Fresno Peace Demonstration

Fresno Peace Demonstration
By Bill Simon

The Great Central Valley, often seen as the red part of a blue state, is fed up with the Iraq War. They came from Fresno and Clovis and Madera but also from Oakhurst, Tollhouse, Tulare, Midpines, Coarsegold, Visalia, Porterville, Reedley, Hanford, Merced, Bay Point, Dinuba, Sultana, Ahwanee, Mendota, Chowchilla, Kingsburg, Exeter, Sanger and even from as far away as Santa Barbara. The South Valley Peace Center came with their banner with 3000 crosses.

On Saturday, January 27, Peace Fresno sponsored a demonstration at the Peace Corner: Blackstone and Shaw in Fresno, CA from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm to support the March on Washington and tell Congress to stop funding the Iraq War and bring the troops home. We sent out three emails inviting people to come, and 250-300 people came. Usually 25 or 30 people come to our street corner demonstrations. We had 100 people turn out on New Year’s Day when we commemorated 3000 American military deaths and 655,000 Iraqi civilian deaths. But Congress did nothing. In response we had the largest street corner demonstration we have ever had when we did not also have a March or Rally. The reaction of passing motorists was overwhelmingly positive and the din of honking horns was overwhelming. I only saw three negative reactions. We also collected 244 signatures on a petition to our three local Congressmen and our Senators to stop funding the war and bring the troops home.

About twenty or thirty people couldn’t stand still for so long. They started marching from corner to corner, on the walk light, loudly protesting the war.

About 12:15 Jay Hubble said to me: “We will never be able to get these people to leave at 12:30.” It was then that I noticed that three policemen had arrived. Apparently there was a little more negative reaction than I saw because the policemen said that they had received calls complaining that our signs were blocking the street lights and the large number of marching people were blocking right turns and backing up traffic. Perhaps the big change was that the policemen didn’t seem to want to be there. They mentioned that they knew we were there for a noble cause. But they said they were concerned for the safety of the marchers. Anyone who has ever tried to cross the street at Blackstone and Shaw knows that it is an unfair game of chicken pitting pedestrians against right turning motorists.

When we were unable to limit the number of marchers by 12:45, fifteen minutes after the demonstration was scheduled to end, we decided to start packing up and see if we could end the demonstration, only a half hour late. It worked. Otherwise, I think protesters would have still been standing on the corner hours later.

When I got home, I sent the following email to Senators Boxer and Feinstein and to the Fresno Congressmen: Radanovich, Nunes, and Costa:

January 27, 2007


Today Peace Fresno sponsored a demonstration at the Peace Corner: Blackstone and Shaw in Fresno, California from 10:30 am until 12:30 pm to support the March on Washington calling on Congress to stop funding the Iraq War and bring the Troops home now. 250-300 people came; and, if we hadn’t taken away their signs about 1:00 o’clock, I think many would still be standing on the corner. The sound of constant horn honking in support was deafening. I only saw 3 negative responses.

We also collected 244 signatures calling on Congress to stop funding the war and bring the troops home. We intend to present those signatures at the Fresno offices of our three Congressmen: Radanovich, Costa, and Nunes as well as at the offices of Senators Boxer and Feinstein and ask for face to face meetings with our three Congressmen to discuss the will of the American people.

Normally 25-50 people participate in our street corner demonstrations. On New Year’s Day we had 100 people at the Peace Corner to commemorate 3000 American military deaths in Iraq and 655,000 Iraqi civilian deaths. The number of protestors today and the nearly unanimous positive response is a clear call on Congress to end this war now!

Peace,
Bill Simon
President, Peace Fresno