As The Saying Goes, "Fools Rush In..."

By: Vikram Parikh

Posted: 3/21/03

Although the general media leads one to believe that the majority of "Americans" are pro-war, the turnout at the huge peace rally on Saturday February 15th proved otherwise. The gathering, which initially began in front of the United Nations on 1st Avenue and 44th Street by 2pm had widened to encompass 1st Avenue to 3rd Avenue and the mid 30s up into the 70s, and grown, by several estimates, to more than half a million people. This might even be a conservative estimate as thousands of people were prohibited by extensive barricading and a plethora of police from walking over to the main protest.

Initially it was frightening to hear the helicopters hovering above and to see so many police everywhere, but upon closer inspection and after speaking with many of NY's finest, it soon became clear that many officers were supportive of the rally and its purpose, and that the large majority of them were new to the force and simply doing their best to maintain the peace, while at the same time allowing people to protest within limits considering the heightened terrorist threat to NYC. Let's face it, the NYPD stepped up on 9-11 and the weeks following, and they certainly stepped up on Saturday. Not to say that there weren't incidents of problematic members of the police force, for example at 2nd Avenue and 52nd Street there were many mounted police who were just itching to let loose.

It seemed that those who had joined the force mainly to acquire the power to intimidate peaceful members of society were all there. It was at that particular place that I and others in the area most felt afraid for our safety, and with good reason. We saw a small elderly woman get knocked down by a footman, and just after mounted police suddenly rushed the unbelieving crowd with their horses. Several people were arrested, and an image which will stay with me for a long time was a young gentleman being led away by police, his face covered in blood.
Clearly many people are against war with Iraq, people from all walks of life: bankers, barbers, lawyers, rich and poor, men women and children. In the days to come we will learn about the effect of Saturday's global rally.

I think it's only fair to mention that on Saturday the 15th of February 2003, people rallied against the war not just in NYC, but all over the world. Roughly 1,000,000 gathered in London (the largest gathering there that city has ever seen) Paris, Munich, Russia, China, as well as many other cities across the globe. Bush's war-mongering is meeting resistance at many levels all over the earth, and at the time of this article going to press, a quick war any time in the near future is seeming less and less likely. China and Russia have both threatened to veto a Bush bid for war.

Nobody denies that Saddam isn't the nicest guy in the world, however there are many ways to achieve a goal. Perhaps France and Germany have learned from their past experiences with war, here the most outspoken against going to war are veterans who know the perils and suffering involved in such an undertaking. Bush is a known draft-dodger and is clearly unaware of the pain which a war creates. Let's hope that Saturday's rally will have far-reaching effects and that innocent people won't be forced to suffer unnecessarily.