SF IVAW Stands in Silence for Fallen Soldiers, Civilians in Iraq

Some 18 people were arrested at Market and Montgomery for doing a die-in on the street, blocking traffic for most of the lunch hour from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on March 19, 2009 as part of the day's anti-war activities in San Francisco. The hour started when about 50 police stood in front of the Bank of America building at Market and Montgomery, diagonally across Market Street from the peace rally where there may have been 50 peaceniks. There were at least a dozen light motorcycles parked nearby, and around the corner on New Montgomery, another dozen police cars with more police on the sidewalk by the Bank of America. This protection of private property and private profits with our tax dollars to the tune of at least $80,000 a year and up for each cop, plus all the hardware and all the vehicles, ended around 12:30 p.m. as the police moved the very expensive vehicles out of the area and lined up on Market Street to arrest the die-in participants. A good-sized crowd watched this whole show. Most people had no idea that this was the 6th anniversary of the illegal US invasion and occupation of Iraq.