end the war now

Washington DC is awash in poverty. The gentrified parts of the city look nothing like the surrounding environment, which is chock full of run-down residences and boarded up buildings. Of course the areas surrounding the Whitehouse and the Capitol are well maintained and surrounded by expensive stores and restaurants. My first impression of the city was that the GOP is interested in spliting the haves from the have-nots in the rest of the country just as the class divide exists in its home city. The march was successful in that there was a large turn out, some guessing that the numbers were in excess of 100,000. (For more images, see Flickr.) It was an exhausting experience. I covered the march from the inside as a protester, from the perimeters (climbing surrounding buildings), from the front, and rushed up to the Capitol to see the arrests in progress while the die-in was taking place. No sooner was I on the bus to come home when we learned that about 180 people had been arrested. The most unexpected part of the experience was that the march route was lined with Bush and GOP supporters. These are hateful people who enjoy name calling and have disdain for leftists. One of them reached out and ripped the scarf off my head before I was pulled away by protesters. It's ugly in Bush country. When I got back to NYC, my first instinct was to kiss the dirty pavement.