Peace core: North Texans head to rally
Posted on 01/18/2003 4:23:48 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Peace core: North Texans head to rally
From '60s pacifists to teens, they're DC bound and determined
01/18/2003
Bob Dennis was there among the demonstrators 40 years ago with Martin Luther King Jr., trying to push America and its government along the road toward freedom and opportunity.
The veteran human rights worker from Dallas had wanted to be there again this weekend with demonstrators, trying to slow America and its government on the road toward war with Iraq.
Mr. Dennis won't be there, but 54 people are enduring an around-the-clock bus ride to get from North Texas to Washington, D.C., for a national anti-war rally on Saturday. They could hope only that the protest would approach the watershed represented by Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech on the Lincoln Memorial steps in 1963.
"I just feel like this is going to be a similar experience for a lot of people," Mr. Dennis said, comparing one of the most electrifying moments of the civil-rights era with Saturday's rally and march near the Capitol, which could attract 100,000 or more participants.
Health considerations and the passage of time kept the 70-year-old lawyer and former head of the Dallas Peace Center from completing a 40-year circle but didn't stop him from showing up Friday in the after-sunrise chill for the peace bus send-off.
 Mark Smithhisler said goodbye to wife Maitri before boarding a bus for a peace demonstration in Washington. (ALLISON V. SMITH / DMN) |
Riders and their supporters milled around a Farmers Branch parking lot, holding signs, taking photos and flashing peace signs for news cameras.
A distinct gray tinge testified to the 1960s vintage of many in the group while the mammoth charter bus idled nearby in looming contrast to the peace-protest transportation of bygone days.
"This is how we protest in 2003," chuckled Hadi Jawad, a Peace Center board member.
Lesson in democracy
The bus trip attracted activists, students, professionals and some parents hoping to give their children a real-life lesson in democracy.
"War is not the answer," said the largest sign. "Drop Bush, not bombs," another urged in spray paint.
"Speaking out against this war is very important," said Mr. Dennis, who attended an anti-war demonstration that drew at least 100,000 marchers to Washington in late October, described as the largest such protest since the Vietnam War.
"It reminded me so much of the '60s," Mr. Dennis said, recalling rallies when he lived in New York City after growing up in Lancaster.
The Saturday demonstration and a series of events, planned to coincide with the King holiday weekend and draw on the civil-rights leader's opposition to the Vietnam War, was organized through a coalition called International ANSWER, for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.
"What this will do for people, who are feeling so lonely and bereft about what they consider an absolutely misguided foreign policy, is give them a sense that they're not alone," Mr. Dennis said.
Participants say their effort must move beyond its Vietnam-era roots and what some have called " '60s retreads."
"This movement can't be limited to that, and I think it's not," said Tim Brace, 51, who left the Austin area about 4 a.m. with his 17-year-old daughter, Erin, so they could catch the bus. "It has to be reinvented each time by the next generation."
Organizers acknowledged the weekend's importance as the peace movement tries to gain momentum and become more mainstream before United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq file their first report late this month.
"It feels to me like the train left the station and people are standing around wondering what happened," Dallas organizer Bill Maxwell said of the Bush administration's demand that Iraq disarm voluntarily or face war.
Mr. Maxwell, 60, a former Peace Center officer, said that he didn't consider war "a done deal" and that he hoped the administration would "back off all this saber rattling."
"We don't want to become a bully country," he said. "I believe people have lost their voice. If they see enough people stand up and take back their power, others will be inspired to do the same."
Demonstrators headed for Washington "tend to be optimists," Mr. Maxwell said. "They believe they can make a difference"
A grueling journey
 A distinct '60s atmosphere breaks out as the bus with 54 peace demonstrators departs from Farmers Branch. (ALLISON V. SMITH / DMN) |
Only a busload from the Houston area would travel farther - another 70 miles or so - to get to D.C., organizers said.
The Texas busloads from "the heart of a conservative state" may seem meager to some, Mr. Maxwell said.
"If this is the best you can do, big deal," he imagined Bush supporters saying. "I think people understand that each person is carrying the banner for a number of people."
Erin Brace decided she should carry the banner herself. The high school junior persuaded her father, Tim, who took part in Vietnam protests, to make the trip.
Dad considered flying to Washington, but daughter wanted the experience of the shared journey - and volunteered to pay her own $190 bus fare.
"Sometimes that's the wonderful thing about children. They make you stand up for things you believe in," said Mr. Brace, a school board member near Austin.
While the September 2001 attacks motivated America to act against potential threats, Mr. Brace fears that military strikes against Iraq would inspire terrorist attacks against Americans around the world.
"For so long after Sept. 11th, you were considered a traitor for saying anything against the war on terrorism," he said. "We need a public debate on this.
"It's important that dissent be freely spoken and respected because that's what makes America as great as it is."
Motives questioned
His daughter said the war rumblings are mostly about oil, and "that's not a reason to kill people."
"My parents always let me think for myself," Ms. Brace said. "Bush was saying, 'You're either with us or against us.' That's really not true. Being patriotic doesn't mean just going along with what the president says."
The youngest travelers were Sophia and Briana Hernandez, twins who'll turn 9 this month.
Their mother, Susan Motley, decided the Irving third-graders could learn civic responsibility on the trip.
"I hope they see that if you feel strongly about something, do something about it," she said as they waited to board the bus. "I think it'll be a cool experience they'll never forget and a good bonding experience for us."
The girls have little concept of war, their mother said. One recently asked, "Is President Bush going to be fighting Saddam Hussein?" Ms. Motley, a labor lawyer, said she pointed out that leaders send others to do the fighting.
She said she sensed a window closing for dissenters to have an effect.
"People are going to be less open to dissent once our troops are committed. It's easier to prevent something from happening rather than try to undo something once it's done."
About a dozen supporters applauded as the door on the 45-foot bus slid shut.
"Bye. Peace," said Mr. Jawad. "You guys are great."
The driver took down a red-white-and-blue "No Iraq War" sign that someone put on his windshield. As the bus moved forward, a van with chipped paint pulled alongside, honking.
One last protester, a college student, hopped out and ran for the bus.
Its big door opened and closed again before Dallas' contribution to an anti-war weekend disappeared down the highway.
E-mail mwrolstad@dallasnews.com
http://www.ku.edu/~libsite/wwi-www/RusRev/RRpix.htm
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