The sky screamed blue on an unseasonably warm January day as thousands upon thousands gathered within blocks of our nation's capital were just moments away from screaming for immediate peace in Iraq.
""Today we march for the soul of our nation,"" proclaimed the Rev. Jesse Jackson, in a rich, booming voice.
Jackson continued his speech to convince the protestors that a revolution must spread to many issues—more jobs, more job training, more housing, more drug rehab—in his resounding thunder, a contemporary take on Martin Luther King Jr.
""Keep hope alive, Let's march!"" screamed Jackson. Flailing their colorful anti-war signs, the crowd raised their voices to compete with Jackson's words.
As the reverend poured fuel onto the activists and the activists sparked, the whole scene caught fire: People were stomping the ground, burning the White House with their eyes, restless to march.
One hundred sixty-two Madison students and area activists met in the blistering cold Friday afternoon at Memorial Union to pile into three coach buses and take part in the Jan. 27 March for Peace, in Washington and sponsored by the group United Peace for Justice. They were meant to join activists from hundreds of groups across the nation opposed to President Bush's Iraq policy.
The thousands who gathered to march in Washington can be divided into seven broad categories: the Veterans, the System Fighters, the Moderates, the Faces, the Clever Activists, the Beat Activists and the Counter-Protesters.
The Veterans
Todd Dennis, a UW-Madison senior majoring in mechanical and physical engineering, marched with Iraq Veterans Against War. He said his organization has 400 members worldwide who have either served or are serving in Iraq and that the group tripled membership in the last year. Dennis, a big guy wearing work boots and a don't-mess-with-me goatee, was hopeful for his group's cause after gaining 12 new members at the rally.
Several hours into the march, a frail-looking old man holding a modest sign reading, ""WWII vets against escalation"" inched up the street, surrounded by wailing protestors. Phil Miller, the quiet veteran carrying the sign, marched in his original World War II army uniform.
""The war is really a violation of international law. It's a preemptive war and it's turning the world against us,"" he said.
Miller's subtle demeanor and genuine nature gave him the air of a wise man. He said he supported American intervention in WWII, but to this day, finds the bombing of Hiroshima immoral. His division would have been the first to land in Japan had the bomb not dropped.
If Miller represents the wisdom often attributed to WWII veterans, then Memphis, Tenn. native James Akins represents the troubled Vietnam veteran.
""I was in Vietnam, man, I've been through this shit before. It's just a repeat—dAcjA vu,"" Akins said, breathing heavy, perspiring and appearing agitated at Codepink—the group of women leading the march.
""The organizers should have let the Veterans for Peace and Iraqi Vets against the war be ahead of those pussies up there!"" Akins shouted. ""They never served in the military!""
The disgruntled veteran continued to shout obscenities at Codepink while breathing harder and harder as he walked uphill. Vietnam, it appeared, still haunts this man deeply.
The System Fighters
About a dozen Madison socialists rode the bus, joining hundreds with similar ideologies at the march.
Chris Dols, a UW-Madison senior and member of the Campus Anti-War Network—the group that organized the bus rides from Madison to D.C.—stressed the importance of veterans marching against the war.
""This demonstration showed that the troops aren't all pro-war,"" he said.
Dols, wearing baggy blue jeans, a red baseball cap, simple blue sweatshirt and Elvis Costello-style black rimmed glasses, said he has his heart-set on extending his college years long enough to spark social change with his activism. The most visibly passionate socialist on the bus, Dols was driven to tears while speaking of the difficulty of recruiting veterans into the anti-war movement.
UW-Madison graduate Terry Schmidt, a chirpy socialist heavily involved with the International Socialist Organization said she considers soldiers part of the working class.
""We want all the working class on our side so we can act in our interests,"" Schmidt said. She railed against the capitalist government, then later offered copies of a socialist newspaper to bus riders in exchange for a $1 donation.
