Small but determined group protests in Marietta
By Sam Shawver, sshawver@mariettatimes.com, 10/6/06
No work. No school. Protest in the streets Oct. 5.”
A
handful of protesters took that message, from The World Can’t Wait!
Drive Out the Bush Regime Web site, to the corner of Third and Putnam
streets in Marietta on Thursday.
I just learned about
worldcantwait.net a few days ago, but my hands were shaking over the
“torture bill” Congress passed last Thursday,” said James Gawthrop, 53,
of Marietta, referring to the recently approved Military Commissions
Act of 2006.
“Now the Bush administration can detain anybody
suspected of being a terrorist indefinitely. They can use secret
evidence to hold you. They can even use torture,” he said.
Gawthrop
was one of 10 protesters standing along Putnam Street, most carrying
The World Can’t Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime placards bearing the
national organization’s logo, a globe with the upper hemisphere in
flames.
The organization had scheduled similar protests in more than 180 cities across the country on Thursday.
“Some
people are here to protest the war, some are against global warming,
some are against the budget deficit,” Gawthrop said. “Our goal is to
become a big enough tidal wave of people to drive the Bush
administration out of power. There’s a sense of urgency now. The
ordinary means aren’t working.
“People showing up every two to four years and voting Republican or Democrat just isn’t going to get it this time,” he said.
Gawthrop
compared the protest to similar peaceful gatherings by civil rights
groups focused on changing American attitudes in the 1960s.
Standing
under a pink umbrella nearby was Janie Poe, 50, from New Martinsville,
W.Va. On the front of her t-shirt were the words “Code Pink, Women for
Peace.”
“I”ve been talking with many young people, and I’m
impressed,” she said. “Listen to young people. They”re very concerned
about their future, and they”re very informed.”
Poe held a sign that read “The America I believe in doesn’t believe in torture. www.amnestyusa.org.”
“I
was asked to represent Amnesty USA,” she said. “They”re really trying
to do something. But the only one in the U.S. that is doing something
is the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). And they”re being labeled
as Nazis.”
Poe, who’s been involved with such protests since
George Bush Sr. was president, was also concerned about the recently
passed Military Commissions Act of 2006.
“Every time I go out to stand on a street I have to pray that I won’t be detained,” she said. “It’s legal now.
“This whole regime is poison, they all need to be impeached,” Poe said of the Bush administration.
“How
could any decent American sign on for torture?” she asked. “I’m
concerned for my grandchildren and our future. This is our country, we
fund it and we should run it. And it’s not too late.”
Poe said she was heartened Thursday afternoon when three school buses loaded with small children passed her corner.
“All those babies gave us the peace sign,” she said.