Monday, January 05, 2009
1000+ in San Jose: "Free, free Palestine"
Yesterday more than a thousand people (personally counted by me, and, as usual, grossly underestimated by the media) turned out at the busiest corner in San Jose, CA to demonstrate their outrage at the ongoing Israeli massacre of the people of Gaza. Situated between the immense Valley Fair Mall and the tony Santana Row shopping district, the corner of Winchester and Stevens Creek Blvd. receives a steady flow of traffic. What was perhaps most remarkable about the demonstration wasn't the outrage-fueled spirit of the demonstrators, but the continual sound of solidarity honking and thumbs up from the cars passing by.
After an hour and a half of spirited chanting and marching from corner to corner of the four-cornered intersection, the crowd had become too big for the location, and too restless as well, and so we marched, straight through Santana Row, past the crowd of shoppers, diners, and farmers market patrons, chanting (not caught on the video) "No shopping while bombs are dropping!"
Free, free Palestine! Stop bombing Gaza! Keep up the pressure on the terrorist Israeli and U.S. governments.
Here's the video, which includes some of the local TV news footage; as usual, I recommend clicking here and then clicking on "Watch in high quality" to see the best version.
