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After being called “idiots,” thanked profusely, having their manners upbraided, told alternatively during a three-hour public hearing that they were unpatriotic and true patriots, the Berkeley City Council softened rhetoric of a Jan. 29 council item that would have had staff write the Marines, saying their recruiters are “uninvited and unwelcome intruders” in Berkeley. 

After more than three hours of speakers that rotated in and out of the 130-seat Council Chambers and a council debate that extended past 1 a.m. Wednesday—as well as 24 hours of demonstrations that drew some 2,000 people—the City Council voted 7-2 to recognize publicly the right of recruiters to locate in Berkeley, while underscoring its opposition to the “illegal and unjust” Iraq war and differentiating between condemning the war and its warriors.  

Berkeley Hills-area Council-members Betty Olds and Gordon Wozniak voted against the item, having lost an earlier push for the council to issue a formal apology to the Marines.  

Councilmembers Worthington and Capitelli also supported an apology, but voted for the council item. 

Winter camp 

The council meeting came as the climax to the round-the-clock demonstrations that began Monday evening in celebratory style with a “peace-in” at the Maudelle Shirek Building that houses the Council Chambers on Martin Luther King Jr. Way.  

About 40 people from Code Pink, World Can’t Wait, Veteran’s Against the War and Courage to Resist spent the night on the lawn in 14 tents and under the stars, after an evening of spirited singing and salsa dancing, mixed with serious talk of war and peace. 

Dressed in army fatigues, former Marine Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist, a group that helps military personnel who want to leave the armed forces, was preparing to spend the night out. A sign he propped up on a chair was directed to the Canadian government, where some 200 U.S. military men and women are seeking refuge. “Dear Canada,” the sign read, “Let U.S. war resisters stay.”  

“I’m out here to support people who are protesting military recruiting in our communities,” Paterson told the Planet Monday evening. “I believe if people are going to join the military, they should know the other side of the story. I wish somebody had told me the other side of the story before I joined.” 

Move America Forward 

The protests Monday night and throughout the day Tuesday were set in motion by the disdain of the conservative organization Move America Forward (MAF) for Berkeley City Council support for the Marine Recruiting Center protesters and the Jan. 29 council vote to tell the recruiters they are unwelcome in Berkeley.  

They sent out a call that brought hundreds to Civic Center Park, directly across the street from the Maudelle Shirek Building and the anti-war protest. At least one person drove in from as far as Colorado.  

Illuminated by the glare of TV lights, MAF began its protest at 5 a.m. Tuesday with about two dozen people, carrying American flags, pictures of young people serving in Iraq or those who died there, and placards reading: “Support victory—surrender is not an option” and “Stand Untied America: Support Our Troops.” 

Lisa Disbrow from Moraga was in the crowd. A Blue Star Mom and member of the Lafayette Flag Brigade, Disbrow told the Planet her son is an army officer “dedicated to peace.”  

“Our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines are volunteers who willingly stand in defense of this nation and every living American, and we owe them the honor that the city of Berkeley has taken away,” she said. “The city of Berkeley is actually harassing the Marines in an effort to look as though they’re in support of peace. They’re not in support of peace. They’re actually in support of terrorists.” 

At around 5:30 a.m. or so, some two dozen people with U.S. Out of Iraq/ ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) placards walked across Martin Luther King Jr. Way from the peace camp and began squaring off with the pro-military group in heated verbal matches that would characterize the rest of the day and night. 

A dozen police also moved across the street from the Public Safety Building and took up posts on the park perimeter. 

By around 6:30 a.m., the crowd on the park side of the street had swelled to around 90 protesters, with three dozen from the pro-war contingent. The Planet caught up with KSFO Radio talk-show host Melanie Morgan, chair of Move America Forward, who explained why only a few dozen MAF supporters were there.  

“We weren’t even expecting anyone to turn out—this was a media opportunity,” she said. “We weren’t expecting anyone to turn up until later this afternoon for our full demonstration and rally that we were planning for 7 o’clock [p.m.].”  

(In fact, by late afternoon there were several hundred MAF supporters in Civic Center Park, bolstered by a contingent of some 60 motorcycle riders from various American Legion posts.) 

Morgan addressed why she is so strongly pro-military. “They are fighting for our interests,” she said. “They are fighting to establish a beachhead in Iraq for millions of Iraqi women who have been beheaded, stoned and raped as a result of tyrannies and dictatorships.” 

The Planet asked what Morgan meant by beachhead, but she said she had to go. 

As discussions heated up, the Code Pink women could be seen stepping between people shouting at one another, as was the case when Scott Conover, who had lost a loved one in Iraq began yelling at a World-Can’t-Wait demonstrator carrying the picture of a person who had been tortured in Iraq. Conover was shouting that the picture was an insult to the dead American fighters in Iraq.  

Nearby, Berkeley resident Andrea Prichett, who teaches high school students at B-Tech Academy, was debating a pro-military veteran: “How many of my students have gone off to war because they couldn’t get a job in this country?” she asked. “It’s either jail, unemployment or the war—that’s a pretty ugly choice and I don’t think it’s a choice you had to make back in your day.”  

