Hundreds of Santa Cruz residents joined Sunday’s massive march in San Francisco aimed at stopping the Bush Administration’s war on Iraq. The crowd estimates so far have been between 150,000 to 250,000. These numbers are in addition to the millions of people who marched in over 600 cities all over the world on Saturday in an international day of action to stop the war (San Francisco had postponed the march by one day because of the Chinese New Year parade).

Though there’s a difference in estimates of what the crowd size was in San Francisco, one thing is clear - The crowd was as diverse as it was enormous.

“It’s just amazing,” observed Santa Cruz Green Party Organizer Louis LaFortune, “It’s the voice of the people.”

Though the urgency in averting a war on Iraq was the primary focus of the march and rallies, there was also an effort to bring attention to U.S. imperialism, militarism, the movement to free the Palestinian people, the take over of the media by corporations as well as many other pressing issues.

“250,000 Air Strikes since 1992,” someone’s sign reminded us, “When did the Gulf War End?”

“Disarm Everybody”

A large cardboard tank representing one that would be used against the Palestinians had a sign on the front reading “Paid for by the United States Government”

“Don’t Trust the Corporate Media” warned someone else.

There was also a great deal of concern expressed about domestic issues such as the loss of civil liberties and the serious lack of needed resources in education and health care, particularly in light of Bush’s budget of $380 billion for the military (which includes a $15 billion or 4.2% increase).

“Books not Bombs” read one sign. “Smart Kids Not Smart Bombs” read another.

“What if we spent billions on Peace?”

“Don’t Let The Fascists Take Away Our Civil Liberties”

The connection between the war on Iraq and the desire for the rich oil reserves that lie beneath it was a consistent point that was made throughout the day. The infamous Henry Kissinger quote, “Oil is much too important a commodity to be left in the hands of the Arabs,” was held high above the head of one of the marchers.

“What’s Our Oil Doing Underneath Their Land?” someone else asked facetiously.

Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) owners were also taken to task for choosing vehicles with such voracious appetites for gasoline and no regard for fuel efficiency.

“If War Is Inevitable, Then Start Drafting SUV Owners” was a sign spotted several times.

“SUV Owners, This War’s For You!” was the message on another one.

People were also quite candid in their critique of Bush and many were calling for his impeachment.

“Solid as a Rock, Only Dumber” under a picture of Bush, and “Smart Bombs? How About a Smart President?” were indicative of some of the common themes in the seemingly endless stream of citizens and their messages making their way from the Embarcadero to the Civic Center.

“Last time we were all at the Civic Center by two pm. It’s two-thirty now and we’re not even close!” responded Dave, a resident of Santa Cruz, when asked about the size of the march.

“It doesn’t surprise me. There’s a lot of people who are not down with this war,” remarked June, another activist who made her way up to the city from Santa Cruz adding yet another citizen’s voice to the ever increasing numbers that even the corporate media can no longer ignore.

“It’s wonderful,” Dave added. “For the first time ever, the mainstream media have to recognize us!”