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Activists planning protest at Rose Parade
By: North County Times wire services | ∞
PASADENA - Peace activists said Sunday they plan to protest and unfurl signs during the Rose Parade on Tuesday, and then march down Colorado Boulevard as the parade ends, calling for an end to the Iraq war and for the impeachment of the president and vice president.
A group calling itself the White Rose Coalition said its members plan to demonstrate in front of the TV camera platforms at the Norton Simon Museum starting at 6 a.m. New Year's Day.
Pasadena police said Sunday they had just heard of the plans, and were checking on police responses. An official said the police department would make an announcement on how the protest would be handled later Sunday.
A spokesman for the coalition, Peter Thottam, said organizers plan to start demonstrating during pre-parade telecasts at 6 a.m. An internet site operated by the Coalition says activists will unfurl a banner and demonstrate as the Port of Los Angeles float passes by the grandstands on Colorado Boulevard east of Orange Grove Boulevard, at about 9 a.m.
Thottam said organizers have been promised by the Pasadena police and Tournament of Roses officials that they will not be arrested if they do not hold up signs as to block other persons' views.
"Everything we are doing is strictly within our First Amendment rights, and we do not want to interrupt anyone's enjoyment of the parade," he said Sunday. "We have made it clear to every participant that we want to be respectful."
Thottam, a lawyer and former political candidate for the Green Party, acknowledged that "there are some people who will get out of hand, and we have no control over everyone. We are a decentralized group simply trying to get our message out through the mainstream media blockade, especially about the impeachment of the president of the United States."
Peace activist Cindy Sheehan reportedly will also attend, Tottham said, to call for the immediate pullout of troops from Iraq, and for the impeachment of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Tournament of Roses president CL Keedy told KTLA news that "there are rules and there are laws that have to be obeyed."
"Public safety officers will enforce those laws and it's up to the networks if they want to show those events," he told Channel 5.
The peace protest will take place at the same parade that is targeted this year by activists protesting the human rights record of China. They have called on parade spectators to turn their backs on the Beijing Olympics float as it moves down the parade.
Peace protest organizers said they plan to march right behind the parade street sweepers for several blocks east down Colorado Boulevard, then branch off for a rally at the Pasadena City Hall, two blocks north of the parade.
The White Rose Coalition includes members of Code Pink, a group that has dogged Sen. Hillary Clinton and other politicians they consider too hawkish on the war in Iraq. Other members include Veterans for Peace and members of the Green Party.
The name is taken after a short-lived resistance movement to Nazi power in Munich in 1942.
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freedom wrote on Dec 30, 2007 10:54 PM:the freedom to protest, that is the right of every American.
American Mike wrote on Dec 30, 2007 11:34 PM:Good ole USA. Where you can publicly make an azz out of yourself and it won't cost you a dime. I can hear it now, "mommy, who are those people?".
The freedom to wrote on Dec 31, 2007 6:35 AM:not watch and not listen also another right of every American.
Sandi wrote on Dec 31, 2007 7:51 AM:The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.
Old Activist wrote on Dec 31, 2007 8:20 AM:You're right, Freedom, but there's a time and place for everything. Those protesters will merely be taking up space--space which should be reserved for people who actually want to view/enjoy the parade in person. I'll be there tomorrow morning. If the protesters start in around me, my *Keep your politics out of our parade* sign will go up.
JK wrote on Dec 31, 2007 11:22 AM:Maybe they could give an honorable mention in protest of the millions of roses that are needlessly murdered each year for our enjoyment.
Oh, fer cryin' out loud! wrote on Dec 31, 2007 11:36 AM:Why can't these idiots use another forum to display their displeasure with their issues? 'My' issue is about illegal immigration, but the Rose Parade is absolutely NOT an event at which I would even comment to anyone about my stance. Can't people just go to this event just to enjoy the sights and sounds without making spectacles of themselves? They'll do more to harm their cause than find support for it, that's for darn sure. And if Cindy Sheehan shows up, I do hope she gets politely booed. It's not that people don't feel the same way she does about Iraq, it's just that the Rose Parade, a fun family event, is not the proper forum.
Tom wrote on Dec 31, 2007 1:42 PM:Stay home protesters. Don't rain on our parade!
jennifer wrote on Dec 31, 2007 5:03 PM:the reason we use places like the rose parade is because that is an event that has a lot of people with many different view points, there is not really a better opprotunity to broadcast your message than the rose parade. you can get your message to so many people who may not have cable news and the internet and have no idea that people are calling for the impeachment of the president and his vice-president. i would like to ask just what is the correct forum to call for impeachment is? all these people commenting that the rose parade is neither the time or place, why not? it is a parade that commemorates the new year in which we celebrate our country and it's citizens. the most patriotic thing as americans that we can do is be involved with our political process. the best way to show how we feel about our political process is to go to the event that is being brought to the most people, it is just good advertisement. you want your message to be seen by the most amount of people. i fail to see the harm. american mike when your child says "mommy who are those people?" it is a great opprotunity to explain to your children that those people are excersizing their constitutional rights and are doing their duty as citizens of our country to protest the un-just and the criminal entities in our government. thank you for reading. peace be with you and your families and may there be a grewat awakening thanks to the white rose coalition.
Peace, Love and Respect,
Jen ...
Jennifer (retro Flower Child), wrote on Dec 31, 2007 8:55 PM:Did it ever occur to you that people DON'T want to hear political messages at the Rose Parade????? I can see it now, explaining to one's 6-year-old: "Why, honey, they're just exercising their constitutional rights and doing their duty to protest the criminal entities in our government."---Yup, Jennifer, I'm sure they'll totally understand. Tell me, do you take your 'message' to Disneyland regularly, too?---And who REALLY doesn't get the news these days? Most people DO have televisions, read the newspapers, and use the Internet regularly, in case you were wondering. If I want to know about impeachment, I'll go to political forums, NOT the Rose Parade. Gawd, do you protest military funerals, too? Blechhh.
dismayed wrote on Jan 2, 2008 8:10 PM:Public events are exactly the place to protest.
Although I don't think many will see it accept for the complete idiots that would waste their time watching a ridiculous parade for a worthless football game.
Enjoy the bread and circus tools.
Gee, 'dismayed'...... wrote on Jan 3, 2008 11:20 AM:what do 'you' do for fun? Don't be so condescending in thinking that going to a once-a-year parade or to a football game once in a while renders the spectators complete idiots who know nothing about the political landscape. Lord knows we're inundated with politics from every news source all day, so doing something 'fun' once in a while provides balance in our lives. Oy.
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