Seattle Peace March on January 27th

Assembling on Union Street

I had the pleasure to walk with many others through the Central District of Seattle, an older neighborhood that still sports a racially diverse population, on Saturday January 27th in solidarity with other Peace Marchers across the country and in solidarity with US Troops serving in Iraq.

I took some cell phone camera pic's along the way.  Sorry about the lack of quality, especially on the 1st and final pics as the camera seemed to automatically select a lower rez setting.

I'm guess-timating that there were over 1,000 marchers and maybe up to 3,000.  I'm not good at judging numbers of a crowd.  One of the walkers was my delightful niece, Natalie (sorry no pic's) who got to enjoy her first protest march at the age of 5.

The march ended at the Langston Hughes Theatre where a jam packed crowd (with full overflow room and many more outside listening on loudspeaker) heard Lieutenant Ehren Watada give a great speech.  He is up on charges of desertion for refusing to deploy on a second tour in Iraq on the basis that the War is an illegal one.  Google his name and you will find the back-story.

3 blocks of marchers along 23rd Avenue

Bush, Condi & Gates on the chain gang

Turning onto MLK Jr Way

Packed house for Lt. Ehren Watada

UPDATE: tosscandy did a very nice photo diary, as well.  Here... http://www.dailykos.com/...

Cross-posted on My Left Wing.

•  Tip jar

  Hey, if any of the other Seattle-ites were there, please ring in and let us know of your experience, too.

  by rustydude on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 11:30:13 PM PDT

•  Oh! You had me with the Seattle photos,

  since I have a daughter there and also love every single pic diary
  about this Saturday; then you along came with Lt. Watada...

  Thank you and aloha.

  by begone on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 11:38:31 PM PDT

•  Love the Chain Gang!

  by epppie on Sun Jan 28, 2007 at 11:38:46 PM PDT

  •  Is that Cheney or Gates on the end?

    ....that's a great pic.

    by AmericanRiverCanyon on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 02:37:27 AM PDT

    •  Gates

      I had to double take on it, but the spectacles seemed to indicate Gates.

      by rustydude on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 07:35:30 AM PDT

•  Blue skies for Seattle...

  light rain in Los Angeles - go figure - it really wasn't bad at all down on Southern end of the left coast.  You can see evidence of a few rain drops on the little girls placard below.  It was just starting to rain at that time.  A few drops and folks were whipping out there umbrellas.

  I love your photo of the puppet chain gang - Al Rogers posted similar images from a previous protest, but I though it was in New York.

  
  Downtown, Los Angeles

  `````
  peace
  
  

  by peace voter on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 01:13:51 AM PDT

•  Was there.

  Thought the march was very small, disappointed as such. Was that all the people in the Seattle area who could be bothered?

  Some very creative signs. Some very heartfelt signs.

  Having been at the pre-war "Don't Invade" march through downtown Seattle, My Oh My. That was just something. Hugest march I've ever been in.  

  by AllisonInSeattle on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 02:12:19 AM PDT

  •  I'm in the Seattle are and I didn't go

    My wife was sick and I had to take care of both her and the baby.

    But I wouldn't have gone anyway, because I don't think the protests as they're organized now will be effective.

    The organizers of the marches seem to fit into two categories: irrelevant old-school leftists, and well-intentioned but poorly organized liberal. There's a reason the big marches have had ANSWER participation--they're better at mobilizing people. But the result is always tainted by the laundry list of unrelated demands that such activists bring to the table. But the other organizers don't seem to have any influence in the wider community at all. The local newspapers and blogs, including the anti-war weeklies, barely mentioned the protests. There was no buzz on the street about what was about to happen. Maybe there's something going on at the universities, but it's not something that's getting out to the rest of the community.

    It's possible that groups are trying to reach out, but aren't connecting because people in the community don't feel personally invested. This war has no draft, and so most people don't have a direct connection. That makes the whole thing abstract.

    Those who have gone to previous protests, particularly the pre-war ones that were so huge, are fighting against a feeling of learned helplessness. If that didn't work, why would anything work now after all that's happened?

    I also think that the war is just a symptom of a broader crisis of democracy, and there's a futility in fighting a symptom of something that's so much larger. If we had a democratic government, the war would be over already. The very government that is supposedly the audience for these protests does not care.

    Given the current government, a symbolic protest is nothing more than a feel-good guesture. Our energies are best left to organizing a real political opposition.

    But, if there is a place for protest, it needs to be more than symbolic. We need to engage in direct action. An effective DC protest would surround the Capitol and refuse to leave until its demands were met. Or it would gather to support a coordinated response in Congress. If we want to cut off funding, then we need to find allies in Congress who will push forward the bill, and THEN we mobilize people in the streets to support that bill. If the bill fails, then people have to be willing to blockade the Capitol and stall the business of Congress until demands are met.

    Local actions should similarly target local power centers that contribute to the war.

    You do this, and advertise it so that everyone everywhere knows it's going down, is talking about it, and is looking forward to it, and I'll be back on the streets with you.

    by seaprog on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 03:32:30 PM PDT

    •  When you're not taking care of your family...

      Given the current government, a symbolic protest is nothing more than a feel-good guesture. Our energies are best left to organizing a real political opposition.

      Can you expand a little on how your energies are spent?  This is a serious question.  I am attempting to take your criticism seriously.  You seem to imply you know how our energies should be spent, so I'm trying to figure out how you are leading by example.

      by rustydude on Thu Feb 01, 2007 at 07:13:39 AM PDT

      •  Sorry, I just saw this

        Real political opposition means just that--a change in our politics so that there's a force within government opposing the war. The main avenue for that is elected officials, primarily those in the Democratic Party. We need to get rid of the current government and ensure that the Democrats that replace it end the war.

        To that end, I'm a PCO in the local Democratic Party, working to change the party for the better from the bottom up. I also consistently apply pressure on Democratic election officials through letters and phone calls expressing my opinion. They have to know there is a constituency for change, on this and on other issues. These are small things, but a bunch of small things add up to a big thing. I contribute money to candidates and elected officials who do the right thing. I'm a member and supporter of the ACLU, which is doing a lot to address the crisis in our democracy.

        In the long run, we need to make the Democratic Party a truly democratic party. If elected officials reflected the people of this country, and were truly accountable to us, we wouldn't have the national political crisis that we have.

        I'm a new parent so I don't have a lot of time left over after that, but other areas that are fruitful include any organizations inside or out of government that hold government accountable, and work for social justice. Collectively, that's how you build a movement to stop this war. Holding marches without the follow-through isn't effective.

        The most important things I do are personal, not political. I commute 25 miles a day by bicycle, and I'm working to reduce my other trips by car. I am changing my life so that I contribute to the war as little as possible.

        by seaprog on Mon Feb 05, 2007 at 04:27:49 PM PDT

•  great photo of the chain gang

  I didn't get a chance to get a picture of them.  Thanks for the link too.

  by tosscandy on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 05:10:29 PM PDT