[Dryerase] AGR Local anti-war

[Asheville Global Report]

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Dry-erase news wire
Asheville Global Report
www.agrnews.org

Asheville protests in solidarity with international day of opposition to war

By Shane Perlowin

Asheville, North Carolina, Oct. 26 (AGR)— As hundreds of thousands of 
people took to the streets in cities around the world to oppose the Bush 
administration’s push towards a war with Iraq, dozens of Asheville citizens 
also raised their voices.
Approximately 40 people took part in a Critical Mass bicycle ride that 
snaked its way through the streets of downtown for over two hours. Cyclists 
chanted, “Ride your bikes more and more, no one wants this oil war!” They 
waved flags that read “no oil war” and “war is also terrorism.” Numerous 
bystanders and motorists cheered and honked their car horns in support of 
this spectacle of dissent.
A moment of irony occurred as the protest passed by the Asheville Civic 
Center, where a gun show was taking place, and people were walking down the 
street with  newly purchased rifles and machine guns in plain view.
The ride ended at the Vance Monument, joining up with an anti-war rally 
that was already in progress. Traffic through Pack Square was briefly shut 
down as the riders circled through the intersection of Broadway-Biltmore 
Avenue and Patton Avenue.
Asheville resident Karen Lore, who brought her 9-year-old son, Troy, and 
her 13-year-old son, Ronny, to the rally said, “We want to encourage people 
to stand up and resist this war, and the illegitimate government we have in 
place. We want people to take to the streets.” When asked what they thought 
about participating in the protest, both youths replied, “It’s awesome!”
Explaining what brought him out on the streets, Tom Wells, carrying a 
placard that read “No Blood For Oil”, said, “I think this war is a really, 
really bad idea. It’s about oil. Rather than going and taking a precious 
resource, we should work on conserving it at our end.”
Photographer Gary Hemsoth, 50, pointed out that, in addition to the 
conquest of oil, George W. Bush “wants to avenge his daddy. Because Saddam 
embarrassed daddy, now we’ve got to go and make things right.” His comments 
were in reference to President Bush’s statement in early October, when, as 
a justification for invading of Iraq, he said of Saddam Hussein, “This guy 
tried to kill my dad.”
After about an hour of sign waving and chanting at Pack Square, a march 
formed that slowly made its way through downtown. The Black Lung Brass 
Band, consisting of tuba, trombone, two trumpets, French horn, clarinet, 
bass drum, snare drum, and kazoo, played New Orleans-style funeral dirges 
and marching tunes.
An impromptu rally was held at Pritchard Park before the throng of 
marchers, cyclists, and musicians continued their trek, bystanders swelling 
their ranks as they moved through the city streets. Demonstrators 
symbolically smashed a pink plastic toy machine gun at the intersection of 
Haywood and Battery Park before heading back to Pack Square. The police 
were conspicuously absent during the day’s events, although undercover 
officers were seen taking photographs.
The Bush administration continues to push for war in spite of significant 
domestic and international opposition to a “preemptive” invasion of Iraq.