One Year since Washington DC War Protest. Who was there?

[Scoot420fla]

My dad reminded me today that it was one year ago today that my grandma had passed away. At the time she died I had just arrived in DC to join in the War Protest where I met some of the coolest and smartest people I've had the pleasure of meeting. We were 'crazy left wing nutcases' back then as we were portrayed by media talking heads. We didn't even get any media coverage. "The war is still popular" they thought, so they didn't bother showing the 500,000+ that showed up that day as not only the Coward President but also Spineless Democrats fleed town. A few Democrats remained, but most didn't want to associate with the 'Sheehan Liberals' or 'Micheal Moore Democrats'.

Since that day Bush's approval ratings have flipped. Support of the war has flipped. Scandal after greedy scandal has been exposed. Incompetency in the extreme has shown through. Mistrust of this government is so high now that 36% of Americans believe we are being lied to about what happened on 9/11. 42% believe there is at least a cover up of some kind according to Zogby.

One year later we are poised to take our Congress back. By show of hands who was there that day? I am thoroughly convinced that it was that gathering of like minds from all over the country which gave us all the strength to get where we are now. We found out that we weren't crazy, because there were just too damn many of us. That helped us with the confidence to spread our thoughts to others in our communities. It gave us the confidence to call this 'President' for the bumbling fool that he is and know you weren't alone in thinking that, when there were many before that would not have had that confidence. While not covered in the media on any large scale, it gave a wake up call to them that we are NOT the fringe element of the democratic party that they thought we were and gave the same message to the Senators and Congress People who refused to show their support for what was percieved that the time as a 'dying movement'.

So, Im just curious, who was also there that day? To those who were, and those who should have been, here is a video commemorating that day that I made shortly after I returned from the rally:

http://www.truthstream.org/?p=66

[redwitch]

1. me

It was amazing! :hi:

[Nite Owl]

2. I was there and I can't believe it's

been a year already. There were so many people there, from all over the country and they still ask why aren't people out on the streets opposing this war? They just don't cover it when there is a huge protest so they make it not there. But we know it was.

[SharonRB]

3. I was, I was

:hi:

[countingbluecars]

4. I was there!

[WolverineDG]

5. God, has it been a year already?

I was there! :hi:

dg

[evlbstrd]

6. I was.

I was just thinking about that tonight.
Seeing the Vietnam Memorial with the temporary Iraq Memorial next to it (so many more names now!) was incredibly sobering. It made the march even more important to me.

[Blue_In_AK]

7. I was there, and it was great.

[FogerRox]

8. DC protest Alumni checking in

[Buck Turgidson]

9. Remember me?

[ThomWV]

10. I Was There

And went back 2 months later to hear Al Gore's speech on assault on our Constitution.

[countingbluecars]

14. What a speech that was!

[demnan]

11. I was there and so were a lot of DU'ers

We had a banner there. I went with a friend but briefly hooked up with our group. I think there were at least 25 or 30 who were traveling with the DU banner

[Scoot420fla]

12. wow...

just started encoding tonight countdown for a minute, checked back and already a bunch of people...lol. I had a feeling of that. It was one of the best times of my life.

[Tinksrival]

24. Did you see the pretzel balloon?

I laughed my ass off when I saw it float passed the W.H.

[Tinksrival]

58. Lots of great signs!

[abluelady]

13. I Was There

I cannot believe a year has gone by and we're still in the same place we were. Only more of our children have been killed fighting this irresponsible war.

[Scoot420fla]

17. I disagree

I mean I see what your saying as far as current policy and current atrocities are the same as before. But the whole political landscape has changed since then. Republicans are on the defensive for once. People aren't afraid of the bullying tactings of calling someone a traitor or unamerican or terrorist sympathiser for disagreeing with this administrations failed policies. One year ago that wasn't the case. Only the brave spoke out then.

[abluelady]

52. Maybe in Fla....

Here in central Virginia the George Felix Allen for Senate signs are out in full force. Glad to hear things are changing elsewhere! When you live in the middle of "red," regardless of how much internet reading you do, it is hard to see things changing. Thanks for the reminder.

[globalvillage]

15. I was there.

:hi:

Thank you for posting this.

[globalvillage]

20. More pics

[globalvillage]

21. One more.

[Scoot420fla]

26. L:OL!!

I never saw that one! :rofl:

[SharonRB]

22. That's not anywhere near all of us

I don't see me and a few others I was with.

[WolverineDG]

59. Yes, you're in that shot, Sharon

Next to Lynne who is holding the banner. I recognize your face & your backpack strap. I'm holding up a sign a few feet away from you! :)

:hi:

dg

[SharonRB]

74. You're right! Your eyes are better than mine.

Now I see me. I still couldn't find you, though.

Thanks!

[WolverineDG]

78. Okay, working to the left from you

(I was standing on your right for this pic)

is dinahmohum's "Footprint of the American Idiot" sign & then I'm next to that sign. I'm wearing a blue hat & am holding up the sign I carried that day--"DAR for PEACE" is the side that is visible.

dg

[SharonRB]

82. Got it now.

The blue hat did it.
:hi:

[lonestarnot]

40. Our group of DUers didn't get in the pic. Glad to know you

were there! Peace.

