Report: Nov 20 Student Walkout Against the War!!

[Guest guest]

Nov.20th Nat'l NION Student DayPreliminary Report by Not In Our Name Youth Preliminary Report on November 20th Not In Our Name Student/Youth Day of Action Today, November 20th was the Not In Our Name National Student/Youth Day of

Action Against The War. Here at ‘Ground Zero’ thousands of New York City high

school and college students gathered in solidarity to say “NO, NOT IN OUR NAME”

to the war on Iraq. Over 2,000 strong the youth took the entire street of

Broadway. We did this in the face of threats from administration, campus

security that tried to block them at the doors, talk of suspension, and all

kinds of other wack shit. We rallied at Union Square, till our numbers swelled

so much we just HAD to take it to the streets. The cops said we could have

University Place--but as we all shouted out together as we did it: “We’re

taking fucking Broadway!!!” And then we did! As one of the MC’s said, “We took

Union Square without a permit. We marched down fucking Broadway without a

permit. We permitted ourselves to take history into our own hands!” MAAAAD students and youth on the busiest street in downtown! To anyone who

thought we would keep our mouths shut, sit in class and let this war be waged

in our names, to all those who said it couldn’t be done…This is what we have to

say to you! This war is not going to happen in our names! The detentions and

round-ups of our Arab and Muslim brothers and sisters is not going to happen in

our names! This war on the world and the shredding of civil liberties is not

going to happen in our names! In fact, we are going to prevent it from

happening at all!!! And this is the just the beginning. We moved to Washington Square Park and held a HOT rally, fists in the air.

Students talked about why they came out--why they weren’t intimidated. One

student pointed to a playground on the other side of the park. She said, “Look

at all those innocent little children playing. If they were in Iraq they could

be dead in a few days. We are not going to let that happen!” Another student

came up and said, “This goes out to my principal who threatened me with

suspension. FUCK YOU!!! You are not in danger of being drafted. I AM!!! And I

am not going to sit in your fucking school and be intimidated by you!” A Vietnam veteran got up and spoke about why he resisted that war and in 1971

threw his medal back at the White House. Afterwards a group of NYU students got

up and gave their response to a preemptive war and led the crowd in burning

their ‘preemptive draft cards’. The NYU Peace Coalition brought a contingent of

nearly 1,000 students. The whole day was characterized by the determination of our generation to not

go along and let the future get stolen by a “bunch of cowboys in the White

House.” Speakers exposed the detentions and disappearances of immigrants, the

plans to have high schools and colleges turn over people’s information to the

FBI and military recruiters. Together we took the Not In Our Name Pledge of

Resistance, fists in the air! We promised to ourselves and to the people of the

world that with every escalation and war move from the Asses of Evil, we’re

gonna meet it with escalating Resistance! As people marched, they chanted: “Tapping our phones, reading our mail, the FBI

should go to jail!” “You say it’s for the people, you say it’s to be free, but

we are the people, don’t fight this war for me!” “They want us silent, they

want us tame, this war on Iraq is not in our name!” “The students and the

youth, stand up, rise up! With the people of the world, stand up, rise up!” November 20TH WAS AN AMAZING DAY!!!

www.notinourname.net

"Live in peace with the animals. Animals bring love to our hearts, and warmth to our souls."

Colleen Klaum

"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." Immanuel Kant

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