The Battle of Berkeley Spreads to the Suburbs

The following report was written by a youth WCW activist in the Bay Area. March 17, 2008

A group of youth from Contra Costa County who have been inspired by what’s gone on in Berkeley organized a protest March 12 at a recruiting station in Pleasant Hill. We arrived at the strip mall recruiting station around 2 PM.  There were actually several recruiting offices there – one each for the Army, the Navy, and the Marines.

About 30 of us — mostly youth from Concord, Walnut Creek, and
Pleasant Hill — gathered in front.  We also had two vets with us, one
an Army Special Forces vet from the Contra wars in El Salvador and the
other a 21 year old Army Conscientious Objector.  Many of the youth put
on orange jumpsuits as WCW activists explained the meaning behind
them.  Students from Diablo Valley Community College (DVC) held up a
sign that read,

“Students not Soldiers!”

The chanting began:

“One, Two, Three, Four, We don’t want your fuckin’ war!”

“What are they recruiting for?  Murder, Rape, Torture, War!”

“Fallujah, Haditha, Guantanamo Bay.  This is the truth the recruiters don’t say!”

And when the news vans for channels a couple of local stations came out, our energy increased of course.  Only a couple of recruiters bothered to come outside, but didn’t have much to say beyond some standard rhetoric about the good deeds the military was doing rebuilding Iraq (you mean funneling money to Halliburton while they’re destroying the entire country?).  When a small group walked over to the street corner at a busy intersection in front of the mall, they received an large amount of supportive honks.

After a little while we decided to take a spontaneous march through DVC.  Not many students were around, but the few that were seemed stunned by the sight of this orange jump suited group chanting about the 5th anniversary of the war in their quiet suburb.  Still, as we marched through campus, about 4 people joined us on the spot.  After we passed through DVC, we headed for a nearby mall!

As we approached Macy’s, we came up with the chant, “Stop the shopping while bombs are dropping!”  Within a few seconds of entering, the Macy’s managers were going crazy, yelling at us and attempting to block our path through the perfume section, so we re-routed through the jewelry section, but were eventually forced out into the parking lot.  The manager actually followed us out and attempted to grab one of the youth.  But we managed to free him, chanting louder than ever, “Stop the shopping while bombs are dropping.”  The mall security belligerently screamed at us, tailed us as we made our way back to the recruiting station.  As we walked down the street, the leaders of the DVC

college Republicans drove by and threw water at us.  But then they got stopped at the stop light, so we had an opportunity to yell back.

Back at the recruiting station, we summed up our experience.  Even though one of the DVC organizers was a little disappointed about the turnout, most people thought today was a good day.  Over 30 energetic, orange-clad youth in a conservative suburb is significant.  In fact, if we are going to end the war, it’s going to take a lot more rebellion in places like this.  As this war drags on into its fifth year, people all over the Bay Area and beyond are heeding the call that has come from Berkeley to SHUT DOWN the war machine.

More photos – http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii58/wcantiwar/