Turn Your Back on Bush

Last updated

Turn Your Back on Bush was a form of protest in the United States to express dissatisfaction with former President George W. Bush. The first known protest took place on June 14, 2002, in Columbus, Ohio, where President Bush delivered a commencement address to the graduating class of Ohio State University and an audience of over 50,000 people. [1]

Background

A group identified as a coalition of concerned students, graduates, alumni, faculty, staff, guests, and community members on the website turnyourbackonbush.com instructed participants to "stand up silently and turn your back while Bush gives his commencement address." The students and guests at the event were publicly threatened by University administration if they participated in protest. [2] [3]

The phrase was first coined by Hillary Tinapple, one of the organizers of the Ohio State University commencement protest and member of the 2002 graduating class. Since the controversial second election of Bush, Turn Your Back on Bush has become a grassroots organization, [4] co-founded by Jet Heiko. [5]

On January 20, 2005, a Turn Your Back on Bush demonstration took place at the President's second Inaugural parade. The organization's website states that over 5,000 people from around the country participated in this protest by lining the parade route with their backs turned while the motorcade passed by. This was among many counter-inauguration protests that took place in Washington, D.C., and around the United States on that same day (see January 20, 2005 counter-inaugural protest). [6]

Media coverage of the Turn Your Back on Bush inaugural protest appeared in several mainstream publications and was used in a segment of NBC's comedy television show Saturday Night Live .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protests against the Iraq War</span> Demonstrations by opponents of the Iraq War

Beginning in late 2002 and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, large-scale protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world. After the biggest series of demonstrations, on February 15, 2003, New York Times writer Patrick Tyler claimed that they showed that there were two superpowers on the planet: the United States and worldwide public opinion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Woolsey</span> American politician (born 1937)

Lynn C. Woolsey is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from California from 1993 to 2013. She was a member of the Democratic Party and represented California's 6th congressional district.

The following is a timeline of events during the 2004 U.S. presidential election:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">January 20, 2005, counter-inaugural protest</span>

On January 20, 2005, a number of counter-inaugural demonstrations were held in Washington, D.C., and other American cities to protest the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States presidential inauguration</span> Ceremony marking the start of a new presidential term

Between 73 and 79 days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States is inaugurated as president by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new presidential term, even if the president is continuing in office for a second term.

The World Can't Wait (WCW) is a coalition group in the United States dedicated to mobilizing mass resistance to what it describes as crimes committed by the US government. Initially formed as an ad-hoc coalition to organize mass protests to force the George W. Bush Administration from office, WCW has also protested against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the continued operation of the Guantanamo Bay prison, the use of torture by the U.S. government under both the Bush and Obama administrations, and against anti-abortion groups and legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Johnston High School</span> School in Benson, North Carolina, United States

West Johnston High School or WJHS is located in Benson, North Carolina. It is part of Johnston County School district and was established in the 2002-2003 school year to address crowding problems in other local high schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First inauguration of Barack Obama</span> 56th United States presidential inauguration

The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in the city, marked the commencement of the first term of Barack Obama as president and Joe Biden as vice president. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was one of the most-observed events ever by the global audience at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First inauguration of Bill Clinton</span> 52nd United States presidential inauguration

The first inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States was held on Wednesday, January 20, 1993, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 52nd inauguration and marked the commencement of the first term of Bill Clinton as president and Al Gore as vice president. At 46 years, 154 days of age at the time of his first inauguration, Clinton was the third-youngest person to become president, and the first from the Baby Boomer generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second inauguration of George W. Bush</span> 55th United States presidential inauguration

The second inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd president of the United States took place on Thursday, January 20, 2005, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 55th inauguration and marked the beginning of the second and final term of George W. Bush as president and Dick Cheney as vice president. The ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the presidential oath of office for the last time before his death on September 3 that year. Attendance at the inauguration has been reported as being around 100,000, 300,000, or 400,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First inauguration of George W. Bush</span> 54th United States presidential inauguration

The first inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd president of the United States took place on Saturday, January 20, 2001, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 54th inauguration and marked the commencement of the first term of George W. Bush as president and Dick Cheney as vice president. Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the presidential oath of office at 12:01 p.m., after he administered the vice presidential oath of office as well. An estimated 300,000 people attended the swearing-in ceremony. This was the first presidential inauguration to take place in the 21st century, and the first in the 3rd millennium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inauguration of George H. W. Bush</span> 51st United States presidential inauguration

The inauguration of George H. W. Bush as the 41st president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1989, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 51st inauguration and marked the commencement of the only term of both George H. W. Bush as president and Dan Quayle as vice president. Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the presidential oath of office to Bush and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor administered the vice presidential oath of office to Quayle. Bush was the first sitting vice president to be inaugurated as president since Martin Van Buren in 1837 and the last World War II combat veteran. Bush composed his own prayer for the ceremony which he recited at the start of his inaugural address; the last president to do so was Dwight D. Eisenhower at his first inauguration in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second inauguration of Harry S. Truman</span> 41st United States presidential inauguration

The second inauguration of Harry S. Truman as president of the United States was held on Thursday, January 20, 1949, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 41st inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and only full term of Harry S. Truman as president as well as the only term of Alben W. Barkley as vice president. Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson administered the presidential oath of office while Justice Stanley Forman Reed administered the vice-presidential oath of office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inauguration of John F. Kennedy</span> 44th United States presidential inauguration

The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1961, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was the 44th inauguration, marking the commencement of John F. Kennedy's and Lyndon B. Johnson's only term as president and vice president. Kennedy was assassinated 2 years, 306 days into this term, and Johnson succeeded to the presidency.

Central Connecticut State University's annual undergraduate commencement exercises are held on campus each May. From 1989 to 2016, separate graduation ceremonies were held for recipients of postgraduate degrees. Additional midyear undergraduate commencements were held at the end of the fall terms from 1988 to 1993 and at several other points in the university's history, most recently in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second inauguration of Barack Obama</span> 57th United States presidential inauguration

The second inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States was the 57th inauguration, marking the commencement of his second and final term, with Joe Biden as Vice President. A private swearing-in ceremony took place on Sunday, January 20, 2013, in the Blue Room of the White House, followed by a public inauguration ceremony on Monday, January 21, 2013, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inauguration of Donald Trump</span> 58th United States presidential inauguration

The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of Donald Trump's term as president and Mike Pence's term as vice president. An estimated 300,000 to 600,000 people attended the public ceremony held on Friday, January 20, 2017, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Protests against George W. Bush occurred throughout the United States and the world during his presidency.

The University of Notre Dame's annual commencement exercises are held each May, currently in the Notre Dame Stadium. The exercises award undergraduate and graduate degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inauguration of Joe Biden</span> 59th United States presidential inauguration

The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, marking the start of the four-year term of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president. The 59th presidential inauguration took place on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Biden took the presidential oath of office, before which Harris took the vice presidential oath of office.

References

  1. ↑ "full text". Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. 2002-06-14. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  2. ↑ Hart, Peter. "Reporter Hears "Adulation" for Bush, Not Threats Against Protesters". Fair.org. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  3. ↑ "Anti-Bush Protesters Silenced at Ohio State Graduation | The Progressive Magazine since 1909". Progressive.org. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  4. ↑ "Turn Your Back on Bush" . Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  5. ↑ Blanding, Michael (2005-01-21). "Taking It To The Streets". AlterNet. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  6. ↑ Concord Monitor – Protesters make presence felt
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.