Anti-war marches draw tens of thousands nationwide

Carrying signs such as "US Out of Iraq Now! No War on Iran!" "Bring My Soldier Home" and "Money for Education Not War," between 10,000-45, 000 anti-war protesters marched in the rain in New York. It was one of 11 such protests around the country taking place in cities from Los Angeles to Boston on Saturday, Oct. 27. "We're doing a national demonstration in the form of regional action," said Leslie Cagan, national coordinator for the activist group United for Peace and Justice, a co-organizer of the protests. "We know opposition to the war is widespread, so instead of inviting everyone to march on Washington, we're trying to make it as easy as possible for a large number of people to be out on the streets." But getting people out on the streets has proved increasingly difficult since the large protests leading up to war. In the spring of 2003, hundreds of thousands turned out to march in New York, Washington and elsewhere, but those numbers have dropped off sharply in the past couple of years. Police estimated a crowd of 10,000 braved a rainstorm in NYC that may have kept others at home. United for Peace and Justice estimated that 45,000 marched in New York. In Los Angeles and San Francisco, organizers said about 15,000 turned out for the protests. For those who braved the rain in New York -- where fellow protesters chanted "End the War Now!" -- raising their voices online is no match for raising them in the streets. Michelle Haltin, 23, drove six hours from Rochester, NY, to attend the rally. "My fiancé's in Iraq," Haltin said. "There are so many people being affected by [this war]. I think if it affected [the people who are not marching] personally, then they might be here." "In private, people do believe the war should end," said Rose Kregorio, 73, who attended the protest with her husband. "Most of [the people I know] do want the war to end, but I don't know that they would necessarily come to a rally." "It's not an automatic thing -- that people are against the war, therefore they'll be out in the streets," said Conor Read, 26, a student at New York's City College who is part of the Campus Anti-War Network, a national student action group. "Sentiment doesn't necessarily translate into action," Read added. "People think, 'Well, does what I do matter? Does coming out to a protest matter?' I think it absolutely does." In San Francisco, CA, thousands of protesters fell to the pavement in a symbolic "die-in." For three minutes the demonstrators lay on the pavement, representing what organizers said were more than 1 million Iraqis killed since the war began in 2003. The protesters then resumed a march. March organizers put their number at 30,000 - old, young, workers, students, religious leaders. Police declined to give a formal estimate, but onlookers said the demonstrators definitely numbered more than 10,000. They filled up several blocks, shouting that US troops should be brought home and carrying banners decrying the war. "Silence shows compliance," Nicole Davis, a leader of the Campus Anti-War Network group, told the crowd at the San Francisco event, which was organized by the Oct. 27th Coalition of several groups. Anne Roesler, of the group Military Families Speak Out, said her son was a US soldier who had been deployed to Iraq three times and returned with post-traumatic stress disorder. "This is Congress' war," she said. "They have the blood of this war on their hands -- they are building their political careers with the blood of our loved ones and Iraqis." Labor groups made a special effort to get their members to turn out, with hundreds of workers showing up - among them sign installers, teachers, roofers, nurses, security guards and communication workers. Sharon Cornu, secretary-treasurer Central Labor Council of Alameda County, said it would be the first time that seven Bay Area labor councils -- San Francisco, Monterey Bay, North Bay, South Bay, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda -- worked together to urge members to attend the protest. "More and more union members are seeing the war's impact on our schools, transportation and health care systems because money is being spent abroad that could be spent at home," Cornu added. "We are working people -- we make things in this country, and we want to be heard," said Oakland roofer Leroy Cisneros, echoing Cornu's words about the pressing need for expenditures on education and health care. Wendy Bloom, a nurse from Children's Hospital in Oakland, said, "Our priorities are distorted. We are spending billions on an unnecessary war instead of health care." In Chicago, an estimated 10,000 people gathered at Union Park for the march to Federal Plaza. "Do not let the political leaders divide us," Veterans for Peace National Executive Director Michael McPherson, a Gulf War veteran, told the crowd. "Figure out ways to work together even though we might have some differences. We must stand together on these issues." A few hundred anti-war protesters were reported to have gathered in Philadelphia, PA. Protesters ranged from grade school-aged children to senior citizens urging support for the troops but calling on President Bush and other politicians to end funding for the Iraq War and bring US troops home. Marchers who braved severe weather during the walk of more than 30 blocks were met by people lining the sidewalks and clutching a long yellow ribbon over the final blocks before a rally Independence Mall. Rallies were also held at train stations in suburban Philadelphia for those heading to the rally. Vince Robbins, 51, of Mount Holly, NJ, said a large, organized rally should have happened long before Saturday. "Where's the outcry? Where's the horror that almost 4,000 Americans have died in a foreign country that we invaded?" Robbins said. "I'm almost as angry at the American people as I am the president. I think Americans have become apathetic and placid about the whole thing." Eileen Harrison, 69, of Philadelphia, said she believes more people would be outraged about the war if they had a personal stake. "The sad thing is, most of us don't," she said. "I think if we all had a responsibility, we would feel it." Hundreds marched from the state capitol in Salt Lake City, UT, to Washington Square, but to protesters it wasn't enough. Jill Shienberg said, "I don't understand why everyone isn't here outraged at what's being done in our name." Mayor Rocky Anderson asked, "Why do we not have these grounds full of people who will stand up and say no more to the immorality, to the illegality, to the outrages being committed?" Close to 2,000 people marched through Seattle, WA, in a protest that also brought the young and old together. Chanan Suarez Diaz, a US Navy medic who served six months in Iraq, is part of a movement of vets against the war. "We need to give them the confidence to know that the movement is behind them," Diaz said. "And as you saw here, we led the march and it's very important that we do that." And after the lives lost and the hundreds of billions spent on the war, yes it is time to do something. "I think people are getting to the point that they have had enough," protester Duncan Bond said. "They have had enough of what the administration is doing. They've had enough of Democrats not doing anything to stop things and people are very frustrated and they are glad to get out here." Two thousand people were also reported to have taken to the streets in Orlando, FL. Organizers said anti-war rallies took place in Jonesborough, TN, Los Angeles, CA, New Orleans, LA, Boston, MA and other cities around the country as well.