10,000 demonstrators
converged at the corner of Hollywood and Vine on
a balmy seventy-degree day in Los Angeles, and marched the streets of Hollywood to the sound of drums with a
churning determination. The crowd reflected a variety of perspectives, from
urging others to achieve inner peace, and running a full spectrum all the way
to demanding an end to the war and impeachment, of not just Bush and Cheney,
but of the entire regime. “The whole gang!” one man kept calling to the crowd,
as they responded with wild shouts of agreement. There were young and old, families with baby
strollers, and representatives from Asian, Middle Eastern, Latino, and Chicano
groups. There were Democrats, Greens,
Teachers, Religious groups and Progressive Democrats.
World Can’t Wait was there
in full spirited force, with a contingent that was led by orange jumpsuited
activists in hoods (to represent Guantanamo detainees), followed by big orange
drums beating out a rhythm to the chants that were full voiced and loud. “STOP IRAQ WAR, NO IRAN WAR, IMPEACH! IMPEACH! IMPEACH
CHENEY AND BUSH!” Behind them came “the
Bush Regime”; huge paper machet heads of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rice worn
by new WCW volunteers with black and white striped prison suits. Other activists would shout…”Look out! Criminals on the loose!” The crowd would hiss
and boo, as chanting would switch to “CRIMINALS! CRIMINALS! IMPEACH THE
CRIMINALS!”
We got out over 200 placards. People took up stacks of the Call to Drive
Out the Bush Regime from us as we pulled a wagon full of them in front of our
contingent. 10,000 Calls were distributed throughout the day. At stops during
the march, crowds would circle the orange jumpsuited torture victims as another
activist with a bullhorn would scream at them to get on their knees and look at
the ground, and then indicate which prisoner would be waterboarded,
electrically shocked or horribly abused in some other way, by order of the Bush
regime. Each time we did this, a number of photographers would kneel or lay in
front of the victims and take pictures. We would turn to the crowd and say,
“This is what is being done in your name!
Torture is now legal! Will you
stand silently by, as people are tortured in your name? ” A horrified silence would be replaced by a
chant of “HELL NO! NOT IN OUR NAME! and
then JOIN US! JOIN US! THE WORLD Can’t WAIT! DRIVE OUT THE BUSH REGIME”. The
victims would stand, the call would be distributed, and the march continued.
Response to the orange
jumpsuits was profound. People who had
silently watched, would approach us after a scene and tell us that the image
was disturbing and unforgettable. Many had not fully understood the
implications of the MCA, as well as there were many who did not know that it
even existed. They were horrified. We collected donations, as well as distributed
many stacks of Calls to folks who now felt charged to take responsibility for
spreading the word about this, and the World Can’t Wait call to impeach for
crimes against humanity. One woman said
that impeachment was not enough, that she felt this criminal regime should
spend the rest of their lives in jail.
At our booths, some people
made plans for house parties when they bought the Bush Crimes Commission and Voices
of Impeachment DVDs, while others talked with Dennis Loo, co-editor of
“Impeach the President: The Case
against Bush & Cheney”.
Martin Sheen marched with Veterans for Peace, carrying one
of many coffins representing soldier
deaths in Iraq. He spoke out against the troop surge and
immorality of this war on the podium
later in the day. Ozomatli took
the stage after that and performed for
the crowd, calling on folks to resist and repudiate the Bush agenda. Jackson Brown took the stage after that with
an inspiring version of “Guns of War.”
Near the end of the rally program,
our World Can’t Wait speaker, Reverend Meri KaRa took the podium with an
invigorating and concise message. A
torture victim in orange jumpsuit and hood knelt near him on the stage. He
spoke of the awakening of students on campus, and of the upcoming student
strikes. The crowd cheered. He spoke of the urgency of this moment, and began a
chant of the “2008 IS WAY TOO LATE!
THE WORLD Can’t WAIT!” The crowd took up the chant with him. Their
interest and energy seemed inspired as Meri Ka Ra urged them to take up this
important movement to Drive Out the Bush Regime and Impeach for War Crimes and
Crimes Against Humanity!
One new member of our World Can’t
Wait chapter had marched in the orange jumpsuit contingent, as well as
distributed calls and took donations throughout the day. She reported to us that she felt so empowered
by moral certitude, the march, and the response of the crowd, that she could not
bring herself to remove her orange jumpsuit.
She rode the metro home and handed out her tall stack of calls, one by
one, in full torture victim costume, while the train sped under and through the
city.