Leanne Hawkins of Fitchburg and others protest the war in Iraq yesterday at Monument Park in Gardner (note size of huge crowd -- LOL!)
Posted on 03/20/2006 1:21:41 PM PST by pabianice
GARDNER, MA — Brian Hawkins kept coming up with new words to describe his feelings about the war in Iraq.
“Embarrassed that we torture people. Embarrassed that we detain people without due process,” said Mr. Hawkins, an information technology consultant who lives in Fitchburg.
Later, he added “ashamed” to the list.
The United States’ duty to democracy is to protect it here, he said.
“That’s how we spread freedom and democracy, by being a model country,” Mr. Hawkins said.
He was among a small group of people with a great deal to say about the war as they held a vigil yesterday at noon at Monument Park in Gardner.
Events were held across the country to mark the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.
Gray clouds smothered the sky and a bitter wind whipped at the signs held by the group in Gardner. Some participants left after a while, but others arrived to take their place. Occasionally, passing motorists honked and gave a thumbs-up, but not everybody was backing the group.
A girl in a car shouted out, “Yay for the troops!” And a man in a pickup truck shook his head as he drove by the vigil.
Karen Leger, a preschool teacher from Hubbardston, said she organized the vigil when she realized there were not any events marking the anniversary in the area.
“I have strong feelings about the war and this administration,” Ms. Leger said, citing “the lies, the death and destruction.”
Bella Kaldera, a Hubbardston resident who works in Gardner as a residential counselor for a group home, brought a U.S. flag, saying, “I object to the symbols of patriotism being co-opted by those who have no interest in the common good.”
Mrs. Kaldera said the war had nothing to do with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“But the lies have just kept on coming,” she said. “And who’s profited? Halliburton.”
Mr. Hawkins’ wife, Leanne, held a “got democracy?” sign.
The war is unjust and the country was led into it under false pretenses about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, she said.
Mrs. Hawkins said this war is about the will of neo-conservatives and the Bush administration.
“They’re just really doing it to fuel the military-industrial complex,” she said.
Gary H. Sebastian, a high-school teacher from Fitchburg, said, “I’m basically opposed to this war because I think it’s pretty obvious that the Bush administration’s policies about oil have a lot more to do with this than freedom of the people of Iraq.”
Allan and Frances Armington of Fitchburg turned out, with Mrs. Armington bundled up in a muffler to fight the cold.
Mrs. Armington, a retired teacher who is a literacy volunteer, said it is ironic that the country is using up so many resources to protect its dependency on oil.
Instead, the government could be going to the root of the problem and using the money to fund alternative energy sources, she said.
Leanne Hawkins of Fitchburg and others protest the war in Iraq yesterday at Monument Park in Gardner (note size of huge crowd -- LOL!)
Gee, somehow and for some reason the newspaper stories this morning didn't focus on the collapse of the anti-war movement as noted by the small, small gatherings, here and there, in a few places.
My OPINION: Terror Supporters
Yeah!!! So let's allow Al Qaeda to plot the next terrorist attack on US soil!! The US government has no right to monitor the conversations of international terrorist organizations, so there!!! I hate my father, and I hate President Bush!!! Nyyaaaaaaah!!!!!
(sarcasm)
All seven of them.
What this couple needs is a front and center seating at the latest Al-qaeda beheading.
Boy, that's some protest, about the same as the one pictured in the Bellingham Herald, in WA State.
“Embarrassed that we torture people. Embarrassed that we detain people without due process,” said Mr. Hawkins, an information technology consultant who lives in Fitchburg.
Later, he added “ashamed” to the list.
FReep 'em.
If only FDR took that approach, huh, DUmmie?
That is due to the fact that the vast majority of Americans prefer the US government track down terrorists and arrest/kill them.
The anti-surveillance crowd is aiding the enemy's plan to kill US citizens. End of story.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
How does one ask one's child to treat this teacher with respect?
HALLIBUUUUUUUUURTONNNNNNN!!!!!!
* twitch *
"“But the lies have just kept on coming,” she said. “And who’s profited? Halliburton.”"
Ah geez, not this s**t again.......
Even when they mean well, which they often don't, liberals are appallingly naive. Just how impressed does he feel Saddam Hussein was by our democracy? I think what impressed Saddam was having 150,000 soldiers and marines land on his fanny with big, heavy combat boots.
Why didn't we try that with the Nazis? We could have just been a "model country" and Hitler would have seen the error of his ways! What were Roosevelt & Churchill thinking?
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