Rally shuts down part of Market Street
John Koopman and Marisa Lagos, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writers
San Francisco Chronicle, Thursday, October 5, 2006
10-05) 14:24 PDT SAN FRANCISCO —
Hundreds of people have shut down westbound Market Street in a protest
against the Bush administration and the war in Iraq.
Protesters said they want President George Bush out of office and
American troops out of Iraq, and many carried signs, wore T-shirts and
chanted slogans such as “Impeach Bush” or “Bush get out.”
The protesters began with a noon rally at Justin Herman Plaza and
spanned about six city blocks during their march down Market Street. They
planned to end the march at Civic Center plaza.
A police spokesman said that as of 2:15 p.m., there had been no
arrests and the march appeared to be peaceful.
Attendees ranged from high school students who said they had ditched
class to attend the rally to bearded older men. One man carried a sign that
read, “Citizens with portfolios against the war.”
“We believe the Bush regime should stay out of Iraq and end the
occupation. We should worry more about helping people around the world
instead of fighting for oil,” said Sonya Guadalupe of Berkeley, summing up
the statements of many marchers. “I’m not a radical, I’m just concerned
about the kind of world my daughter will live in.”
The organizers, World Can’t Wait — Drive Out the Bush Regime,
planned demonstrations today in 150 cities across the United States and in
Canada and Switzerland. At least 70 of the demonstrations were being held
in “red” cities — those that lean conservative poltically, organizers
said.
Word of the protests has largely spread through Internet —
including a social gathering spot on MySpace, as part of a push to recruit
younger people. In the Bay Area, the group has distributed flyers at some
high schools, telling students to “stay in school if you like Bush.”
The group saw a surge of support from red states, and $100,000 in
donations, after taking out ads last month in USA Today and the New York
Times, national coordinator Debra Sweet said.
It’s the second time the organization has staged national protests: in
November 2005, there were demonstrations in 70 cities. Ten people were
arrested at the San Francisco protest, which attracted about 2,000 people.
One of the 10 suspects was allegedly found carrying several Molotov
cocktails after such a device was thrown at The Chronicle’s building.
The World Can’t Wait’s founders included supporters of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, but in the past year the list of backers on
its Web site has grown to 24,000 names. They include actors Sean Penn,
Olympia Dukakis and Mark Ruffalo; writers Studs Terkel and Alice Walker;
state Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco; and Bay Area “protest mom”
Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004.
E-mail the writers at jkoopman@sfchroncile.com and mlagos@sfchronicle.com
