Anti-war activists wont be the only people demonstrating in the streets this weekend. In addition to the Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles rallies being planned by International A.N.S.W.E.R. for this Saturday, Free Republic is also sponsoring events in Washington and San Francisco. While it’s always interesting to see conservatives hit the streets like their counter-cultural opponents, their ranks are generally a little thin. The pro-Bush people at the White House protest on March 8th were gathered together in a little knot of about a dozen people, chanting their slogan “War freed the slaves! War saved the Jews!” as thousands of anti-war people streamed by them on 17th Street. Very few bothered to actually talk to (rather than shout at) them until the demonstration itself wound down and everyone else had gone home. They were persistent, though, and managed to rile up even more people than the pro-life protestors with the bullhorns and aborted fetus posters from earlier in the day.
A few photos from the other side of the street: the pro-war people who showed up at the March 8, 2003 CODE PINK Protest Against War in Iraq:
The leader of the Free Republic encampment argues with some anarcho-teens while other interested parties look on. The young woman in black was in a highly agitated state.
A father and daughter duo (left) engage in a surprisingly civil discussion of the prospect of invading Iraq. I was a little disturbed, though, by the wild-eyed look of the woman on the extreme right (perhaps in more ways than one).
When everyone else had wandered off to Starbucks and McDonald's, a few dedicated souls from each side linger on 17th Street next to the Renwick Gallery. The Saddam poster (left) and U.S. flags (center) are from the Free Republic people, the UN flag (right) from the other side.
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