the most memorable.

The creativity was enormous. "Drop panties, not bombs," with frilly underwear attached to a poster, attracted my attention. Some signs were plain, "Blood — $1.59 gal." Many were elegant. A few were flamboyant. "Alaskans for Peace" was accompanied by a person in a polar bear suit. It seemed each placard was more exquisite than the last.

The energy built, along with the size of the crowd, during the two hours of speeches. Then someone with a mike said, "Start walking," and the march began. It was total anarchy, blocks of people trying squeeze into a much narrower street. The police said that this was "the biggest anti-war demonstration in DC in thirty years." The veterans' contingent was scattered throughout the crowd.

About halfway through the march the veterans' contingent, in a brilliant strategy, commandeered a small triangular-shaped park on Pennsylvania Avenue. The group re-formed and, with banners high, began reciting cadences to the passing crowd for over an hour. The marchers joined in the cadences and applauded as they passed.

The march featured people from all across the country and of all ages and economic groups. It was if hundreds of small, local protests had coalesced into one large movement. Everyone was smiling.

There were also a few counter-protesters. Six people on a second-floor balcony with a little GOP elephant sign and another sign (showing how out of touch they were) that said, "Hippies go home." Another five or six across from the Marine barracks must have felt quite vulnerable: they were protected by 20 DC cops.

The first marchers must have reached the end point around noon. I tried to experience as much of it as I could, so I was at the tail end and reached the end point at around 5:00 p.m. By this time the sun was going down, and the temperature was dropping. I was tired and dehydrated. Finding one bus out of hundreds (while they were all idling and spewing diesel exhaust) was not fun. Why are all tour buses painted white?

It took two days to get back into my normal schedule; I don't recommend a trip like this to anyone over 30. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't felt it was necessary. It's time for more people to stand up.