The demonstration began at noon across the street from the New Hampshire National Guard Armory with a speaker whose son is serving in the armed forces. While folks were gathering for the march, one group of demonstrators had stop signs which read “Stop the War” and during red lights went out into the crosswalk. A Concord police officer swiftly called for them to cease entering the intersection. They complied. Then the mile long march began.

There was a fair amount of diversity in the crowd. Attendees ranged from veteran anti-war activists who got their start in the Vietnam War to Libertarians to high school students on their lunch break from the YMCA’s Youth in Government program. There were moms with their kids, the good ladies of Sisters of Mercy, the American Friends Service Committee Youth Steering Committee, and military veterans. I was glad to see so many young people at the event. As the march began, one young man kept the energy up with his drum. Demonstrators marched towards downtown Concord and ended at the Statehouse, obeying all traffic laws. As the march turned unto North Main St., Mitt Romney, (and his entourage) who was in town for reasons unknown, made a swift getaway from in front of the New Hampshire Republicans headquarters by ducking into his vehicle.

The march ended in front of the Statehouse, where folks left flowers and a pair of military boots at the foot of the New Hampshire War Memorial. The crowd sang vintage anti-war songs such as “Imagine”, “Down by the Riverside”, and “Which Side are You On”. People remained at the Statehouse plaza following the march. Several marchers took another stroll around the block to provide more visibility for the demonstration. There were tables from local and statewide peace organizations and one gentleman was collecting signatures in order to get on the ballot as a libertarian candidate in the upcoming election for representative.

I was able to talk to a lot of folks at the event. One particularly enlightening discussion was with one of the Sisters of Mercy. She talked about her experiences working with the poor. She told me in her experience that many folks who are poor are afraid to be anything but patriotic because they are so outcasted already. In her work with the poor, she sees the indirect effects of war, from funding being cut to the stress war places on families. She also expressed concern about the culture of demonstrations, and their lack of appeal to a variety of constituents, including youth.

Overall, I was impressed by the number and diversity of the attendees. It seems like an anti-war position is becoming more mainstream. Not a minute went by without people honking their horns in support or giving the peace sign and thumbs up.