Though Wary of Police, Local Activists March for Women’s Equality

It was the women’s turn to make some noise, and Kristen Schroer of Thousand Oaks led the pack.

Carrying a copy of the Socialist Worker in one hand and a banner in the other, the 18-year-old student was one of about 700 demonstrators marching through downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, shouting for women’s equality.

At every turn she faced squadrons of police, sometimes three deep, who weren’t shy about using their batons to shove people off the sidewalks if they strayed.

Schroer was wary of the officers after witnessing Monday night’s melee between police and activists who had attended a Rage Against the Machine concert near Staples Center, where the Democratic National Convention is being held.

Some concert-goers who tried to scale a fence Monday were doused with chemical irritants. Police later chased crowds through the streets, firing rubber bullets and making about a dozen arrests.

Schroer contends police overreacted.

“The cops are a little scary,” she said. “What happened last night wasn’t necessary. The police were looking for a fight.”

Schroer, who will study women’s and ethnic issues at UC Davis in the fall, said she was in a quandary over who to vote for this year.

“I don’t really support Gore; I support Nader,” she said. “But I feel that a vote for Nader will end up helping Bush, and he will be appointing three Supreme Court justices.”

She also worries about any new restrictions on abortion.

“People don’t realize that their rights are being threatened,” she said. “My generation always had abortion rights. They don’t know what it’s like without them.”

For Deborah Mason, 48, of Ventura, the issue was decent pay for jobs such as day care and social work.

“We work with some of the poorest children on the planet,” said Mason, a social worker at Aspira Foster and Family Services in Ventura. “This march has a lot to do with the issue of poverty and women.”

Mason said social workers and day-care employees are poorly paid despite the valuable services they provide.

“I can’t afford to do it any more,” she said.

Mason, who years earlier protested the Vietnam and Gulf wars, brought her 14-year-old daughter, Annie Prichard, to Pershing Square via Metrolink.

Michelle Harper, a 31-year-old Camarillo resident and social worker, said there is no reason highly educated women should make low wages.

“I’m raising a daughter and I don’t want her to have to make a choice between doing valuable work and making money,” Harper said. “Women have not historically been part of the political process.”

Unlike many protesters, Mason and Harper openly support Al Gore for president.

“It’s a demonstration for us,” Mason said. “It’s not an anti-Democrat issue, it’s an attempt to make them pay attention to us.”

The protesters walked from Pershing Square to the state office buildings and the federal court. Like the thousands of other activists in town this week, they hoped to get the attention of those attending the Democrats’ convention.

Along the way they shouted, “Overworked and underpaid, women need a living wage!” and “We’re women, we’re strong, get used to it!”

“I think it’s great,” Annie said. “People are standing up for what they believe in.”