HUNDREDS PROTEST IN BOROUGH

By JUSTIN McANENY
Staff Writer

WEST CHESTER -- Several hundred protesters gathered in front of the the Chester County Courthouse on Saturday to show their support for or against the war in Iraq.

For the past five years, Karen Porter, director of the Chester County Peace Movement, has led protests against the war in Iraq. Those protesters have stood at the corners of High and Market streets in the borough without much opposition.

But seven weeks ago that changed when Rich Davis, who spent 20 years in the Navy and lives in West Chester, showed up, protesting Porter’s views of the war and how they protest. “(The protesters) are here every weekend. ... They are not the face of West Chester ... they are not the face of me,” Davis said last week.

Although he wasn’t able to attend Saturday’s protest, he said, “It’s grown and I’m thrilled. ... My presence intimidates them because I don’t think like them.”

Pro-war protesters gathered in front of the Old Glory statue while the majority of the anti-war protesters gathered across the street in front of the First National Bank’s Swope Building. A few, holding signs, stood mixed in with those supporting the war.

Protesters held signs urging motorists to honk their horns for peace, and others held signs supporting the war in Iraq.

As motorists stopped at the traffic light, some honked or shouted, “No war for oil!” while others took the opposite position, shouting that we need to be victorious in Iraq and to not be soft on Iran.

Cars passed, honking their horns, showing support for the anti-war protesters, or drivers and passengers yelled obscenities at both groups. Others stretched up and down High Street.

When support from passing motorists died down, shouting from both groups could be heard up and down the streets. “You people are traitors. ... You people are hypocrites,” shouted Philadelphia-resident Roale. Roale declined to give his last name.

Raole said his daughter is a commissioned officer in the Navy. “Any place that these people (anti-war protesters) are putting my kid at risk, I will be there to oppose them,” he said. “They are not a peace group. They are putting us all at risk.”

That sentiment, and the idea that those opposing the war are supporting terrorism, is the message that Raole and those surrounding him share.

“We give soldiers a voice by standing up for them,” said Chris Hill, national director of operations for the Gathering of Eagles, a nonprofit organization that supports American troops.

As tempers flared and protesters from both sides antagonized each other, an anti-war protester approached Hill and a vocal altercation followed. Other protestors stepped in before it escalated.

“He (the man walked away before he could be identified) came over here and challenged me to a fist fight,” Hill said. “I didn’t go over there. We didn’t come here looking for a fight.”
When told of the incident, Davis said, “I don’t condone the pushing, it’s not what I’m about. ... I want to solve problems.”

According to Porter, those that come out in opposition to the Chester County Peace Movement each Saturday, “their sole intent is to discourage these vigils.” As people supporting the Chester County Peace Movement were disseminating, Porter added, “They could do it any other time of the week. ... They’re not pro-military or pro-war, the point from day one has been to intimidate us.”

In an earlier conversation, Porter acknowledged that allowing both sides to air their views is necessary, but she said people who support Davis “wouldn’t be here if our message wasn’t getting across.”

She also said that they are good people who “want to support what they believe.”

This week’s crowd was larger than those in past weeks and that got the attention of some that had never attended -- for or against the war.

“I was driving by and thought I’d stop, just to see what’s going on,” said retired West Chester Police Officer Bill Chesko.

Although Chesko supports the war in Iraq he said he doesn’t “side with the biker gang (those on motorcylces who are part of the Gathering of Eagles).” He added, “Quite honestly, I can’t tell what this does after a while. ... You are not going to change anybody’s mind by yelling.”

 

 

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