January/February 2001

Nationwide protests against Bush's inauguration

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Forty thousand or more protesters came here on Jan. 20 to rain on George W. Bush's inauguration. About two hundred of us came on four buses from Chicago, and at a rest stop we ran into an equal number of NAACP-organized women from Detroit.

There were a number of separate demos in D.C., called on short notice by various groups, and with a great element of spontaneity in the turnout by people from all walks of life: working people, women and youth, gays and lesbians. Ten thousand Black marchers turned out at the Supreme Court. Security was heavy and at times harassing. When many of the demonstrators began to converge on Pennsylvania Avenue along the parade route, it clearly worried the Bush camp enough to delay the start for hours.

A lone military band was drowned out by cries of "Shame!" Then came hours of empty street. The parade spectacle was essentially buried beneath our utter contempt. Bush was vilified when he sped by as "the president-select," "a coup leader," "the Thief," "the Texecutioner" and "the second president of the Confederate States of America," among other choice descriptions. One man pointed across the street to the National Archives and said, "That's where they keep the original copy of the Constitution that they're tearing up today."

The ascension of Bush to the White House raises very fundamental questions about American society, not all of them finding voice at the anti-inaugural demos. As the struggles against capitalist globalization and the criminal injustice system struggle to coalesce they will be facing an even more reactionary landscape.

-Gerard Emmett

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SAN FRANCISCO

The ubiquitous "Hail to the Thief" signs among the 15,000 gathered here on Jan. 20 to protest Bush's inauguration had hand-written variants. Many wanted to compose their own signs since they felt their voice was silenced in the electoral spectacle. "Jail to the Thief," "Heil to the Thief" and "Hail the High Executioner" reflected people's creativity during the spontaneous massive outpouring against the results of this year's election.

Another sign, "Down with the Supreme Coup," referred to the Supreme Court's decision to stop counting votes in Florida, which thus appointed Bush the winner. Clearly, Bush's electoral "victory," labeled more appropriately "coup" or "coronation" ("King George II is not my King"), has mobilized a tremendous opposition. Every issue was raised: the racist death penalty, the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, threats to women's right to choose, the ongoing incarceration of youth, environmental justice, the environmental disaster threatened by more oil exploration, queer liberation and many more.

Not since Nixon's inauguration, during the height of the opposition to the war in Vietnam, has there been such a massive demonstration against the inauguration of a president. People came from all over California, from Colorado and from other western states to show it is a lie that the West solidly supports Bush.

One Black woman expressed a hope that with so many people so vocally opposed to him, Bush will not be able to railroad through his conservative agenda. Clearly it is a fear of what he might be able to do that motivated tens of thousands to come out to protest against him. In the midst of California's energy crisis, for example, Bush, representing the interests of the oil companies eager to cash in on the windfall, is expected to turn a deaf ear even to the businesses that gave millions to his campaign, such as those in Silicon Valley.

At the same time, in Oakland about 200 community activists and outraged local residents wore black armbands at a rally in front of the Federal Building. All ages and ethnicities were represented.

There was another demonstration in Sacramento of over 300. A demonstrator said that Bush's "victory" might have a silver lining: that it did mobilize a huge opposition against him and his ideas. The bitter election drove home the point that America is not a democracy. There is a hope that capitalist ideology itself can become challenged as people ask what kind of democracy do we need to create. It's not just a matter of voting standards in Florida, or getting rid of the anti-democratic Electoral College.

-Urszula Wislanka and David Mizuno'Oto

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LOS ANGELES

Five to seven thousand people gathered at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles to protest George W. Bush's presidency on Inauguration Day. Many that addressed the crowd were liberal reformists: a spokesperson for the NAACP, one for the National Organization for Women, a rabbi, a Santa Monica city councilman, and U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Actor Ed Asner was the event's M.C.

Others whom I heard included a speaker from the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. One speaker talked about monopoly capitalism and another about Mexican and indigenous issues.

The protesters, in high spirits, marched through downtown to the Federal Building. The sidewalks were filled with smiling onlookers, mostly Mexicans and poor people of other ethnicities. The marchers were mostly white but included significant numbers of Blacks, Browns and Asians. They included longtime leftists of various tendencies and many new activists, including Greens, environmentalists and Screen Actors Guild Members. Their ages ranged from youths to spunky elderly.

Signs made by individuals read "Free Mumia," "No more Gary Grahams," "Not my president," and "Hail to the Thief."

-Basho