Every Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m., anti-war protesters can be seen on the corner of Stockdale Highway and California Avenue.
Peace Bakersfield has been meeting and protesting since 2002.
“The war was under false pretenses,” said Peace Bakerfield’s Rachel Miller.
According to Miller, “It’s all about oil. They’re not really interested in democracy.”
“Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.”
Although there is no official leader of Peace Bakersfield, Doug McAfee has taken on the role of “unofficial leader.”
McAfee was the interim director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Kern County in the 1990s. He went to Los Angeles every month and met with the Southern California ACLU.
“I’ve been doing protesting before I saw them [Peace Bakersfield] on the corner. When I first saw them in 2002, I almost shed a tear,” he said.
In a predominantly conservative town, the reactions to the protesters have been surprisingly supportive.
“We get some good reactions. It’s about 50/50,” said David Billings.
“We get everything from ‘F-you’ to peace signs. We have people who want to fight and people who say thank you.”
Some weeks, war supporters will protest their cause on the opposite side of the corner.?
“They think because we’re questioning the government that we’re unpatriotic,” said Miller.
Peace Bakersfield is hoping to inform Bakersfield of the real reasons behind the war and remind them that the soldiers fighting are real people.
“I’m trying to humanize life and war. There are real people at war,” said McAfee.
“There are many places in the world where people get shot for protesting. People take that for granted. I’m not afraid of freedom. We should all be free. Until we’re all free, no one is.”
The protesters plan to be at the corner until the troops come back home and invite anyone to join them or ask them questions.