[katinmn]

16. I was there, marching with my friends arnheim, distressed american,

lonestarnot, puravidadreamin, other wonderful DUers and a half-million other patriots. :-) Tomorrow I'm be marching down Hennepin Avenue with a 1000+ fellow Minnesotans who also loathe this president and the war machine.

9/24/05

[lonestarnot]

41. Woohoo Kat!

:toast:

[katinmn]

53. Caption this pic....

Hey, Lonnie!
:pals:

[lonestarnot]

60. "I'm not going out there! I'm afraid of that woman!"

:rofl: :pals: :hug:

[katinmn]

72. George Bush is a Serial Killer!

:7

[Jo March]

69. That was a GREAT time!

It was the first time that I'd been in a city that large and I drove there by myself like an idiot!

Luckily, I was with a great group - lonestarnot, tsuki, Kat, puravidadreamin' and her son. It was so wonderful to shout, "Liar!" at the White House.

Time for another march, I say. Who's with me??

[katinmn]

73. Yeah, it was a great time. So much energy.

I think I mentioned to you once before that we better plan on descending on the capitol in November.

We're about to get Deibolded again.

[Jo March]

87. I think that you're right

I'll get my orange clothing together and get ready for the long haul, lol!

[lonestarnot]

86. I'm ready!

:hug: Miss all of these wonderful people on this list! Arnheim don't drive by yourself next time! We'll make a plan!

[WolverineDG]

18. DU at the Whitehouse

dg

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. Me too

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/DoYouEverWonder/9

[mongo]

23. I was there

it was a hellish bus ride out there, and an even worse one back -- but the 14 or so hours in DC were great!

[Scoot420fla]

27. Tell me about it

I was held at knifepoint in Jacksonville, FL at a greyhound bus station on my way up thre. But the guy ended up not taking anything! lol. He found out I was going to protest our dictatorial regime so he just told me to go on and dont say anything to anyone 'or else' lol.

[arewenotdemo]

45. that's pretty crazy

[GOPisEvil]

25. I am proud to have been there.

It was a wonderful experience, and something I never, ever thought I'd have to do. Frankly, I hope to never have to do it again (I'd rather meet y'all for more fun reasons).

[LynneSin]

54. You were my roomie

:pals:

[WolverineDG]

65. Hi Lynne!

I remember you & I both said "Fuck the poets!" at the same time! :rofl:

:hi:

dg

[HughBeaumont]

28. I was.

Heckling RimJob and his 100 freep creeps, ironically parked in front of the J Edna Hoover building. Some joker in American Flag face paint was continually ranting some pro wrestler promo. The lame Protest Warriors were there "leading" us (according to them, anyway). Amazing there were SO many age groups, veterans groups, grandmas, middle class, rich, conservative, poor, tourists - all united for one cause.

Saw some Billionaires for Bush and Distressed American. 400 to 500 thousand people, and only local media BARELY covered it. National media was like "Hundreds protested the Iraq war today . . .. pfft. And in other news, Great Leader Bush said today . ."

[globalvillage]

35. Billionaires for Bush

[Nay]

29. We were! We were! Me, Mr. Nay and Sonny Nay. It was a great

experience. It irked me no end to see the sparse to no coverage on TV. We SWAMPED DC. And, if you'll remember, they closed down one of the metro lines (the blue line?) for "maintenance." Thousands of people never made it to the march. But there must have been half a million people there anyway.

[marmar]

30. I was...

and we need that energy again. I was in D.C. for work a couple of weeks ago and dropped by Camp Democracy, and was saddened by the dearth of people dropping by.

[Freedomofspeech]

31. I was there...

It was awesome, but I was so disappointed that there was no media coverage. That damn liberal media, what is their problem?

[Scoot420fla]

32. LOL! Can never count on em

Can never count on that liberal media to cover the liberals. Amazing, isn't it?

[HughBeaumont]

56. I was calling my mom that day . . . she was home in Silver Spring MD . ..

I'm asking "are you seeing any of this?"

"No."

"NO one's covering this? There's got to be about 400 thousand people here. There's people on every block of the Nation's Capital (aside: not on the Mall, because conveniently there was a national book fair, where I saw Tom Wolfe and that dollman neo-lib Thomas Friedman). How can you NOT cover this?"

" . . . oh wait, here's something on CNN. Where are you at?"

"Constitiution and 12th, there's people everywhere! Where are they . . ."

" . . . oh wait, now they're talking about something else. Sorry."

It pretty much went on like this throughout the day.

[WolverineDG]

64. CSPAN covered the speeches in the park

I had a friend keep calling me & bitching about all the weird speakers they had (Thanks to ANSWER, who hijacked the march for their own purposes. :grr: ) Hurricanes Rita & Katrina gave the MSM an excuse not to cover the 500K people who descended on DC that day.

dg

[FtWayneBlue]

33. I was there, along with

54 other people and a dog (one lady had a leader dog)
riding in a bus we filled from the Ft. Wayne area. It was a grand experience.

