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January 20, 2001
BACK FROM D.C.
by Diana Palmer
Washington, Jan. 20 — I've
made it back safely from a day of protesting in D.C. Speaking on behalf of
many of us, thanks to everyone for their support and well-wishes.
photo courtesy
of Diana Palmer
The day was terribly wet and cold, but I
couldn't imagine being anywhere else. The protest turnout was HUGE. I don't
know what they showed on television, but there had to be 30,000 protestors
there in various groups.
Police had set up many barricades to
prevent protestors from getting near Pennsylvania Avenue, where the inaugural
parade would take place.
photo courtesy of Diana Palmer
They were hastily setting
up the roadblocks ahead of us, and armed police had their clubs in hand ready
to use. By chance, I met up with Mike and Rod along the way. Finally, we
marched all the way to the end and had to wait forever to pass through police
checkpoints. Some people were searched and frisked; others were let by
without hesitation --particularly if they were wearing Bush/Cheney buttons.
I was wearing a red "Bush Cheated" T-shirt (the
CLG shirt that is a fine revisitation of the Bush/Cheney bumper sticker), and
I was carrying a sign that said, "Hail to the Thief" on one side
and "Bush is not MY president" on the other side. Amazingly, I was
let through without any problems. I guess my gender and blonde hair, blue
eyes, didn't pose a threat to them. However, I was wearing a photographer’s
vest under my coat. These vests have many, many pockets and compartments. I
just had camera equipment in mine, but the police didn't necessarily know
that. I could have had who-knows-what in that vest and was allowed to pass
through. I do appreciate their trust in me, but it made me a bit nervous
about the possibilities of who else was allowed to pass through unchecked.
photo courtesy of Diana Palmer
Along the parade route we were met in
waves by both supporters and detractors. The supporters simply were chanting
things, such as "Gore Got More," "Selected Not Elected,"
and my personal favorite, "Bush Needs A Brain, Cheney Needs A
Heart." Some GOPsters would come up and start picking fights, trying to
take away or destroy our signs, and there was plenty of verbal abuse.
We stood our ground, and soon there were too many
protestors together for the GOPsters to contend with, so I guess they crawled
back into their holes. We watched the snipers on top of every building and
the helicopter that was hovering overhead. The parade started late, but
finally we were able to see the motorcade. I was right up near the edge of
spectators with perhaps one or two people in front of me. When Bush's car
passed by, we, ahem, "saluted" him with our middle fingers, and ten
we did the same when Cheney's car passed.
photo courtesy of Diana Palmer
After the parade and protests were over
for the most part, my friends and I were trying to make our way to a Metro
stop to get back to our bus near Alexandria, VA. We weren't chanting,
protesting or being rowdy at all -- we simply were trying to get our cold,
wet selves back to the bus! However, many people -- even a lot of older folks
-- took it upon themselves to make rude comments and purposefully bump into
us hard. It was crazy. But we've made it back to North Carolina safely.
photo courtesy of Diana Palmer
The media did take pictures and video of
us along the parade route, so you might have seen me. I'm a big girl with
blonde curly hair and a Winnie-the-Pooh jacket. (Gee, I must have looked so
threatening!)
--Diana Palmer
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