Peace activists hold somber gathering

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL, Chronicle Staff Writer

Peace rallies over the past few months have been filled with cheers, loud speeches, songs and dances.

But now that war in Iraq has begun, the tone of the peace movement has changed.

A group of protesters gathered at the Gallatin County Courthouse over the noon hour Thursday stood mostly in silence, holding hands and signs and writing messages in chalk along the sidewalk.

"It is a sobering day. It is a saddening day," Tina Rodriguez, a member of the Coalition Against War in Iraq, said as the crowd gathered. "The tenor of today may not be like a rally."

She encouraged the group of about 70 people to stand close to each other in a half circle. Those who wished to speak stepped to the middle and were regarded with respect, then applause.

"It is important for people to continue to say what they believe in," said Kerry Halligan, 31, of Bozeman. "When so many people around the country are saying, 'What's done is done,' and are willing to blindly follow -- this (event) gives me strength."

Rodriguez said the gathering was organized to give community members who are upset about the war a chance to come together to mourn, talk and support each others emotions.

"I feel like it is important for people to come together as a community and to not feel isolated," she said. "It is really important for people who are for peace to not disappear. It is not unpatriotic to still have this stance, even though we have begun pre-emptive war on Iraq."

Those gathered overwhelmingly expressed their support and concern for American troops in the Middle East and for Iraqi citizens.

"I keep thinking about the children and how horrifying it must be," said Ty Lourie, a Bozeman resident.

She held a sign like many others that read, "War? Not in my name."

Over the past few months, Lourie said she has participated in all the peace marches and demonstrations in Bozeman. But with the start of the war, she said it is difficult to maintain a positive attitude.

"I was always saying 'if' war starts, not 'when,' in terms of planning things," Lourie said. "I'm sorry it had to be when and not if."

Others, like Sean Tuttle, said they knew throughout the protests that war was an unavoidable reality.

"We were trying to do anything we could to slow it down," Tuttle said.

The coalition will continue to hold its silent vigils every Saturday at the courthouse throughout the conflict.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez is encouraging people to wear all black every day, to show grief for the lives lost in battle.

"I think it reflects the seriousness of what's going on and the sense of mourning," she said. "We have not gotten the pictures yet of what these attacks will do to the people in Iraq."

Wearing black may also serve to contradict some of the adrenaline induced "war speak," Rodriguez said.

"People on the ground don't necessarily care what a certain missile's range is," she said. "They care that it is falling on their home."

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