[mnhtnbb]

34. I was there--54 year old Mom of two teenage boys.

[FogerRox]

36. Knowing what I know know, I would do it all again.. LOL

[lonestarnot]

37. I'm ready for another!

[Puregonzo1188]

85. So am I

I really don't know why we can't things together like that. It was just such a huge protest and there hasn't been one like it since. I went to a World Can't Wait organized protest about 5 months later, and was extremely disappointed by the low turn out, along with the low turnout of the 3 Year Anniversary Protests. After being at the DC protest last year, I really thought it was the start of something big.

[tnlefty]

38. I was there with my youngest son who was 10 at the time!

That Friday close to the end of school the students had their backpacks ready to go home and they had a few minutes and his teacher asked the class, "Is anyone doing anything special this weekend?" He raised his hand and stated that he was gonna get on a bus that night with his Mom, go to Washington, D.C., and attend the big peace march. Jaws were dropping around the room the teacher's included!

[lonestarnot]

39. I would like to see the video, but what is the software that tries

to install itself?

[Scoot420fla]

42. where?

[lonestarnot]

44. When I try to open the link.

[Scoot420fla]

66. Nothing should try to install

what does it say exactly?

[Timbuk3]

43. I was there...

...and I forgot I posted these pictures about it.

http://www.timbuk3.com/dcralley.htm

BTW, you may enjoy my Kos signature: "Doing My Part to Piss Off the Religious Right" - A sign held by a 10-year old boy on 9-24-05

[il_lilac]

46. I was there

with my family of six. Awesome showing but felt defeated with the lack of coverage.

[tavalon]

47. Yes

I can't write much because I'm struggling with back injury that has left one of my hands nearly useless.

[katinmn]

55. I'm sorry. Hope you feel better soon!

:hug:

[SharonRB]

76. I'm so sorry, Tavalon

I hope you're feeling better soon.

:hi:

[jarnocan]

48. I was there flick r pics next is OCT 5th WE can't wait! WCW!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarnocan/sets/1038970/

I think I am going to get to see Ann Wright again on 9/30 in Charlotte,NC BTW.

[Warren Stupidity]

49. Me too. And what has changed?

[lonestarnot]

61. well lemme see. Cowards are now into defending their torturing

instead of denying it's existence. Secret torture holes have been exposed, and he's down to turdy-tree and a turd. It's getting better. But Iran showdown is in the planning stage with 45 days left to invade. So in answer to your question, not much.

[tsuki]

71. 10 in a room, stinky feet and all. It was great! nt

[dumbshrub]

50. I was there too!

[bigtree]

51. It was a great crowd

I was up front behind Cindy and Jesse, next to Cornell West. What a day. We were just talking about how we came through the trees after we had done the round and Joan Baez was singing Joe Hill. I swear I thought I had been transported back in time. Lots of young folks that day. I thought they must have experienced something energizing and lasting. Thanks for the reminder.

[Anita Garcia]

57. We were here preparing for Rita and relief post-Katrina

We were supposed to be on the Peace Train from New Orleans to DC. Katrina and Rita changed all that.

[Renew Deal]

62. I was there.

It was a great thing to be a part of.

[libnnc]

63. me

Took the Peace Train from NC. Met DUer leftchick, husband and kids. Had a great time. Also met a wonderful woman from Boston and marched with her friends.

[Puregonzo1188]

67. I was there.

[Glimmer of Hope]

68. I was there.

I volunteered for UFPJ and was amazed by the turnout and how smoothly it went despite some glitches. I like to think it had some long term impact but sometimes kick myself for not doing more. When will it end? How does it end?

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

70. I was there and had a great time meeting all the DU'ers.

Can't believe it's been a whole year already.

[SharonRB]

75. Hi, Mo!

It was great meeting you, too, and hanging out together on Sunday.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

80. Hi, Shar!

We really should do something next year about a Midwest DU meet-up. I'd love to see ya again and hang out either here or in Detroit...

[SharonRB]

81. I'd love to do one here.

Or we could split the difference and do one in Grand Rapids or Saugatuck or somewhere like that.

I'll be in Chicago for a few days for work in late January.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

83. Late January would work for me, providing it's not Artic type weather.

PM me with the details and I'll see if we can work something out with some of the other Chicago area DU'ers...

[SharonRB]

84. I'm not sure I'll be able to do a meetup

We have our annual meeting from Monday-Wednesday. I'm planning to come in over the weekend, though, and stay with my former boss who works in Chicago for another company now. Maybe she'd be up to coming to a meetup with me, if we can arrange it. I'll let you know as we get closer.

Yeah, Chicago in January wouldn't have been my first choice. We've usually had these meetings in Dallas or Atlanta. I don't know why we're having it in Chicago this year.

[demgurl]

77. Count me in. I was there and so were my hubby and my kids.

[shadowknows69]

79. I was there!!

Here's some of my footage.

<http://youtube.com/watch?v=LchQBI3msTQ>