Arrests 

Some of the protesters on both sides of the issue became agitated at different points during the day. Berkeley Police sent lines of officers into the fray from time to time to separate the two sides. 

Four people were arrested during the day and charged with misdemeanors, according to Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, police spokesperson. 

At about 1 p.m. a pro-military protester from Rockland, Calif., was arrested for brandishing a knife, booked into the Berkeley jail and released. Kusmiss said Code Pink members had draped a pink banner around the man, which caused him to pull out a knife and allegedly threaten to kill a demonstrator. 

The arrest of two young men, 13 and 15, at around 3:15 p.m., enraged the large number of young people who had joined the demonstration after school. The 3,000-student Berkeley High School is just south of the park. 

According to police, the young men in question were wearing orange bandanas, which made police believe they were “aligned” with World Can’t Wait. At noon, they had gotten into “heated verbal exchanges” with pro-military demonstrators at Civic Center Park, where they normally skateboard at lunchtime. 

“Both sides were admonished by Berkeley Police,” said Kusmiss, the Berkeley police spokesperson. The youth returned after school “and police saw two young men challenging the pro-military group to a fight,” Kusmiss said.  

Believing that the situation might escalate, the officers arrested both young men. Students at the demonstration told the Planet the police had been unnecessarily rough with their friends. Police did not confirm this. 

The arrests sparked anger among several hundred of the protesters, including 50 to 100 high school-age youth, who went across the street to the Public Safety Building, where the arrestees were taken, and attempted to sit on the Public Safety Building steps.  

Their refusal to move was met by about 25 police in riot gear who pushed the protesters back with their batons. 

One woman in the crowd was arrested who allegedly slapped an officer, according to Kusmiss. 

Speaking their truth 

In the evening, the City Council moved through its usual array of business—possible new taxes, zoning questions, air quality issues and more—and took up public comment at about 9:15 p.m., rotating people who wished to speak through the small Council Chambers. 

According to City Manager Phil Kamlarz, police and city management determined public safety could not be assured had the meeting been moved to a larger venue, such as the Berkeley Community Theater. 

Speakers were given a minute each to address the council, while outside a crowd of several hundred reacted with cheers or boos while listening to the meeting over a loud speaker. 

Debbie Lee stood before the council with a picture of her son, a Navy Seal killed in Iraq. “He gave up his life for freedom,” she said, adding that no army recruiter had lied to him. Lee asked the council for an apology. “You have offended us deeply,” she said. 

Debbie Parrish’s son is serving his second tour in Iraq. “My son is happy to be there,” she told the council. “He’s not going to come home in a body bag.” 

Several Berkeley residents told the council that its position on the recruiting center did not represent them. “It’s not right to imply you represent all Berkeley citizens,” Roselyn Tademy said. 

Michael Roberts, also of Berkeley, told the council he opposes the war. “You made a mistake,” he said, speaking of opposition to the recruiting center. “Young people have a right to choose” the military. 

Jeff Thompson was among several UC Berkeley students who are veterans and spoke to the council. “We need to recruit students into the military, he said. “We need educated people in the military.” 

San Ramon Assemblyman Guy Houston, who is calling for the state legislature to cut Berkeley’s state transportation funds as punishment for its anti-recruiter stance, told the council that it has “embarrassed the country.” (The council did not respond, but the mayor earlier in the week called the legislation “demagoguery.”) 

Dozens of speakers thanked the council for its support. Jean Stewart from El Sobrante was among them: “I want to express gratitude for your courageous and gutsy stand,” she said, noting that recruiters don’t tell young people they may come home maimed or in body bags. “It shocks me that more city councils haven’t done what you’ve done,” she added. 

Several Berkeley High students spoke out, including Rose Goldstein, 14, and Giovanni Jackson. Jackson told the council students had “braved police batons” earlier in the day. “There are a million Iraqis who are dead,” he said. “We’re determined to shut down the recruiting station.” 

Sharon Kufeldt, vice-president of Veterans for Peace, told the council that incidents of rape and abuse of potential recruits by recruiters has meant that when recruiters now interview women, they must do so in pairs. “I’m not anti-military,” said the veteran. “I’m not anti-Marine.” 

Former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass, a UC Berkeley professor, was among the grateful Berkeley residents. “I’m proud to be part of Berkeley, to say thank you to you,” he said, noting that the council stance will be recorded as “one of the honorable chapters” in Berkeley history. 

Responding to threats by legislators to cut off state and federal funds, Jennifer Kidder of Berkeley said that instead of slashing funds, congress should be cutting off the flow of recruits to war. “I am so proud of you,” she told the council. 

“We love you,” Berkeley resident George Lippman told the council. “You represent the best in Berkeley—don’t turn back; don’t recant.” 

Berkeley resident Claire Greensfelder praised the council for the “unintended consequence—a dialog about the war on national TV.” 

Councilmember Dona Spring responded in kind later in the evening. “I’m so proud of those who came out to speak tonight,” she said. “We burn a light for the rest of the world.”