Finding Ulysses

Trumansburg showed its extraordinary character this weekend with a strong turnout for a march against war down main street. Residents of all ages, from babies to senior citizens, gathered near the school grounds, then marched up the street in a large crowd that picked up new participants all along the way.

People driving down main street slowed down, honked their horns, and waved in support. All along the route, I didn’t see a single person watching the peace march who indicated any opposition. Not a single pro-war heckler showed up. There was no pro-war counter demonstration.

We walked until we reached the small turn-out park on the east side of the street on the route 96 heading north out of town, and gathered in a circle there so that people could have a chance to speak. It was bitter cold, but people stayed until the end. Their resolve to keep on resisting the Iraq War would not be deterred by a little discomfort.

Monday, the Trumansburg peace march was the big front page story in the Ithaca Journal. It will receive coverage in the the Trumansburg Free Press too, I’d think. Bill Chaisson was there with his camera, along with other journalists.

Thanks to Back to Democracy and the Perry City Quakers for organizing this event. I’d like to think that this will be the last year that an anti-war protest is necessary, but as Margo Alexander was quoted as saying in the Ithaca Journal, “last year … we thought it was going to be the last one.”