|
|
|
||||
|
|
 |
A Protest Against the War
In attending this protest as a photographer for Schumin Web, my job was to get an unbiased look at the protest from a number of different viewpoints and perspectives along the political continuum. And yes, political viewpoints do indeed fall along a continuum. The opinions of those in attendance ranged from what could be considered mainstream anti-war views all the way through to the extreme other end of the spectrum, with the viewpoints of anarchist protesters. According to the Web site of International A.N.S.W.E.R., the activist organization which spearheaded this protest, articles in the Washington Post and Yahoo News, as well as my knowledge from personally being there, the demonstration assembled at Freedom Plaza in Northwest DC, and then after listening to a number of speeches by other activists, the protesters marched along a route that took them past the White House, the Justice Department, the Washington Post, Halliburton, and other agencies and organizations that are believed to be benefiting from the war or otherwise helping the war along. The end of their route was just beyond the Farragut West Metro station, chosen so that protesters could then take the Metro back to RFK Stadium The interesting thing about this protest was that world events took an interesting turn in the week immediately leading up to it. I don't think anyone expected Saddam Hussein's regime to collapse the previous Wednesday, with the statue quickly being pulled down. However, the protest went on as planned, with some signs being modified and others going out as intended, since the end of the war had not yet been announced, though the looting of Iraq by its own citizens had begun. I covered this protest in three phases. I mingled with the protesters for a few hours at Freedom Plaza, then caught up with them again on their march at McPherson Square, and then headed them off at the intersection of 18th and K Streets, about a block away from the Farragut West Metro station. Along with numerous photographs, I also took a number of movies, which are presented here as well. Please be warned that the content of some of these images and movies may be unsettling for some, but I present it here for the sake of completeness in the coverage. All in all, attending this protest was an eye opener, with so many different people presenting so many different views of the same issue. So join me as we head to Washington, and watch as the people of America exercise their constitutional rights... |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
