A report back by one of the organizers from the S29 march
"1-2-3-4, We Don't Want THEIR Fuckin' War" The S'29-L.A. Mobilization
by John Mart
ez-Aztlan Media Collective
Downtown Los Angeles Saturday afternoon, some 300 protesters peacefully
rallied/marched/shouted/chanted & sang, exposing the corporate-led U.S.
racist war-hype of G.W.Bush & Co., in the aftermath of the S'11 attacks.
The 1st rally began on the back of a flatbed truck after 11am at Oylmpic &
Broadway. Música protesta by Salvadoreño Carlos Jimenez set the tone. Edith
of the Youth Student Network-October 22nd & Roberto of Tendencia
Revolunionaria-El Salvador were MCs. The general tone for the day was set:
no to the new U.S. war; that neo-liberal capitalist globalization, along
with the legacy of U.S. Imperialism set the stage for the S'11 attacks;
civil/human rights inside the U.S. are about to be further squashed, & that
we see thru the racist scapegoating/hate crimes against Arabs & Muslims.
LAPD riot squad, bike patrol, squad cars & audio/visual monitoring vans were
in full effect.
Speakers at the first rally included: Rodrigo del Comité Pro Democracia en
México, Cindy of Communications Workers of America, Jeff, one of the
arrested during the May Day LBPD crackdown & Yolanda of Freedom Socialist
Party. Our last speaker, Xochitl of the October 22 Coalition urged us to
take to the streets, north on Broadway to the Roybal Federal Building on
Temple.
Encircled by LAPD with riot squads at every side street going north along
Broadway, Danza Azteca Cuauhtemoc led the march with drums copal &
ceremonial danza, followed by the S'29-L.A. Mobilization main banner. The
Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade represented with lively drumming sets,
chants & songs. Various contingents brought their own banners & signs, while
several groups passed out flyers literature & propaganda to the public along
Broadway. The people were overwhelmingly open to our messages, as 100's of
pieces of literature was accepted. We also asked the people to join us at
our upcoming 2nd rally. People from the sidewalk joined the march. Demands
to "Boycott Taco Bell" were heard as we passed that corporate pimps' outlet
at 5th & Broadway. During the march one reactionary heckler engaged some of
us, we remained cool, spoke our minds & continued north.
The flatbed truck with speakers on the PA system watched our back. National
Lawyers Guild legal obserevrs were on hand as well. After passing the L.A.
Slimes (aka Times) corporate offices, we headed east on Temple to our second
rally in front of the Roybal Federal Building.
Laura La Escuela Popular Norteña & John of the Aztlan Media Collective were
MC's at the second raly & began with shout-outs of the organizations who
helped make S'29-L.A. possible (see fuller list below). Speakers at the 2nd
rally included: Joey of the Revolutionary Communist Party, Areceli of the
Forever 21 Campaign for worker's justice, Cheryl Deptowicz of Radical Women,
Carlota of Estación Libre with a Chiapas update, Bev of the newly formed
People's Coalition Against War, Ricardo of Tendencia Revolucionaria-El
Salvador, Ana of La Resistencia & Vicente of the Argentina Solidarity
Committee. Time was tight at the 2nd rally, as LAPD informed us we only had
only 10 minutes after our 2pm permit time -imit to finish the rally. For
'some reason', LAPD didn't appreciate our messages.
As the 2nd rally began to close, people were invited to attend the Westwood
peace rally co-organized by the International Action Center that began at
2pm. We also made it clear that the S'29-L.A. Mobilization, we were not
simply calling for unconditional peace in the world today, that peace
without real geo-political justice was an empty jesture that perpetuates the
continuance of the U.S. as thee Imperialist Neo-Liberal Capitalist super
power in the world. The S'29-L.A. Mobilization ended with RCYB leading the
chant "1-2-3-4, We Don't Want THEIR Fuckin' War".
Within a week, the S'29-L.A. Mobilization will meet to evaluate the march &
plan future meetings to broaden the anti-wra/anti-imperialist struggle.
John Martínez
Aztlan Media Collective
Original: "1-2-3-4 We Dont Want THEIR Fucking War", the S-29 Mobilization