Another man on the bus was much less outspoken. His name is John Kiefer, an organic dairy farmer from Sauk Prairie, Wis. dressed in a hemp sweatshirt, worn jeans and farm boots. Though his long hair was graying, his spirit was vibrant.
He called organic farming ""a way of fighting the whole system,"" and was planning on meeting up with fellow members of the group Farms Not Arms.
Kiefer achieved an almost Zen state, especially when he strummed his acoustic guitar and blew fiercely on his harmonica.
The Moderates
""President Bush is dictating a policy against a majority of what Americans want in this country,"" said Wes Bledsoe, a victims-rights advocate from Oklahoma who wove his state flag, wore cowboy boots and Wrangler jeans, spoke with a twang, and was a conservative throughout the Vietnam war.
""I'm not for a Democrat, not for a Republican, I'm for what's best for America,"" Bledsoe said.
Others who walked a more moderate political path included a ""Bush country"" Texan, Chris Jackson, and Amir Gautarzi, a freshman from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Gautarzi said that due to the circumstances we find ourselves in, pulling out now would not work. ""Now it's kind of just fucked up, so you pull out now and things get even more fucked up."" Gautarzi marched to protest Bush's State of the Union proposal of a 21,500-troop increase.
Thirty-seven white banners, each eight feet long, were filled with the handwritten names of soldiers who died in Iraq. They served as a stark reminder of the rising death toll in Iraq.
The project started with a single name on a single banner.
The Faces
Politicians and celebrities rallied the crowd before the march. Several members of Congress, including Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, were present to support the march. Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, took advantage of the event to plug his 2008 campaign, offering a ""12-point plan"" for a successful withdrawal from Iraq.
Actress Jane Fonda, a controversial activist during the Vietnam War, recalled her earlier protests.
""Silence is no longer an option,"" Fonda said.
She was joined by fellow Hollywood staple activists Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.
The Clever Activists
Several marchers stood out as being laid back and even humorous in their opposition to the war.
Illinois native Andrew Seda held a sign reading, ""Impeachment—not just for blowjobs anymore."" Straight-faced, Seda puffed a cigar.
Codepink, a group of women against the war, offered its slogan throughout the day: ""We women say ‘Pull out now!'""
Another sign reading, ""Iraq â_ new way to spell Vietnam,"" drew chuckles from spectators.
The Beat Activists
Dance 4 Peace, a group of freshmen from Baltimore, Md., did just that—dancing to all genres of music throughout the day, bringing smiles to protesters' faces.
Playing marching band-style toms, congo drums and even a water jug, the group Jamming for Justice also used rhythm, but created their own. Their music drew a large crowd seemingly entranced by the beat.
The Counter-Protesters
For every protest, there is inevitably a counter-protest. This held true in the form of about 50 groups holding pro-Bush signs and calling the marchers, ""commies,"" among other things.
One of the counter-protesters held a sign that read, ""Osama was a piece of ass. Clinton would have nailed him.""
Also among the group was an amputee Iraqi war veteran named Josh who smoked a cigar and said, ""We're here to support America.""
A particularly vocal activist, Jeff Gallagher, said his reason for being at the protest was because, he ""feels that these people don't get it. They're fitting themselves for a burka.""
Gallagher, a Silverspring, Md., resident with a boisterous shout, was at the protest on behalf of freerepublic.com. He said he was willing to go ""wherever the war on terror takes us. Muslim terrorists, Irish terrorists, Columbian terrorists, I'm for taking them all.""
Police had to frequently stop marchers from confronting Gallagher.
Police officers in the area said the event went according to plan, except when temporary barricades were ripped down by protesters â_"" commonplace for large protests. Some marchers attempted to rush the White House, but were quickly stopped by Capitol police.
At times the march seemed to be a celebration of the right of free speech and peaceful assembly. The marchers, differing in race, religion, education, and even political beliefs, came together to send a clear message to those in power: ""Bring home the troops!""
