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NEWS & LETTERS, September-October 2005Nation rallies against Bush's warsNew York--Thousands of anti-war activists cheered Cindy Sheehan at three talks she gave here Sept. 19 and 20. Sheehan gained sudden fame for spending the month of August, as she put it, "in a ditch" in Crawford, Texas, just outside Bush’s ranch. She was demanding to meet with him to get an explanation of his statement that her son’s death in Iraq had a "noble purpose." She and other members of "gold star" families, military families and veterans who came to Crawford then spent September touring the country. Their campaign for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq sent three busloads of speakers to 250 events in 51 cities, and culminated at the national march on Washington, D.C. Sept. 24 (see MAKE LEVEES, NOT WAR in this issue). Sheehan appeared before 2,000 people Sept. 20 at a United for Peace and Justice rally that was distinguished by several speakers, including Sheehan, calling for Bush to be impeached. Earlier in the day, she had been at a rally in Union Square that was broken up by the police for lack of a permit. Some New Yorkers had been camping in Union Square for weeks, in solidarity with the Crawford vigil. At the UFPJ rally, Sheehan described her transformation into an anti-war activist several months after her son’s death last year. She read a poem written by her daughter which she credited with moving her thoughts away from suicide to how to stop other people’s sons from being killed. She began to give speeches with Military Families Speak Out. As she campaigned to stop the war, she said: "I could see this country was ready for a change. Some people told me, ‘get a job, you hippie.’ I don’t look like a hippie! I said, ‘I have a job: to hold George Bush accountable and to end this war.’ The job doesn’t pay anything, but what better pay could there be than watching the last U.S. soldier in Iraq get off the plane that brings him home?" This summer, Sheehan decided to attend the Veterans for Peace conference in Texas. Sitting at the conference on Aug. 3, she suddenly decided to camp outside Bush’s ranch, and three days later, she began her vigil. As word spread, people from all over the country and world converged on "Camp Casey," named for her son. She estimated that 12,000 had been there, "putting their lives on hold" to fight against the war. People gave the camp everything it needed to continue, she said, because "it resonated with so many Americans who are ready to take our country back." "Hurricane Katrina proved that Bush’s reckless policies have made our country more vulnerable, not less. He cares nothing for our soldiers or the poor of New Orleans. Polls show 62% of Americans want the troops brought home. The only way we will make the world safe is to get George Bush out of office." Several speakers at the rally--veterans of Iraq and Vietnam, wives and parents of soldiers--also called for Bush’s impeachment. Some spoke of the tragic deaths of Iraqis as well as Americans, and of soldiers who survived the war but were hardened or broken men. The father of Sgt. Sherwood Baker, a National Guardsman who was killed in Baghdad, said that Guardsmen and equipment deployed in Iraq could have saved lives on the Gulf Coast after the hurricane. "This shows what the government thinks of poor and working class people," he said. "We have to fight for social justice as well as peace--it’s all connected." --Anne Jaclard * * * Memphis, Tenn.--The anti-war movement is alive, well and growing. Every Wednesday morning from 7:30 to 8:00 a dozen activists of all ages stand with our anti-war, stop Bush, and "Honk if you're against the War" signs. At times the honks become deafening as diesel trucks weigh in along with school bus drivers, city workers, and just regular folks on their way to work. The response from Black Memphians, from the beginning has been by far the greatest. When we started, we could only populate one corner of the busy intersection we stand on. But now we have spread to three. One thing that helped us was when Cindy Sheehan's camp disbanded and they came through Memphis. In a hastily pulled together action, over 60 came to support Sheehan and condemn the war at the National Civil Rights Museum. What else made a difference was the government's racist response to hurricane Katrina. After Katrina struck, not only did our demonstration grow, the response from those driving by was intense, revealing the anger that exists here against a government that, when it isn't sending people to Iraq to be killed, is letting them die at home from racism and poverty. --Anti-war protester |
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