(Burlington, Vermont) Saturday, April 6, 2002.
Approximately 300 people gathered at the Unitarian Church to demonstrate their opposition to war, racism, and economic injustice. People arrived with signs saying "No to Bush's Nuclear War," "Bush Hijacked America," "Green Mountain veterans against War," "End Ashcroft's Police State" and more. The crowd was multiethnic and included representatives of many generations from young children to elders.
Speakers addressed issues like the spending of tax dollars on war when there are people who are hungry, homeless, jobless, and without healthcare, and the need for Americans to voice their opposition to government activities which are abhorrent. Other issues which were addressed included the connections between patriarchy and war, the Israeli occupation and massacres on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the march planned for April 20 in Washington, D.C.
The group marched through the Church Street Marketplace to the Burlington Free Press, a local Gannet publication, where the crowd expressed their great dissatisfaction with the local franchise of corporate media. After spending some time in front of the newspaper's offices the march continued back up through the marketplace to the federal building where people continued to chant and hold up their signs.
The rally and march were both peaceful. People focused on showing their signs to passing drivers noted that more than 50% of the people who drove past them expressed their support by honking, a "thumbs up" or other gestures. A few people displayed disagreement with a "thumbs down" or other digital gesture, and one young man in a camouflage vest stood at the back of the crowd with an airhorn attempting, unsuccessfully, to disrupt the proceedings.
Similar rallies and marches occurred concurrently in other Vermont towns including Montpelier, Brattleboro, and White River Junction.