At least 2500 people rallied and marched against the war in Iraq. The march ended at Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's House where a list of charges for war crimes was left on his gate.
Today here in Taos, NM more than 2500 people marched from a local art gallery down the main highway to Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's house. I saw types of people at this protest that I never see at protests: soccer moms and people with "God Bless America" stickers on their cars.
The mayor of Taos Fred Peralta declared Taos a "peace zone". It's unusual to have protest so large in a place with such a small population (the entire county of Taos has about 30,000 people).
Organizers in the ACT--Action Coalition of Taos did an excellent job with publicity and planning. Author John Nichols spoke of the long list of US government perpetrated crimes and imperial interventions. A priest from Cimmaron who recently moved here from New York City described counseling grieving families after Sept. 11 who did not want to see more blood shed.
While there was a diversity of age and income, there was a lack of color. Many Hispanic and Chicano drivers passing by gave approving peace signs, but one man yelled from his pickup "why is this such a white event? where are the red-(necks?)?" If he meant where's the color, he's right to ask. A few Native people, a smattering of Chicanos and Hispanics, and a fair amount of African Americans could not prevent the overall impression from being that is was mostly a white event. So yes there is still lots of work to be done.
Overall, the folks with the Action Coalition of Taos deserve a big congratulations on a job well done. Props also to the El Rito Marching Band and the guys in Colin Powell and Dick Cheney costumes!
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