Anti-War Voices from Montana

By Rose Aguilar, AlterNet. Posted September 26, 2005.

Far from the steps of the White House, about 100 peace activists braved the cold and light rain Saturday night in Missoula, Montana to rally in conjunction with the anti-war march in Washington, D.C.

"It's important to remember that there are people everywhere in America who value peace and international cooperation, not just Washington D.C. and San Francisco," says Gerry Blackman, 65. "I don't think we can discount the numbers of these people everywhere in America."

Missoula's "Take Back Our Country, Bring Back Our Troops" rally was sponsored by the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center and Code Pink. Missoula, which is referred to by locals as the "liberal bastion" of Montana, gave John Kerry 52% of the vote in the 2004 presidential election.

"Missoula is the one place in Montana where a rally like this can happen on a fairly large scale," says Blackman, who recently returned from Uzbekistan as a Peace Corps volunteer. "I'm originally from Great Falls, Montana, which is a little different; maybe not so progressive. It's more content with the war because they support a military base. I've lived there most of my adult life. I've lived in Missoula about 17 years. This is a community that supports and mirrors my attitudes about peace and our international relations. It's a very special community in our state."

"This is the island," adds Jay Bostrom, a middle school teacher. "I spent a year in Helena, Montana and we tried to protest there, but the climate is extremely different. That's the capitol of the state, which is interesting because there is a pretty strong group of peace seekers in that area, but they stand alone and isolated. Standing on the corner with a sign there is a very different experience. At the last anti-war rally we had here, there were 1,000 people, whereas in Helena, there might be 50. Helena might be the second most progressive place in the state, which is not saying much."

While Montana is often referred to as a "red state," it has a much wider political spectrum than it gets credit for. Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer won a closely watched, highly publicized race in November, making him the state's first Democratic governor since 1988. During that same election, 62 percent of Montana voters approved a medical marijuana initiative, the 11th state in the country -- and the ninth Western state -- to do so. The Schweitzer and medical marijuana victories came even as Montanans voted by wide margins to ban gay marriage and reelect George W. Bush for President.

The state's progressives are also proud of the fact that Jeannette Rankin, a Missoula, Montana native, was the first woman ever elected to Congress in 1916, four years before women nationwide won the right to vote. In 1917, Rankin joined a handful of representatives who voted against World War I, saying that the first time the first woman had a chance to say no against war she should say it." In 1941, Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against World War II.

"Her (Rankin's) political integrity and voting record puts to shame the vast majority of congressmen and women today. She was immensely popular in this 'red state' despite her intractable anti-war and women's rights stances," says Bostrom. "Montana has nothing to be ashamed of politically. The seemingly incongruent and incoherent politics of this state are no worse than the unexplainable feat by the state of California to put Arnold in the Governor's office."

All of the people I interviewed at Saturday's rally are dedicated activists working for various causes both locally and internationally. Carel Schneider, 61, was at the rally representing Women in Black Missoula, a group she started on December 6, 2001. "After 2001, something was totally amiss in my whole energy field because of what we were doing. I had to stand up for what I believed in," she says. "I researched Women in Black, we started standing and we have been ever since."

Members of Women in Black Missoula stand on the town's visible bridge every Friday. "At first, we were called unpatriotic and un-American. When we went to war, people gave us the finger and yelled at us. There have been interims when they've honked in support, but we seem to be moving back into the hostile area," says Schneider. "I don't know why that's happening. It depends on the political arena. As long as we're there, they have to see us and we have to enter their heads. Somehow we're making a difference."

Rose Aguilar is a San Francisco-based journalist gathering stories from people living in states that voted overwhelmingly for George W. Bush. Track her journey at Stories in America.

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