New Haven Independent

The location has always been the same, a visible V- shaped square where Broadway meets Park, where behind the protesters a memorial obelisk and statues silently stand in honor of the 6th Connecticut Volunteers of the Civil War.

On this Sunday, as cars poured down Broadway toward the Green for the Puerto Rican Day parade, the honks were numerous and the hoots emerging from the passing vehicles seemed supportive of the call for an end to the U.S. war in Iraq.

“It’s hard, of course, to tell what a honk means, if it’s positive or negative” said Stephen Kobasa (third from the left), a writer and art critic, “but this feels encouraging and positive. One likes to think this activity will add up, will help create a critical mass. At minimum, we provide a reminder for people, and they appreciate that, and it’s important.”

The senior member of the antiwar group, on the far right, Joan Whitney, has been participating for, she estimated, 20 years. The newest member of the group, standing beside Whitney, is Monica McGovern, and she had a tale to tell. “I was a supporter of the war, actually until relatively recently. I actually believed in WMD. But, gradually as I paid attention, and after the invasion, where were the WMD? Then they said, ‘Wait, it’s a country as big as California. Let’s give it time. So they looked through California, so to speak, and still no WMD. I knew they were lying, and I hate to be lied to. I’ve been demonstrating here every Sunday since November.”

Other members of this undaunted group are Heiwa Salovitz on the far left, and Corrie Carton, third from the right.