Peace protest underway at Capitol Campus
By Christian Hill
The Olympian, 10/5/06
OLYMPIA — A 24-hour protest that calls for the ousting of the Bush administration began with a modest turnout Thursday morning.
More than 50 people were gathered on the Capitol Campus for the
local protest timed to correspond to similar gatherings around the
United States. The World Can’t Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!, the
national organization that is the force behind the protests, said more
than 200 U.S. communities will hold protests.
The organization had encouraged citizens to skip school and work to attend a protest in their community.
A march was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. to Sylvester Park and back.
Those
in attendance not only voiced frustration with the war in Iraq, which
may see as an illegal conflict, but also they see as the Bush
administration infringing on constitutional rights.
Ward Kramer,
a 55-year-old brewery worker who lives near Lacey, held a sign while
sitting along Capitol Way that read, “Impeach Bush Save Our Democracy.”
He
said his 80-year-old father told him he’s never seen the country in
such bad shape in his lifetime. He would have joined his son at the
protest but wasn’t up for it, Kramer said.
“I’m part of the
silent majority that sits back in disgust and talks amongst ourselves
that there is something terribly wrong in this country. This
administration is destroying our country and the freedoms and attacking
people that don’t need to be attacked and killing people and — it’s
insane.”
Nearby, Kirsten Anderson, a 60-year-old semi-retired caregiver from Aberdeen, carried her grandson’s socks with her.
Of
particularly concern to Anderson is a proposed bill that spells out the
treatment of suspected terrorists doesn’t give them the right to
“habeus corpus,” that ensures detainees aren’t held in custody
indefinitely and without cause.
“I’m doing this for my
grandchildren,” said Anderson. “I’m a little old to have it be for me
and it’s the ones coming up that I care about. It’s their country, too,
especially now.”
Added Brandon Franz, a 27-year-old student at
South Puget Sound Community College “The people of America are supposed
to have the voice in what’s done, not the ruling elite.”
Nearby
a friend of Franz’s had crossed out a word on the orange ponchos
organizers made available to participants. The poncho read: “Bush Out
Now.” His friend had crossed out the “Now” with a black marker and
written “–Six Years Ago.”
There will be a “full moon peace vigil” all night before the scheduled end of the protest at 10 a.m. Friday.
Christian Hill can be reached at 360-754-5427 or at chill@theolympian.com.