Last year, I came across this Kickstarter project, We Are Many – a feature-length documentary film “about the never-before-told story of the biggest protest in history, on 15 February 2003, and its legacy, through the Arab Spring to the Occupy Movement. The day that saw an estimated 30 million people in over 700 cities around the world, gave birth to a new global social movement.”
I was compelled to participate because I was there (pictured with my friend Dave). A bunch of folks from the Albany, NY-area took buses down to New York City to protest the threat of war in Iraq, which nevertheless started the following month.
But I also contributed because there seems to be this revisionist history that the American people were fully behind that military action when this was hardly the case. Personally, I participated in at least 20 vigils, and at least one large rally in Albany before 15 February 2003 in protest against the warmongering talk.
The documentary, scheduled for the 10th anniversary of the rally, “will tell the real story.” You are invited to “share your own reflection and invite people you know who marched/were against the Iraq war to tell their stories too” at this site. Or go to the Facebook event page.
Oh, the most unlikely thing about 15 Feb 2003 is that, among that throng of thousands of people walking down the streets of NYC, I ran into my old college friend Uthaclena, his wife, and their daughter (who was celebrating her birthday that very day) who had come from an hour south of Albany to protest as well.
The ‘we are many’ title makes me think of the quotation ‘my name is legion’ and its biblical origin, which probably isn’t the intention!
No one can say that, short of rioting in the streets, we Lefties in the States
didn’t try to stop Bush’s Folly; unfortunately, Osama bin Laden was successful beyond his wildest dreams in terrorizing so many people in “the Home of the Brave” that they were willing to surrender themselves to a fanatically evangelical administration that would brook no questioning and were very effective in silencing their opponents. I was told point-blank at work that I COULD NOT discuss the War on Iraq with the implication that I was getting very near treason.
I was there, too, Roger. But I didn’t see you!!! I really thought with all these people on the streets, peacefully demonstrating against the possibility of war, that we would stop the war.
I was surprised that the march and rally was not covered at all in the media. Not at all. It was only later that I realized how big this event truly was, that I realize the lack of media coverage was simply shocking.
Since then, I have been to countless anti-war and pro-civil liberties protests. I have seen thousands and thousands and thousands of people on the streets asking for peace and justice. But, I don’t see a lot of peace and justice these days!
A couple of days before the rally, my friend John said to me “lets meet at first and first” That was where the rally was to be held. I thought it would be no problem to get there. I actually made it to First and 59th streets. Meaning all the streets from First to 59th were simply packed with people. Many of my other friends not only did not make it to first and first, they didn’t make it to second or third avenues. The magnitude of that protest was simply amazing.