With nearly non-stop horn honking by passing motorists showing support, more than 150 protesters of varied ages and backgrounds gathered at Stevens Creek and Winchester in Santa Clara Jan. 27.
This busy intersection has been the venue for anti-war protests and vigils every weekend for nearly four years and is becoming known as the “Peace Crossroads.” Responding to a call to join the national mobilization associated with the big march and rally in Washington, D.C., the protesters called for stopping the U.S.-Israeli war on the Middle East; ending the occupation of Iraq; bringing the troops home now; funding people’s needs, not the war machine; and the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.
One young woman, Vanessa, a recent graduate from University of California at Berkeley, heard the protest announced on Pacifica station KPFA that morning. When she told her parents that she was going to participate, they decided to come as well.
Mark Ivies and his wife—who said their 20-year-old son, Tyler, has been deployed to Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division—were protesting for the first time.
“It is because of the surge,” Ivies, 47, of San Jose, told a reporter from the San Jose Mercury News, referring to the 21,500-soldier increase announced by President Bush. “This hits home for us, and we’re on the street voicing our concerns and our displeasure.”
Initiated by South Bay Mobilization, the protest attracted activists from a wide array of South Bay groups, including the National Lawyers Guild, San José Peace Center, Friends of South Asia, Vets for Peace, the Raging Grannies, the Green Party, the Labor Party, Code Pink, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, as well as unaffiliated newcomers.
