statement. Veterans of the current war in Iraq took part in the march down Martin Luther King, Jr. Way March 19.
About 700 people marched through Hilltop March 19 in protest of the war in Iraq and to bring attention to the escalating financial cost of the American military deployment.
Reverend David Isom of Miles Memorial CME Church kicked things off with a short speech at People’s Park. Isom said money spent on the war could be better spent at home. “Where’s the money for food programs? Where’s the money for affordable housing?” he asked.
The marchers went down Martin Luther King, Jr. Way down to South 21st Street, over to ‘J’ Street and finished with a rally at People’s Center on MLK.
They carried signs with slogans like “Truth cannot be silent, dissent is patriotic,” “End this racist war, How many lives per gallon?” and “Withdraw to Kuwait, after all, they owe us.”
Several chants were done during the march, including “support our troops, bring them home” and “money for health care, not for war.”
The war has impacted State Representative Jeannie Darneille (D-Tacoma), who has had two family members serve in Iraq. She took some shots at the Bush administration and its handling of the war during her comments at People’s Center.
“No single party owns patriotism,” she said to loud applause. “Building a monstrous military machine is wrong. Giving government contracts to your cronies is wrong.”
Darneille said the war has cost Tacoma taxpayers $175 million so far. She noted this money could be better spent on housing, education, AIDS prevention and other social programs. Food banks in Lakewood have seen a 34 percent increase in demand for food since the war began, she added.
“Now is the time to give to your values. Now is the time to vote your values,” she declared.
Lietta Ruger is coordinator of the Washington chapter of Military Families Speak Out. Like Darneille, Ruger has two family members who have served in Iraq.
She told the audience they can support the troops while criticizing the political decision to send them to war. “As citizens, we have a responsibility to have their backs,” she said. The Bush administration and Congress “have abandoned their responsibility” to the military, she remarked.
“I am as against this war now as when it started,” said Tim Smith of Tacoma, an activist with Bill of Rights Defense Committee Tacoma. “We are marching to show our disapproval.”
For Pastor Ron Vignec of Salishan Eastside Lutheran Mission, compassion for all of those affected by the war, not politics, drew him to the event.
“Peace is another way,” he remarked.
“This is a great turnout by Tacoma standards,” said Tom Clark of Tacoma. “There are a lot of groups represented. To have this large of a crowd in Tacoma is an indication of the depth of opposition to the war.”
