This is what democracy looks like...

Well I went to the January 27th Anti-War March on Washington DC on a bus from Ann Arbor. Coming into it I didn't really know what to expect (especially since I had never been to one of these) but I was hoping it was going to be big. In Ann Arbor, we had filled up 3 coach buses with both college students and adults and teenagers from the surrounding community. This had exceeded previous expectations for such a trip and seemed like a good sign of things to come at the actual march. Also, I had read a Washington Post article beforehand that said it was expected be one of the biggest anti-war marches since the beginning of the Iraq War.

We left Ann Arbor around 7:30 pm on Friday night for a 8-9 hour drive to Washington DC. After a ride in which I didn't get very much sleep, we arrived at Shady Grove Metro Station at 7 am. I rode in with some other people on the trip to Washington Mall to do some sightseeing before the actual rally and march that started at 11 am. Being from the DC metro area, I had seen many of these sites before but it still was nice to be back, even for a little bit. The weather that morning was below freezing which made it hard to walk around.

We got to the march around 11 am to a large crowd of people right near the Capital. The weather helped out as it became sunny, cloudless day with a high of 50 degrees. Diversity, along with its sheer size, marked the character of this crowd. People of various political groups, the young (even little kids) as well as the old, those of different races and ethnicities, and even war veterans were present. It wasn't just "aging hippies" or "college radicals" supporting this anti-war cause. There were people at the march who didn't look like the typical "activist" which was heartening to see. It made me realize that there really is a broad base of support moving against this War in Iraq. Its one thing to see the poll numbers but to actually see such a variety of people in the streets protesting made me happy. I just hope that Congress responds and does the right thing (though I remain skeptical of most Democrats taking a tough stance against the Iraq War). Apparently there were over 500,000 people present at the march.

Also notable was the small counterdemonstration near where people were marching in support of the Iraq War. One woman was on a megaphone stating that "if you don't support the mission, you don't support the troops." That statement really bothered me and I started chanting "bullshit" which others joined in with me. Someone else was holding up a poster that said "hippies smell." Though I definitely respect their right to free speech and assembly, such an ignorant embrace of this War in Iraq really annoys me.

The actual march began around 1 pm, which was suppose to be a loop around the Capital, and I followed the college student contingency which included people from the newly revamped Students for a Democratic Society as well as the Campus Anti-War Network. The chanting and energy from the people in the group got me real excited. Even though I enjoyed being in that crowd, the group was moving real slow and I was starting to lose my voice. Then, I bumped into a friend from back home who I knew was gonna be there but I didn't actually think I would see him in the large crowd. We ended up walking ahead of the college student group and quickly finished the loop (by that time it was around 4 pm and I was starving and my feet were killing me). After that we got something to eat, talked some politics, and then he had to leave to go back to his school.

When he left, I didn't know where the rest of my group was. I only had one other person's phone number who was on the trip and she was very far from where I was. So I went back to the site of the rally and it was getting darker at the time. Then I noticed a group of you people marching in the actual street on Pennsylvania avenue right in front of the Capital. They had stopped traffic and police were driving behind them. Apparently earlier that day, 300 college students rushed the Capital building, only to be rebuffed by police. I don't think anyone was arrested. I hung out with some other girls that I knew on the trip after that. Then we went back to the bus and left around 8 pm. Luckily I was able to actually pass out and sleep most of the way home. We finally got back into Ann Arbor at 5 am. All in all, it was a great experience and I would definitely want to go to more of them.