Re: [ncpeacejustice] Report: San Francisco completely shut down

The anti-war uprising in San Francisco yesterday was the greatest action of the 
North American left since the anti-WTO protests in Seattle in 1999.  Although 
many of us think of the sixties as the golden age of protest, its difficult to 
think of anything quite like this in that era, when insurrectional activity was 
largely limited to college campuses, college towns, and African American 
neighborhoods.  There is a great deal all of us struggling to end the war can 
learn from this action, well described in the San Francisco Chronicle article 
described below.  I read in the Asia times that Bush has already lost Europe in 
trying to win Iraq; yesterday he lost San Francisco.  Tomorrow Raleigh, New 
York, Washington?

Steven Sherman

In a message dated 3/21/2003 3:00:04 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
ckromm@mindspring.com writes:

> NC Coalition for Peace and Justice Listserv
> 
> A brief report from an eye-witness
> 
> As most of you probably know, downtown San Francisco was completely shut down 
>yesterday by an anti-war uprising, which will continue through the weekend. At 
>least thirty intersections were blocked and a dozen buildings surrounded by 
>thousands of people, and there were roving protests in South of Market and the 
>financial district. I saw prayer vigils, political theater, blockades, 
>multiple groups of fifty or more bicyclists taking over streets, antiwar 
>marching bands, and dance circles. While the actions concentrated downtown, 
>the city is pervaded by a sense of crisis that is difficult to convey. There 
>were smaller demonstrations throughout the Bay Area.
> 
> There was a very nice, fairly accurate summary of the SF protests in the 
>Chronicle today. You can read it at 
>http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/21/MN277582.DTL. Note 
>especially the quotes from the police officers, who clearly respect what was 
>accomplished yesterday. The thing to keep in mind when you see photos of 
>isolated knots of protesters is that there were dozens, if not hundreds, of 
>groups spread throughout the city, ranging in size from less than a dozen to 
>over a thousand, each acting autonomously. There's no way to estimate how many 
>participated, although 1,400 were arrested 
> yesterday. Hundreds more have already been arrested today.