Posted on 04/13/2006 4:38:11 AM PDT by chambley1
A Manassas man began a picketing campaign Wednesday to stir up discussion in Prince William on U.S. policy in Iraq.
Pacing the sidewalk in front of the McCoart Building on Prince William Parkway, David Hersch, 64, said he was not trying to change anyone's mind.
"I want to engage people a little bit," said Hersch, a farmer and until recently a substitute teacher at Osbourn Park High School. "People see me and say, 'This guy is crazy,' but that's OK as long as they're talking," he said.
Hersch said his teaching days are over, and he plans to make his picketing activities "a daily thing."
Hersch planted four signs in the grass median between the sidewalk and the road, which criticized the war as expensive, immoral, and likened it to Vietnam.
Joining Hersch were two longtime friends who saw him while driving by.
Teresita Jacinto, a Woodbridge resident, and John Steinbach of Yorkshire carried signs Hersch had made protesting the war.
Jacintos and Steinbach, both professional educators, are active in the Workers of Woodbridge Committee -- a group that advocates rights for immigrant workers -- but have separate ties to Hersch.
Hersch, a tall man with a farmer's leathery skin, wore a T-shirt that read "peace" in Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew.
Personally, Hersch said, he thinks the U.S. should turn military control over to Iraqi forces during the next one to three years, and participate -- if invited -- in the reconstruction process.
Hersch and Steinbach, who describe themselves as politically independent, began a discussion group in 2003 which they called "Prince William Peacemakers." Now a group of about a dozen meets at a Panera Bread on Liberia Avenue on the first of every month to discuss U.S. policy in Iraq.
As they strode up and down the sidewalk, Steinbach and Hersch discussed a bet they made over a cup of coffee.
"I bet that the U.S. or Israel would attack Iran before the November elections," Steinbach said. "It's one bet I really hope I lose."
Thank goodness for small favors.
L
I hope he wins.
Thanks. I'm reminded of why I don't take that rag. Nothing about the reaction of people driving by.
Duh! What does he think we're doing there, now? These people are so stupid.
"Personally, Hersch said, he thinks the U.S. should turn military control over to Iraqi forces during the next one to three years, and participate -- if invited -- in the reconstruction process."
Good thinking there, David.
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