Before the Iraq War began, there seemed to be a growing anti-war movement, with huge demonstrations across the country. The war started, and then only sputters of anti-war activism occured. I even count the 10,000 who showed up in Washington, D.C., in early 2007 as a sputter.
This Saturday (Oct. 27), United for Peace and Justice is organizing another annual day to protest the war. In the past, this day has gone by without much fanfare, but national organizers are calling this the National Mobilization to End the War in Iraq.
Beyond the lone roadside vigils and the efforts at armed forces recruitment centers, I’ve wondered what happened to the anti-war movement. A friend told me he thinks there can’t be a movement when most of the country is against the war. He points to Bush’s low ratings of late. We’ve also had no draft, he said.
Part of me has also wondered if those who say they are against the war are also scared into silence. This is a different time with citizens bullied by level orange, homeland security laws and watch lists, and inane politicians from all parties who betrayed every one of us and continue to do so.
Little has been asked of us during this war, and until a draft is put in place, only a small percentage of citizens can claim they’ve been touched by war’s sadness when loved ones return home in coffins. Unlike during World War II, we haven’t had to live with rations or plant Victory Gardens. I guess we can thank China for helping Americans live normally during a time of war. We owe them a ton of gratitude for lending us the cash to make Iraq possible. You know, if you think about it, with all they’ve done for us, a little lead paint on toys isn’t as bad as having your face or legs blown off by an IED.
Have I joined the lady by the side of the road with the signs? No. Have I joined the groups at the recruitment centers? No. In the beginning, I was out there. When Congress approved the war, I remember wondering how they could support the war when everyone knew there were no WMDs. I think it’s been a state of a depression ever since.
On Oct. 27, there will be 11 regional demonstrations: Boston, Chicago, Jonesborough, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, San Fransico and Seattle. Solidarity protests will take places in Fairbanks, Alaska, San Diego, Denver, Evergreen, Colo., Des Moines, Iowa, Smithfield, NC, Oklahoma City, and Tucson, Arizona.
The local event begins at 10:30 a.m. inside the UA Main Gate at Park Avenue and University Boulevard. The march begins at 11 a.m. and travels along Speedway from the UA to De Anza Park at Speedway Boulevard and Stone Avenue. A rally takes place there at noon with speakers and music.
The rally MC will be Molly McKasson, and speakers include County Supervisor Richard Elias, Isabel Garcia of Derechos Humanos, and City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff. Organizers are awaiting confirmation from Congressman Raul Grijalva. For more info, call 624-4789 or e-mail stelnik@webtv.net.
There have been protests in other countries that have put us to shame. But Oct. 27, we can make up for it. What happens after that? Will we have ourselves an anti-war movement? Perhaps we’ll feel we’ve done our share after Oct. 27 and let the lady on the roadside continue to protest alone.
If we’re wondering if giving up a Saturday is enough of a sacrifice, perhaps we need to think more about this and this. If you need additional encouragement, read this latest from Slate.
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2007.
Yeah. Tucson only rates a “solidarity protest” and other places like Jonesborough (wherever that is) get to have a “regional demonstration.” So all you all better get out there, somewhere, Oct 27.
Part of the reason the anti-war movement has been so ineffective is the incredibly scant media coverage. The Bush propaganda machine had done its job. Everybody was emotionally connecting 9/11 to Saddam. Some ridiculous statistic of U.S. population (80%?) thought Saddam was linked to that kick-in-the-balls event. Media organizations were cowed, with the very real prospect of losing their audience/advertisers if they took any kind of anti-war approach (or gave anti-war people any serious coverage). I don’t think it is any exaggeration for me to say this is how things went down. Were there any serious journalistic publications that questioned the validity of the war at the time? (I’m not counting the alternative press, or partisan publications like The Nation.) The Washington Post? NY Times? I sure don’t remember any. Even the New Republic totally sold its soul in supporting the war (its editorial board, though progressive, had a firm pro-Israel stance that put it in the pro-war camp — something they later apologized to readers for….only after losing many of them, of course.)
What good is an anti-war movement if nobody is watching? Suppose you held a protest and nobody came? If a bullhorn sounds “No War!” in a forest…
One more thing: Regarding what you said about China. I think you were being tongue in cheek when you thanked them for their generosity. China is loaning the U.S. money as a long-term investment. We’re their little mutual fund. China is like a credit card company that keeps extending you a line of credit even when it knows you can’t pay back. The company does this precisely because you can’t pay them back — they know you’ll end up paying them back forever. (We did roughly the same thing to Britain prior to our participation in WWII….it left us in the cat-bird seat for several decades afterward.) China is just biding its time, watching us flounder, and waiting to make its moves when the time is right. Their military dwarfs ours. They need more oil and resources than we do, and when the crunch comes, they will make sure they get them.
I remember when Slate magazine of all things was the first to question then New York Times’ reporter Judith Miller. It was disgusting. Here’s a little something from New York Magazine about the fiasco. I’ll try to find the original Slate piece. http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/9226/
You are right, yes, you should know thanking China was in gest. Last night I found a ton of Made in American Websites to help boycott China. It was interesting. Today’s, ironically, New York Times Business Section had a story that said most people questioned Chinese products and continuing to buy mostly Chinese made products, but continue to buy nonetheless. What if we did as the blogger suggested, and boycott to end the war and a few other ills? What you’ve outlined regarding China and the weak dollar in Europe could mean a market crash we haven’t seen in a long time. What are we headed for?
So they didn’t break it, but this was the first I read about Judith Miller and thus began to understand how the media was failing us miserably.
http://www.slate.com/id/2081905/
Thanks for the head’s up, Mari. I will probably try to make it to the solidarity protest. Sounds like a fun crowd. I went to another war protest a while ago and took photographs. The anti-anti-war protesters were funny….there were like 15 of them. I’ll bet there are even less now.
Yeah, part of the problem is that people protested their hearts out, and we killed half a million Iraqis anyway.
All we accomplished was that our fellow Americans started calling us traitors and Saddam-sympathizers.
When dissent is defined as treason AND the government is engaged in an ongoing campaign to limit civil rights, why undertake an ineffective protest?
What sort of fool launches meaningless political protests in a country which has rejected habeas corpus? There’s a reason that there weren’t big protests against Saddam Hussein in Iraq while he was in power.
Now they’re estimating that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost taxpayers $2.4 trillion when all is said and done. That’s figuring in the interest payments from the foreign investors who are financing the war. I’m not sure whether this also includes estimates of veterans’ benefits.
Two – point – four – trillion.
“CBO estimated that of the $2.4 trillion long-term price tag for the war, about $1.9 trillion of that would be spent on Iraq.”
How in the f— are “taxpayers,” at least half of whom voted against Bush and were against the war, supposed to pay this off?
Anybody ready for war with Iran? Apparently the Pentagon is getting there.
So, Kynn, on Saturday we just sit?