Posted on 02/18/2003 5:29:12 AM PST by Theodore R.
Residents hold rally for peace
By Michael Zamora Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE – As millions joined the movement for peace around the world over the weekend, community members in Cheyenne responded Sunday with their own call.
A crowd of about 100 people, including religious leaders, activists and elected officials, turned out for the Cheyenne Citizens for Peace rally Sunday afternoon in front of the Capitol.
Many crowd members held signs scrawled with messages such as “No war with Iraq” and “Be a living witness for peace” to show their opposition to war.
“I think we need to take some of that duct tape and put it over (President) Bush’s mouth,” Peggy Rosentreter of Cheyenne said as she held a sign that read “Bush does not speak for me!”
“I don’t want to go to a war about money or gasoline or the price of oil,” Rosentreter said. “As a super power we should have a more noble cause.”
The rally was organized by Pete Laybourn, who said he wanted to give people in Cheyenne a chance to join the global movement for peace.
“I felt it was important to gather together as people gather around the world to work for peace,” he said. “There’s tremendous power when people join together.
During the hour-long rally, Laybourn expressed his views about the war and talked about the importance of gathering as a community.
“I was in despair about our country,” Laybourn said. “I knew something very wrong was occurring. When we gather together we don’t feel despair – we feel hope.”
Laybourn also encouraged others to express their own feelings about a possible war with Iraq.
“I am in despair, too,” Kathleen Petersen of Cheyenne said during the rally. “I don’t think he (Bush) is going to listen to one of us. I hope we can have input in his actions.”
Bob Morriss, co-minister at the Cheyenne Unitarian Universalist Church, offered a prayer during the rally that peace would prevail.
“The price of war is a terrible price to pay, especially when the same ends could have been achieved in a peaceful way,” he said.
Other crowd members were more aggressive in their approach.
“I think that George Bush is a petulant child who is trying to prove to his father he has manhood and try to complete the job his father couldn’t,” Susan Tipton said during the rally. “He doesn’t want us to protest; he doesn’t want us to think. Our freedom is going down the hole, and if you don’t get damn mad, you’re not going to be free five years from now.”
Arshi Nisley, who was born in Pakistan, greeted the crowd with the Muslim saying “Salam Alaikum,” meaning peace be upon you. She said she is proud to be a citizen of this country but hoped the situation could be resolved without violence. She also wanted people to remember those who are fighting out of duty on both sides of the conflict.
“I do want to pray for all the men and women in the military who are doing what they are suppose to do,” Nisley said. “I also want to pray for the people in Iraq. They have mothers, fathers, sons and daughters just like we do.”
Nisley also worried that if the United Sates goes after Iraq, her home country may be next.
“If we can’t stop him now, how are we supposed to stop him the next time?” Nisley said.
After the rally, Nisley said she felt coming to the event was important to show her children how to act in non-violent ways.
“I want to teach my children to be peaceful members of the community,” she said. “I tell them we can use words to solve our problems instead of fighting.”
Laybourn hoped that through the rally people would recognize the importance of coming together for a cause, and he encouraged people to keep their hopes up even if there is a war.
“I know that no matter what happens, our country was founded on something stronger than George Bush,” he said. “We’ll survive anything that happens.”
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