Actions against the Bush Regime were held across the country, demanding an end to the war in Iraq, and no U.S. attacks on Iran. Small numbers of students from Brattleboro Vermont to Chicago to Houston left school, wearing orange. In the Seattle area, hundreds of students walked out and demonstrated in events called by the Iraq Moratorium. In the San Francisco Bay Area, a waterboarding demonstration on the University of California campus drew hundreds of spectators who witnessed a dramatic portrayal of the reality the Bush government is sponsoring. Everywhere people wearing orange went throughout the country, they encountered enthusiastic support and generated important controversy about the wars the Bush Regime is waging and a war it is planning. But the events of Nov. 16 drew far fewer people than needed to make a powerful impact on – to actually change – the dangerous course Bush & Co. are driving the world. A surge of resistance is urgently needed.
Some initial accounts and highlights
San Francisco – “A lot of students showed up to the rally we had at Sproul Plaza – about 300, plus more passing by. Since we organized it on relatively short notice, most probably came off seeing posters around that read, “The new Attorney General Michael Mukasey is not sure whether waterboarding is torture or not” watch and decide for yourself.” Students were very transfixed on waterboarding demo, and it seemed to have struck a nerve. Several students commented that they definitely don’t agree with torture, and they think it’s ridiculous that people are debating whether waterboarding is torture or not. Many others just came to check it out, and many students actually had not known what waterboarding was until they saw it. Many signed up to with WCW to get involved.” (Wednesday, November 14)
November 16 – “After a fairly broad effort at outreach which included paid ad spots on 960 Green radio (local Air America affiliate) for two days, announcements on KPFA (local Pacifica station), passing out many, many leaflets on BART (subway) trains, some phone banking, and leafleting at the earlier UC Berkeley “waterboarding” event – we did not get quite the turnout we’d hoped for. A determined group of about three dozen people showed up at the military recruiting station. But where were all the other thousands of people who heard about this protest? Are they all in support of Bush bombing Iran? Of course they’re not…
“There was a beautiful photo display of portraits of ordinary Iranians, the very people who are now living in the crosshairs of our government with a big banner that asked bluntly: “These people are alive today in Iran. They could be killed or maimed if the U.S. bombs fall. WILL YOU ACT NOW TO PREVENT THIS WAR CRIME FROM HAPPENING?”
We also set up the waterboard right outside the recruiters” front door, displayed with an empty orange jumpsuit and a black hood lying on it, clearly representing the victims of U.S.-sanctioned torture. Our huge color photos of the infamous torture at Abu Ghraib stood along the sidewalk. In addition, taped to the recruiters” front windows was boldly lettered signage directed against the Bush regime, demanding: Iraq, Get Out: Iran, Stay Out: Bush & Cheney, Drive Out!
We marched back and forth, chanting, with our dynamic picket signs, occasionally halting the rush hour traffic. All passers-by took note. Although this is a fairly well-to-do area – flanking The City’s financial district — there were quite a few peace signs flashed and occasional outbreaks of supportive horn-honking.”
