By Michelle Cole
OregonLiveOctober 6, 2002
An estimated 6,000 people paraded through downtown Portland streets Saturday afternoon. Organizers said as many as 12,000 people participated in the march and rally that followed -- one of more than two dozen protests planned in cities nationwide in the next few days.
Although they were of different ages, occupations, religions and political persuasions, their voices spoke in unison on potential U.S. military involvement in Iraq: "No more war." "I'm totally against our involvement in this war effort. I feel that it's being railroaded, and I feel that people have already made up their minds," said Carolyn Rux, 60, who cut short a vacation on the Oregon coast in order to march with her husband, Pete Rux, 61.
Like many others attending Saturday's march and rally, it was the first time the Portland couple had participated in a war protest. "In the '60s, I was busy raising my family. Now I have time to be involved. I just don't feel that it's justified or that there's an immediate threat. I don't think war is the answer anymore," Rux said, as she hoisted a hand-painted sign that read: "World to Bush: Back off Iraq."
This was also the first war protest for 48-year-old Dave Kurtz of Sherwood. A member of the Portland Mennonite Church, Kurtz said he decided to come out on a gray and damp afternoon because it's "important to speak out for peace."
Others agreed it was not only important but imperative to speak out before it's too late. "I believe we can make a difference if we make our voices heard," said Mike Hanson, 37, who marched with his wife, Lori, 36, and their 21/2-year-old daughter, Raina.
Even as President Bush prepares a national address to sway the Senate and public opinion in favor of using force against Saddam Hussein, many of the people who marched in Portland said the United States should give peace a chance.
"I believe that we need to teach our children, and we need to learn ourselves that issues can be settled without war," said John Liedel, 53, of Portland. Wearing khaki slacks and a salt-and-pepper beard, Liedel said he's no stranger to peace rallies -- including a giant Vietnam protest rally held in the fall of 1969 in Washington, D.C. Asked whether the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks made him feel reluctant or somehow unpatriotic to be protesting U.S. military action, Liedel shook his head. "No," he said. "I don't believe that patriotism demands that you blindly agree to everything your government wants you to do."
Organizers said the last large anti-war protest in Portland was in January 1991, when more than 12,000 people rallied against the Persian Gulf War.
Kory Harding, 13, was another of the seasoned protesters in the crowd. The eighth-grader rode in with his mother Saturday from their home in Mount Hood. Harding said his first protest was against the Gulf War. "I was really young -- a toddler in my mother's backpack," he said. On Saturday, Harding carried a sign he'd made himself. "I want to tell Bush that we don't want a war -- especially over oil," he said.
The march stretched for dozens of blocks, delaying traffic at a number of intersections. Portland Police reported no arrests and only one minor incident, where a young man climbed onto a portico at City Hall. The youth waved a protest sign, ate an orange and then climbed down.
"It shows that people can cooperate and get their point across," said Officer Henry Groepper, a police spokesman. Organizers said the crowd exceeded their expectations. "We're thrilled with the turnout and thrilled with how peaceful it was," said William Seaman, spokesman for a coalition of more than a dozen groups that sponsored the march and rally.
It's too early to say whether the response will generate more events of its kind. At the very least, Seaman said, "It is an opportunity for people who were very likely unaware of the work being done in the community to now plug into it."
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