los angeles
www.worldcantwait.org

E-mail: worldcantwait_la@yahoo.com
Phone: 866.973.4463


 

Report from Wilshire/Vermont Nov 2nd 2005

Wilshire - West of Vermont

Wilshire and Vermont was great!  About 125 people were there at the high point.  We started with peace activists from the San Pedro Neighbors for Peace and Justice, clergy, church members from First Unitarian, joined by professionals, office workers, and medical careers students from nearby buildings, a Latino family with two young boys, a student from Marshall and his mom.  There was a big banner on the gas station fence, green posters decorated the subway stop construction wall, everybody was wearing stickers, holding up green posters and a sign that said, "Honk If You Want Bush Out!"  Cars and trucks were leaning on their horns or going beepbeepbeepbeep through the intersection.  Then a march of about 100 students from LACC chanting, "The World Can't Wait!  Drive Out the Bush Regime!" joined us.  The students marched thru all 4 crossings of the intersection several times, chanting (together with an older Latina waving a sign, 'Abajo Bush!').  Somehow 3 or 4 students got up on top of the newspaper selling stand (a 6 foot tall structure) and led chants from there.  "The World Can't Wait - Drive Out the Bush Regime!"  The banner was moved from the gas station fence to the top of the vending stand where everybody driving by could see it.  Across the street students drummed on the big plastic garbage cans that lined the subway construction.  The older people beamed, chanted, and waved their signs.  Two traffic cops showed up and directed traffic.  It was all nationalities, all ages, proletarians, professionals, students, from here and other countries.

"When is the March coming?" It was thrilling to see the big green banner across the length of the street coming towards us from Alvarado, and then to see the many youth of all nationalities together with older people marching with green signs chanting "The World Can't Wait! Drive Out the Bush Regime!"  and "Join Us!"  Our corner swung in and joined the march as it went by.  It was thrilling again to be marching in the street, calling on others to join us -- People on the sidewalk looked as if they hadn't dared to dream of anything like this, they couldn't believe it.  The heart of the city was moving.