Kansas City News Blog

More than 4,000 U.S. soldiers killed.
At least 90,000 Iraqis dead.
Nearly $602 billion spent.

As the human and social costs of the war in Iraq have piled up these past six years, commuters on Ward Parkway can count on one thing: Every Tuesday night they encounter a small band of peace advocates waving signs with the latest statistics and venting their frustration at a lying, conniving president. The long-running weekly protest started on February 25, 2003, on the inspiration of activist Roger Goldblatt. Last night, a larger than typical crowd mingled with Goldblatt as they marked the protest's sixth anniversary.

Name: Roger Goldblatt (right)

How this all started: "I led my first protest, actually, the day of the inauguration of [George W.] Bush, and I committed to protesting on the Plaza alone on Tuesdays," Goldblatt recalled last night. "But the very first day -- I had my signs ready and everything -- was September 11, 2001. So I put off protesting for about a year. ... Then, when I held my single protest at J.C. Nichols fountain, it was just preaching to the choir because everybody was honking. So I thought, Why don't we try to expose this point of view to people heading south?"

A new spot at 63rd Street and Ward Parkway: The initial peace gathering was just a few weeks before the initial bombing of Iraq in March 2003. There were just five people out on the corner that first day, Goldblatt said. Of that small crew, a handful still attend, even six years later. "I stayed every week for a year and a half," Goldblatt said.

The high point of six years protesting: "I'm not going to say there's been a crescendo; every night we're out here, there are certainly a lot of people against it and people giving us the finger," he said. "But we've had an outpouring of positive response from day one that the commercial media didn't report on."

The low point: "[Kansas City Star columnist E.] Thomas McClanahan wrote an article about us within the first year," Goldblatt said. "He said he stopped and didn't hear any honking, so therefore the country was not behind us and was for this war. For me, that was just emblematic of how the commercial media has eyes but cannot see. I don't know how he didn't hear any honking, but, to me, it was so emblematic of what we were dealing with."

Enough signs and slogans to fill a museum: Last night, David Beebe, one of the most frequent Tuesday-night protesters, was wielding a sign suggesting "Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity." But, in the years they've been holding vigil, the placards have been plentiful. "One day we won't be out here and down in the arts district we can get the signs we've all made and put them on a wall," he said. "It would be great memorabilia." One placard Beebe would be sure to display: "Afghanistan: Where Empires Go to Die."

Hopefully, the last day comes soon: Goldblatt, who returned last night for the anniversary, said he doesn't come to the rally regularly anymore. Part of the reason is newfound optimism. "I'm very hopeful about Obama," he said. "That's one reason I'm not necessarily out here anymore: I want to give him the opportunity to do the right thing and turn things around."