Protest prompts military recruiting office shutdown

<www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2003/March/06/local/stories/02local.htm>

March 6, 2003
By RAMONA TURNER
Sentinel staff writer

CAPITOLA -- County residents stepped out of their daily routines Wednesday to tell President Bush not to start a war with Iraq.
About 100 people gathered around noon in front of the military recruitment office at 41st Avenue and Clares Street. They were intent on preventing local men and women from enlisting.
But the recruiters weren’t there. Capitola police told them of the planned protests and recommended they close up shop.
Undaunted, the peaceniks sang songs and chanted anti-war slogans to passers-by. Organizers pitched the event as the first local act of civil disobedience in the anti-war rallies of the past few months.
Santa Cruz’s Woody Wood, a songwriter and former electrical engineer, strummed his guitar and quietly sang, “I ain’t gonna study war no more.” He and his family participated, he said, because “we have to stop this war. It’s going to be so bad for this country.”
Life already is difficult, the demonstrators said, citing local school closures and the loss of teachers. They said the United States should spend less money on the military and more on education, adding many of those who enlist do so for economic reasons that stem from a poor education and lack of job skills.
A Marines Corps recruiter who returned to the office after the protesters left said he and his colleagues were unfazed by the demonstration. He said the demonstrators had every right to exercise their First Amendment rights. The local recruiters went to a Santa Clara recruiting office for part of the day, he said.
Many demonstrators used costumes or signs to express themselves. One man wore a hazardous materials-type jumpsuit and a skull mask as he pushed a wheelbarrow filled with broken baby dolls.
Other demonstrators held signs. “We love you, don’t got to war,” read one. Another stated, “War is good business, invest your son here.”
The event drew honks and waves, mostly of support, though some hand gestures suggested disagreement with the protesters.
The ruckus caught the attention of nearby merchants.
Falafel of Capitola owner Thayr Lowtfi supported the group’s conviction.
“The United States should let the United Nations take care of business,” said Lowtfi, a native of Syria who moved to the states about 25 years ago to pursue a degree in engineering at San Jose State University. “I am from that part of the world, and I know war. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein is not that easy. A lot of innocent people will die.”
But others at the rally said people are already dying and war is a way to stop that bloodshed.
“The protesters don’t look at the big picture,” said Bob Svendson, a Gulf War veteran who watched the action from his car in the Burger King parking lot. “They say they are afraid of casualties with war. But if we walk away, we’ve seen the casualties he inflicts on his own people. He gassed 40,000 people. You can’t always do the neat, easy job.”
Valerie Schlothauer, a mortgage lender of Aptos, stood just beyond the peace demonstrators silently holding a poster that encouraged people to support the troops. Her poster bore the photo of her son Daniel, 24, an Army Airborne Ranger stationed in Italy. He’s packed and ready to go to Iraq if the president orders him, she said.
“The boys did not cause the war, but they are going to fight terror for us,” she said, noting her son was proud to fight for his country. “We need to support them.”
Officers from the Capitola Police Department and California Highway Patrol worked crowd and traffic control. Capitola Lt. Mike Card said some protesters actually asked to be arrested, but officers declined. Since the office was closed, Card said, no one was prevented from entering, so there were no laws broken.
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Contact Ramona Turner at rturner (at) santa-cruz.com