QUILCENE – About 30 war protesters dumped about 10 gallons of sawdust into Quilcene Harbor on Sunday in an allusion to the Boston Tea Party.
They acted to voice their disapproval of their tax dollars being spent on the Iraq war.
More than $500 billion has been spent on the war in Iraq, according to the Congressional Research Service.
They joined Code Pink’s antiwar actions in larger cities around the country planned for Sunday as well.
The Quilcene event was headed up by Code Pink organizer Kit Siemion, a Quilcene massage practitioner and school board member who was arrested during protests this year in Washington, D.C. He was with other Code Pink members protesting the war at speeches delivered by Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman.
“Every American needs to become a participant in whatever capacity they are able, and reestablish the principles of the Constitution,” Siemion read from a proclamation during the Quilcene protest.
Although a few spectators saw the protest, the event was more about the group voicing its opinions, Siemion said.
“We all need to stand up and voice or disapproval of this war,” she said.
Siemion said she and her Vietnam-veteran husband, Phillip, launched their pontoon “party” boat for the action in the bay and adorned it with banners with declarations such as “Impeach King George,” “Peace is Patriotic” and “Dollars for Books not Bombs.”
Other such protests were scheduled to take place in Portland, Ore., Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
Code Pink is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect resources into health care, education and other life-affirming activities, according to the group’s Web site at www.codepink4peace.org.
The organization said it rejects the Bush administration’s “fear-based politics that justify violence, and instead calls for policies based on compassion, kindness and a commitment to international law.”
Code Pink women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to nonviolence.
The group dumped the about 10 gallons of sawdust into the bay. American colonists who protested against Great Britain on Dec. 16, 1773, dumped crates of tea in Boston Harbor.
That anti-tax event helped spark the American Revolution.
“People need to take back the streets, and take back the country,” Siemion said.
“Because big business and a few greedy politicians basically running the show, the middle class is going away, and we don’t have a sustainable economy anymore.”
Siemion said she will plan future protests.
“We need to say, ‘No more, and we don’t buy Bush’s war,'” Siemion said.
“We certainly don’t even want to consider going into Iran.”
