Waking up Los Gatos

Los Gatos, CA is a relatively small town in the South Bay part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Population about 28,000, with an median income of $94,ooo. Average age? about 41. 83.3% of the folks in this little burb are white.

I tell you this because Mike, one of the members of Mountain View Voices for Peace (we're up the road about 20 miles) thought that we should take a walk down Santa Cruz Avenue, the main drag in Los Gatos this evening with signs for impeachment and for ending the war in uraq. Tien, of course, had his "Mend your Fuelish Ways" sign, too. Close your eyes and think about the street in your town with all the cute$t and coole$t boutiques. Don't forget the fully stocked Lamboroghini dealership on the corner. Yeah, it's that kind of street in that kind of town.

Los Gatos has not been a hotbed of protest about this war and I was afraid that that we would find that no one from this part of the Bay area even knew that the good old U of S A was involved in a war over there in Iraq. They have not suffered any casualties, so I wondered if they had been touched by this 4 year old war.

There is good news and bad news. While we found the town to be a little sleepy, especially for a Saturday night, we were able to raise some voices and garner some reactions to our signs demanding IMPEACH & OUT OF IRAQ. The reactions were mostly positive, but Los Gatos, I have to tell you that you have a couple of real mean eggs in your town. A middle aged woman was strolling down the street chatting with her friend. She couldn't miss us, all 11 of us, as she approached. With the closest thing to a Snidely Whiplash sneer, she suggested that we all be put in jail and then that we should GET A LIFE! I told her that I would like my son's life back and she told me WHO CARES? Our people were surprised, perhaps horrifed at what she said to me. Her son was killed in Iraq, they told her. WHO CARES? she repeated. Who cares, indeed? It's really kind of sad.

We decided to walk over to the overpass over Highway 17/880 to assess the situation. YES!! The road was filled with vehicles with people returning from a great sunny day at the beach over the hill in Santa Cruz. Heavy traffic was at a slow crawl when we hoisted our signs. The honking began immediately! What a great reaction! Full disclosure, there were a few people who didn't like our signs, but overwhelminglly they were in support of Impeachment and ending the war.

Trip summary? Yeah, it was a good evening. We got our point across and made people in Los Gatos realize that they aren't alone in their disatisfaction towards this president and his war and that it is okay to raise your voice.

We think we're on to something. What town nearby needs a wake up call? Los Altos, we're on the way! Campbell? you're on the list, too.

Note to readers: Proper etiquette when one passes by a demonstration or protest that you agree with would be to HONK and honk wildly in support of the cause. Don't be shy! Roll down your window and flash a Peace sign! Your honks energize the marchers and makes us feel one with you and we appreciate it!