Chicago – “The build up for the November 16th Iraq Moratorium and No attack On Iran reverberated on different campuses and levels throughout the week ” DePaul students held street theater on Wednesday using the orange torture suits on campus to challenge people to act on Friday as a part of the Iraq Moratorium and stop the attack on Iran. ”
On Thursday The Chicago World Can’t Wait students group and Students for a Democratic Society held a press conference and rally. Three students arrested and brutalized on October 27th were present as well as three of the Morton West High Students who had been threatened with expulsion for a sit-in they staged at their school on November 1st . ”
“Mother McCauley, an all-girls Catholic high school on the south side, was full
of orange-taped students and teachers on Friday. Students wrote messages like
‘no war on Iran’ on the orange tape and wore it all day long on their clothes, foreheads, bags, and bodies (waiting for the student organizer there to send the awesome pictures she showed us; one whole class took a group photo all wearing the tape). ”
“On Friday we estimated the number of students who showed up to resist and declare their opposition to the Iraq war and the ever looming threat of an attack on Iran was about 50. People converged at the Military Recruitment station at the University Center near Columbia College. From the beginning the crowd was very orange. We then proceeded to snake through downtown Chicago, chanting slogans of No attack on Iran!, No Justice No Peace-U.S. Out of the Middle East, Resist, Resist, Raise Up Your Fist-We”re Gonna Drive Out U.S. Fascists, and many others. ”
“Dick Reilly of Indymedia and Movement for a Democratic Society spoke about the resistance of the Morton West High Students and how due to overwhelming support and protest the threat of expulsion for those who participated in the sit-in on November 1st were dropped. He went on to talk about the continued and growing resistance Olympia Port despite arrests and police brutality and how this is sparking a wave of resistance along the West Coast. He underscored how this wave must move across the country. We then had people in the plaza link arms and take the pledge in a call and response style. The rally ended with a final die-in in the plaza.”
Other events initiated by World Can’t Wait/Drive Out the Bush Regime took place in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Bakersfield CA., and other cities.
Seattle Chapter (excerpts)
Youth Against War And Racism held a walkout November 16, they had been building for this walkout for about 8 months. About 35 schools participated in the Seattle area and there were around 1300 students at the rally.
Students really liked the idea of the pledge and wearing orange. We ended up running out of orange supplies because people wanted to take handfuls to give to people they knew.
We were able to set up a table with a visual presentation of the quiz, along with orange buttons we had made that said No Attack on Iran: Declare It
Now! Our table would sometimes have groups of people wanted to know what the orange was about.
We went into the crowd and got contacts of people and handed out the pledge. The best strategy we found when there are large groups of people is to saturate the crowd with the orange first, and then point them in the direction of the table to take the quiz. We talked about how we need this at every school, every workplace, everyday until Bush is driven from office and the war is stopped.
We asked students how they felt about being lied to about Iran and the history of this country and they said that they felt very angry.
A couple of high school women volunteered to help us pass out the pledge cards in the crowd and get out orange to people. Another group was passing out fliers to have an emergency protest in case the U.S. attacks Iran. We talked to one of the men from this group about how our mission must be to stop an attack on Iran before it happens.
New York City, November 16, Orange Alert: At 1pm 50 people representing World Can’tWait, Code Pink, Movement for a Democratic Society, Students for a Democratic Society, Grannies Against the War, and others joined in a press conference on the steps of City Hall. Six rousing speeches about ending the war in Iraq, not attacking Iran, and driving out the Bush regime along with two pledges to resist an attack on Iran where given in the presence of Columbia University Press and WBAI Pacifica Radio. Enlarged photos of one of the speaker’s family in Iran were used to demonstrate the human aspect of what is at risk if Iran were attacked. WBAI aired part of the conference on the radio later in the day. At 3pm World Can’t Wait joined the Iraq Moratorium in a joint effort with Students from several Colleges and High Schools. Black armbands, orange bandannas, and fist placards identified the protesters. A spirited contingent of John Jay College students dressed in orange jumpsuits led the march from Union Square to midtown. Raucus chants of “Whose Streets; Our Streets” echoed as over 100 protesters left the sidewalks and took over the streets during rush hour traffic. The march, a resistance tour of midtown, stopped along the way at offices of war profiteers and criminals with a final destination at the Military Recruiting Center in Times Square. Each stop along the way was an opportunity for people to express their outrage at what is happening in our name and hope for a future without imperialist wars and fascist agendas.
The crowds gave fists and peace signs as we passed. What’s clearly needed now is for all those supporters and observers on the sidelines to join in the movement to end the war in Iraq, to prevent an attack on Iran, and to drive out the war criminals. We still have a great deal of work to do. If only those supporters on the sidelines were wearing orange they too would have been part of the demonstration.