Hours after the U.S. and Israel launched a major attack against Iran, protestors gathered Saturday afternoon near Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. The action was called by the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and included other groups such as Veterans for Peace and Stop the War Machine.
Cars zooming along the busy Gibson Boulevard corridor honked in support of the approximately 60 peaceful protestors standing on either side of the Truman Gate, a common site for anti-war actions. Inside, two groups of soldiers in all-terrain vehicles watched the proceedings from a distance.
Robin Hopson is an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and a mental health practitioner. She told the crowd the attack was unprovoked and is part of a pattern by the U.S. to steal working class people’s oil and labor, invoking the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and blockading Cuba.
Speakers took turns calling for an end to both strikes against Iran and support for Israel. Several drew parallels to the Iraq War and recalled the thousands of lives lost in that yearslong conflict.
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said regime change in Iran was the goal of the attacks. Trump cited what he said is a nuclear threat posed by Iran, despite saying last year that the U.S. had “obliterated” the country’s nuclear capability. He has also invoked Iran’s killing of protestors and previously cited that as a potential justification for strikes.
That last point did not convince Ethan Schmerling, 30, one of two people holding a banner that read: “Trump, the People Say: No War on Iran!”
“I've just never seen the United States actually liberate other nations and make their lives better for the people living there,” Schmerling said. “So, it seems like this is a US-Israel action, and I don't think that leads towards stability in the region.”
He added he saw no reason to fight Iran “for Israel’s sake.”
“And there's no reason why our tax dollars, why our soldiers, why any of our resources, should be going for this current strike,” he said.
Nelia Bryant, 27, is a PSL member and said it’s hypocritical of the United States to tell other countries how to govern themselves, pointing out the deaths of two protestors in Minneapolis at the hands of federal officials. She also said there are needs for housing and health care right here in Albuquerque.
“Let's feed our people. Let's house our people. Let's give our people health care. Let's make sure women have equal rights and access to abortion, things like that here, before we go to try overseas and preach to them on what they should do,” she said.
At least one speaker said protestors also need to talk to the military members behind the Kirtland gates, and Bryant agreed. Members of the military are also members of the working class, she said.
“They are not our enemy. We are willing to be in class solidarity with the working-class members of the military who have the potential to pay the highest possible price for this aggression,” she said.
Michele Boccia, 64, told the crowd she was excited to see so many young people at the protest and encouraged everyone to also take care of themselves while being activists.
“This is your world, and you're making a huge difference. So, I just wanted to say thank you, and surround your heart with some love right now,” she said.
Boccia is an associate with the Sisters of St. Joseph, a Catholic order. She said she is a lay person who commits to live the values of the Sisters.
“Jesus said that we have to love one another and care for the poor and vulnerable, and that's throughout the New Testament,” she said. “This is the way I live my faith. Going to church on Sunday is great, but he calls us to do this every single day, and this is what I'm doing. It's called Faith in Action that they're out there trying to be -- I fall short -- but trying to be the hands and heart and eyes and feet of the Lord. So that's what I'm trying to do, to live my faith in action.”
Boccia said she has attended many protests and always carries an American flag.
“This is our country, and I feel like the Republicans have co-opted the flag like it's their flag. This is my flag too, so I always bring it,” she said.
Robin Hoover, 73, is a retired pastor and holds a doctorate in political science. He wore a baseball hat with the words “Migrants Matter” and had a pastor’s stole around his neck, while holding a flag that read “F*&^ Donald Trump.” He said he has been protesting since the 1963 Cuban Missile Crisis.
“We're not going to change anything, but we don't want anything to change us,” Hoover said. “We're peace lovers, so that's part of the reason to protest is to not have the world change you.”
The protest was part of a nationwide call to action by the ANSWER Coalition, which is also calling for more protests on Monday.
