Excerpted from a report by Vern and Joyce Naffier, members of Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa, Inc., about their trip to DC last weekend for the march on the Pentagon:
The media was out in full force, and so were the riot police. The whole demonstration was very non-violent but forceful and highly motivating. An interesting experience that many of us had was to find ourselves, while touring the mall for a couple of hours Saturday morning– rather unexpectedly – in the middle of a tough and mean pro-Bush pro-war crowd that had organized in large numbers to counter demonstrate against the peace group. We were of course carrying our peace and anti-Bush signs in their midst – and the consequence was not a very pretty one.
We were shoved and spat upon. They angrily shouted in our faces calling us f..k’n cowards, traitors and communists. It’s a real education to see so much hatred and ugliness gathered together in one place and to find yourself in the middle of it. We got out of their area as quickly as possible, which was not easy – being pushed and escorted by their marshals although a couple of our peace people insisted on staying behind and arguing with the war hawks.
Most of the counter demonstrators seemed to be brawny and strapping Vietnam vets and bikers in their black leather jackets, head bands and sun glasses, although there were also many equally tough looking female cohorts in the crowd. All of them waving American flags. During the peace march, they lined the route on both sides of us shouting expletives at us.
The riot police stood between us and them, and I think there was only one incident in which the police had to intercede.It was a relief and a very reassuring feeling to get back into the large and excited pro-peace crowd, which outnumbered the pro-war gang.
Apparently, assaulting elderly people is as American as apple pie these days. In Colorado Springs last weekend, 80-year-old peace activist Elizabeth Fineron lost her pants when the local police dragged her through the street. She and 34 other members of the Justice and Peace Commission [20 March] were attempting to march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade as part of ‘The Bookman’ contingent, “a local business owned by Commission chairman Eric Verlo.” The business had a permit and according to Des Moines Catholic Worker Frank Cordaro, who’d been invited by the commission to participate in a panel on civil disobedience that weekend, “The Bookman people are peace folks and they have been part of the parade the last couple of years. This year, as they did last year, folks marching with the Bookman mobile wore green T-shirts with the peace sign on the back and front. We also held peace banners.”