January 31st was a day of protest across the country, challenging the Bush Regime’s many crimes, most specifically including the torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. I skipped class to participate in the demo in Chicago. As the snow drifted down on a freezing Chicago day, about 50 protestors gathered at Thompson Center in orange jumpsuits and hoods to vividly portray the reality of torture being carried out in America’s name by the Bush Regime. Many were college and high school students, but veterans were also present as well as just regular folks who refuse to accept the torture and other crimes being committed on a daily basis in our names.

Lining up in single file and escorted by “interrogators,” a procession of orange-clad and hooded temporary “detainees” marched through downtown Chicago, chanting: “Rise up, before it’s too late! We won’t live in a torture State!” The march stopped first in front of ABC 7 Chicago’s tv studio, where all of the detainees were forced to kneel while the interrogators requested information. As the march continued, all of the detainees stopped in a plaza and knelt on the ground as one was singled out to be waterboarded. The march then moved on to the Federal building, and from there it moved on and ended at the building housing the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and ICE. Video of the demo:
youtube.com/watch