Nov. 2, 2005 – The Beginning of the End of the Bush Regime
Sights and Sounds from November 2, 2005
Revolution #023, November 20, 2005, posted at revcom.us
Voices from the Stage
Sunsara Taylor, Revolution newspaper, at NY rally: We have to get out of these killing confines. We have to change the whole political dynamic. And I'm not a believer in this idea that we can not polarize things, that we can not say what we really think, that we have to go for compromise. The truth is it's only when we make people choose sides that we stand a chance. It's basically simple. Are you for torture, or are you against it? Are you for forcing women to have a baby she doesn't want, or are you against that shit? Are you for them wrapping an entire village in Iraq in barbed wire and reducing others to rubble, or are you against that shit? Are you for a regime that allows 100,000 Black people to fend for themselves for five days without food or water and then takes troops off of rescue missions and sends them back in with orders to shoot and kill, or are you against that shit? Do you think that gay people are evil, that they're sick and they need God, or are you against that shit? The polar ice caps are melting right now. Storms like Katrina and the Asian tsunami are getting stronger. Global warming is real, and this regime is suppressing the science that people need to know, disarming a whole generation from understanding the way the world works. Are you for that shit or against it. It's when you draw lines like this, when you tell the truth--not when you compromise, not when you pander to these lunatics on the far Right, the fascists--it's when you draw clear lines and you come out fighting for what is right and what you believe in, which is what we are doing today and what we are setting into motion, that's when you stand a chance of winning.
Wayne Kotting, Fairfax County (VA) Republican Party Treasurer, in front of the White House: Mr. President, listen. America is speaking to you. Many of us would like to feel that you did not lie, that you were misinformed or misled. When the efforts of FEMA were a disaster of its own, you turned to your director and said, "Brownie, you're doing a great job." I hope you were misinformed. When the FDA neglected the health of women and refused to follow its own medical board's recommendation, based on science, for emergency contraception, they refused; I trust you told the FDA, they're "doing a great job." With the abuse of prisoners of war that took place in Iraq, encouraged by the White House memorandum on how to deal with detainees, I trust you were misinformed--or did you tell the Attorney General, "you're doing a great job"? When wounded veterans are sued for reimbursement of combat pay, did you know that, or did you tell Secretary Rumsfeld that "you're doing a great job"? When you mandated No Child Left Behind, and the Congress of the United States controlled by the Republican party refused to fully fund it, did you tell Mr. Frist and Mr. Hastert that "you're doing a great job"? When the religious Right forced you to withdraw your Supreme Court nominee, did you think she was not "man enough" for the job? I trust you told Pat Robertson that "you're doing a great job." So Mr. President, to use your own words, we forcefully say to you, "Bushie, you're doing a great job."
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San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly: There are some who criticize The World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime effort by saying this is just another gathering of leftists. Well, most of us here may be leftists, but what they didn't tell you is that a majority of San Franciscans, and increasingly a majority of people across the country have been adopting the position espoused by leftists for some time now.
An Oakland High student showed her hands which were cut from climbing over the barbed wire that the school had put atop fences to keep students from "escaping" on November 2. "Look at my hands," she said. "That's how much I hate George Bush."
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San Antonio, Texas: 200 people marched through downtown. The local weekly San Antonio Current ran an article titled "Adios, Bush" covering the protest. The article noted, "It was not a rally to merely end the Bush War in Iraq. The protestors had assembled to demand that Bush and his White House cronies should take a hike -- and pack up their warmongering policies with them." The article quoted a WCW organizer saying, "We're serving notice, G.W. Bush must step down, get out and take his program with him. This movement is spreading. For the next two months we will demand that George Bush step down."
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At PNA, a school of about 300 students (mostly Latino and Black) in the Bronx, students organized bake sales to raise enough money for subway fare for all the students who wanted to get to Union Square for the Nov. 2 rally. For at least one of the students, this was the first time they had ever been to Union Square, illuminating the divisions/segregation Jonathan Kozol details in his new book. Students ran for student government with Nov. 2 as part of their platform, and won. Stickers and posters were all over the school, to the point where the Dept of Education's "Impact Team" went to the school and demanded they remove them all or the supportive teachers would be fired. And only two teachers were permitted to attend the rally with the students (more than 70 students walked out).
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At Ohio Univerisity in Athens, 50 students walked out of classes to join 150 others and to march to the Army recruting station where they disrupted business for several hours. One of the organizers told Revolution, "We went into the classrooms that day, we said this president is criminal and it is time to do something. We asked people, 'How many more people need to die before you decide to do something?'"
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In San Diego, where 400 to 500 took part in the day, speakers included Milton Saier, molecular biologist and UCSD professor; Rev. Madison Shockley from Pilgrim United Church of Christ; a representative from Planned Parenthood; Holly Heaslet, a biochemist; Enrique Morones, a human rights activist and local talk show host.
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Le Sueur H.S., Minnesota: We heard about the protest two days before it was supposed to take place... We asked our principal if our absences could be excused with parental permission, and he said that it would be fine, but he was going to call the superintendent to make sure. Later that day, we were stopped in the hall by our principal. He said that we had a meeting with the superintendent the next day, because he didn't like the idea of a walkout. Then, the principal told us that the superintendent had gotten a call from the governor (or his office) about this, that the state had heard about the World Can't Wait protest and decided to call all of the school districts in Minnesota to warn them... I think we really made an impact here. (WCW)
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From Cincinnati Enquirer article about 100 students walking out of Walnut Hills H.S.: Students at the school lined up 2,000 toy soldiers on the sidewalk to represent the war dead... Seventh-grader Cayla Burton, 12, said she decided to join the protest because she had an uncle in the war and she's concerned about him. "He could get kidnapped or he could get shot," she said. "They are spending money to kill people, not to help people."
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Honolulu, Hawai'i: By 8 a.m. an Action Center covered with banners was set up in a city park... Within 15 minutes of setting up an elderly veteran of three wars drove his wheelchair to the tents and quietly passed a $50 bill to an organizer saying: "I fought three wars; this one is completely illegal. Here's a donation to help build the movement."
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Student from Notre Dame H.S., NYC: During my first World Can't Wait meeting, the youth organizers spoke of people nationwide who watch the news, aware of what's happening, who cry at night, and have trouble sleeping, yet do nothing. For too long I was one of those people... Through The World Can't Wait, Drive Out the Bush Regime, I found an outlet which allows me to make a difference, regardless of my age. Through World Can't Wait, I found that I wasn't alone, and that only by boldly stepping forward did I find myself amongst thousands of others, in this city alone, who feel the same way, and who are determined to act on these feelings.
Correction: In the article "Nov. 2--The Beginning of the End of the Bush Regime" in last week's Revolution, there was an error in the account from Atlanta (p. 13). The third sentence should correctly read: "The rally, emceed by students from Georgia State University, an urban state-run university, and Spelman College, a historically Black college, featured..."