March 13 Iraq Protest in GR

About 60 area folks marched against the occupation of Iraq last Saturday--about the same number that iraqbodycount.org reported killed by the occupation in Iraq this past week.

On Saturday March 13, approximately 60 area folks met at the corner of Division Avenue and Fulton Street downtown Grand Rapids to mark the seventh anniversary of the US occupation of Iraq. Prior to marching, many held up signs condemning the ongoing violence in Iraq. People driving by responded with encouraging honks, peace signs, waves and smiles.

This past week, many larger protests of the Iraq occupation took place all across the US, but like here, they received little or no coverage by corporate media, leaving many Americans with the false impression that the Iraq occupation is over or that the war has been won. These lies are two of the issues that the organizers of the Grand Rapids’ action hoped to bring to light.

GRIID spoke with one of the organizers after the march.

GRIID: What motivated you all to organize this Iraq Occupation Protest?

Organizer: The real motivation is always to spread the word and to draw attention to the cause, not because we think it will end the war. It was about the realization of power and radical potential. We were aggressive about taking the streets and disregarding authority. There were a lot of younger people there who hadn’t been involved before. It got the word out.

Another reason for the march was to confront the idea that the war in Iraq is over–and, to bring attention to Afghanistan. And it wasn’t just anti-war. Hopefully the march inspired people to explore the real reasons for US military aggression, the economic causes, and to consider the will of the people being occupied. Less than 1% of Iraqis want US involvement there.

GRIID: Some local antiwar groups disagreed with organizers’ tactics beforehand, and suggested that the march be coordinated via the City Grand Rapids permit process.  Why no permits?

Organizer: This was an anarchist organized event with an anti-state perspective on the war. Dissent isn’t a privilege to be paid for. We took on non-authoritarian, non-passive tactics—but no violence. We believe there needs to be a diversity of tactics. Still, a few pacifist folks were afraid and voiced concerns. We could have done a little better job of explaining things to them.

GRIID: What kind of reaction did folks get from people on the street?

Organizer: It always is positive. One city bus driver stopped the bus, honked and gave us a thumbs-up.