On May 4th 2003 activists participated in the first Bike2Demilitarize
event. During the spring following the invasion of Iraq in March we felt
it necessary to not only protest the war, but also to illustrate the
powerful grip that the business of war making has on Maine’s economy. On
bikes we transported ourselves and our message from Bath to Kennebunkport,
calling for a more sustainable economic future in Maine.

Our goal was to articulate the problems of economic dependence on jobs
based in the military industrial complex. The effects of global trade
agreements such as NAFTA, the World Trade Organization and other bilateral
trade agreements, such as the one between the U.S. and China have resulted
in many of Maine’s traditional manufacturing jobs being exported,
out-sourced and moved oversees to cheaper labor markets. The result is
that many of the best union jobs remaining in the state are in the war
making business.

The ride raised awareness for both participants and spectators about how
the corporate drive for profit has lead not only to the loss of manufacturing
jobs, but the advent of a new age of militarization. The war in Iraq is just
the most recent in a long history of corporate profit-driven fear mongering and
war-profiteering. Along with protesting the US occupation of Iraq, the
ride said NO to U.S. Empire, No to Oil Addiction, No to War-Profiteering,
No to Free Trade. Yes to Bikes, Good Jobs and Communities coming together
to exercise their dissent in creative and powerful ways.

The ride began at Maine’s most well known Military-Industrial site, Bath
Iron Works. Owned by General Dynamics, a weapons manufacturer, Bath Iron
Works builds offensive Navy Destroyers for the U.S. Military, including
the Aegis class Destroyers. From there, we rode by the Brunswick Naval Air
Station, which serves as a port for Trident Nuclear Submarines, as well as
a base for continued naval surveillance of Maine’s coastal waters. The
next stop was NBC’s offices in Portland. We thought it was important to
draw attention to corporate media’s role in perpetuating fear and
endorsing war through propaganda and biased coverage. NBC is owned by
General Electric, also the owner of Westinghouse, one of the largest
weapons manufacturers in the country. From there we rode to General
Dynamics weapons manufacturing site in Saco, and the site of the 2003 tax
day civil disobedience in which fifteen people were arrested for blocking
the drive way to the plant. Protestors demanded that tax dollars go to
support the elementary school across the street, suffering from budget
cuts instead of subsidizing and sustaining the business of war making. Our
final stop of the day was the Bush Family Compound in Kennebunkport.
What better way to end a day of resistance to empire than to visit the
emperor’s summer home.

We hope to make Bike2Demilitarize an annual event.
For pictures from last years ride click here...!