[Dryerase] Cincinnati war protest brings thousands of demonstrators

[XRay Magazine]

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>>Cincinnati war protest brings thousands of
demonstrators
by GoXRay.com Editor Stephen Novotni 


More than 3,000 locals (an XRay staff estimate) and
others attended a peaceful, mass war protest at
Cincinnati's Union Terminal Oct. 7. The protesters
included members of at least more than two dozen
different, local groups. 

#The protesters organized in response to President
Bush's speech to more than 700 invited guests at the
Union Terminal.

According to Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center
Coordinator Sister Alice Gerdeman, who organized one
of the groups attending, the protest was diverse -
including people both black and white, very young and
very old and representatives of a variety of different
faiths and political orientations.

"As rallies go, I think I would say it was very
diverse," Gerdeman said. "There were people from
various racial and ethnic groups...protesters and
their parents and grandparents and we had poor
people."

Gerdeman said the energy was very good and that the
event let people opposed to a war with Iraq know they
aren't alone.
"I think it says there are a lot of people concerned
about peace," she said. "It gives them the energy to
do whatever the next step is."

"I think if I were a politician and I saw this happen
in Cincinnati, I'd look closely at what happened," she
said. "If we can get several thousand people out
saying, 'No war,' then there are a whole bank of
others(who did not come out in protest)."

Cincinnati City Councilman David Crowley and Hamilton
County Commissioner Todd Portune were among the people
on the street. Crowley said that he was there in
protest. Portune said that, while he had
"...reservations about the direction the President is
taking," he was on the scene only to listen to what
the people had to say.

"I don't agree with us rushing into war with Iraq,"
Crowley said. "You don't rush in when there may be
other avenues."
Crowley said, "If he (President Bush) invested half as
much energy in diplomacy as he has with a war effort,
we'd be in much better shape."
Crowley, a Navy veteran, echoed other protester
concerns with Bush's 'pre-crime' (our buzzword, not
his) agenda. Crowley said, "At this point, for better
or for worse, he (Saddam Hussein) isn't actively at
war with anybody. As soon as this starts, its going to
destabilize that whole region...these countries (in
the Middle East) are tenuously at peace at best and
we're going to go in and deliberately destabilize it?
It just makes no sense."
Crowley said he thinks his opposition will hurt him
politically, but said he was compelled to speak his
mind, The issue was too important to do otherwise. 

"Who's going to be fighting this war? It's going to be
the young men and women of Cincinnati and elsewhere." 

Portune said he was at the protest to listen to what
the people had to say. He said it is is a complex
issue that demands thought and conversation with the
American people.

"The American people have been lulled into believing
that we can embark on this course without real
sacrifice or effort," Portune said. "I don't think
that's the case and I think those cards should be
shown as well."

Portune said the President's actions are a marked
departure from our foreign policy and need to be
closely examined.
Portune said the President should at least hold any
action until after the 
November elections.
Portune said, "Nothing has been suggested that Iraq
can deliver on it's threat within the next 30 days.
You have to ask yourself why he (Bush) is doing this
before the election."

Portune said he was not invited into the event inside
the Union Terminal. According to Cincinnati Chamber of
Commerce Manager of Public Relations Raymond Buse, the
Chamber was charged by the White House with the job of
inviting 515 guests to the event. Buse said the
Chamber worked with about 15 community organizations
including the Urban League and the United Way to
select a list of guests that was non-partisan. Buse
said the White House selected another 200 guests
including the area politicians who came to the event.

"I think they very clearly picked what they thought
would be a favorable audience," Portune said. He said
the fact that the Chamber was given the job of
assembling a partial guest list was, "...as much a
statement of whose interests were being addressed as
anything...I think it would have been helpful to have
a broad view and perspective in the audience."

Buse said the guests picked by the Chamber were not
picked to support any agenda. He said a lot of people
who were invited chose not to attend. Buse said no one
that the selected by Chamber representatives was
included or excluded based on their politics.
Portune said, "We should really be sure that this is
the right thing to do and that we're doing it for the
right reasons and that there is no other course of
action that could produce the same result."

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