Eyewitness: ordinary Americans don't want this war

national | miscellaneous | news report Saturday January 25, 2003 04:42 by American Correspondent - Letter from America

Report from Los Angeles

Tonight I passed through the intersection of two of the most busy roads in Los Angeles: the intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Sunset Blvd. There were about 45 people standing on the corners with signs protesting against the war.

"Honk For Peace",read several of the signs, and indeed, the vast majority of the cars passing through (perhaps 75%) were laying on their horns and giving the thumbs up and peace signs to the demonstrators.

Other signs read "Drop Bush Not Bombs" and "They're Selling WAR, We're Not Buying It" with wanted-style pictures of Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney.

Speaking to several of the protestors they told me that they were part of a group called Neighbors For Peace and Justice. They have similar protests going on in 5 other locations in Los Angeles every Friday. They started as an immediate, effective way of communicating to other people their dissent. So far it seems to have been much more effective than the huge marches that have happened here, including one on Jan 11th that attracted a diverse crowd of circa 10,000 at a conservative estimate.

Several of the protestors were banging on cowbells and small drums and the sound of the horns of the cars and the music could be heard from about a block away.

This scene was topped off with a huge billboard above the intersection with a picture of an SUV smashed in two and lying on its back and a man cycling away from it. "ZERO EMISSIONS" said the billboard with "War Party" crossed out and replaced with "Bike Party".

As I waited with the protestors a car came by with some sort of public-address or loudhailer system in it. "Your're BAD americans", it roared and then something or other which I couldn't hear as it zoomed past and the woman in it gave us the thumbs-down.

But this was noticeable as an exception. From what I saw tonight I don't think that Americans want war.