Impressions of The Protest
Yesterday, 100,000 - 150,000 people gathered on the streets of Washington D.C. to protest the unjust war in Iraq. It was truly heartening to see such a big turnout, with so much energy, even if I have been disappointed at the lack of public outrage until very recently. To be in the same place as so many people who share your views, not just on the war, but on life, is a very enjoyable experience and has revived my faith in the future.
I was only there for six hours, but the utter excitement and pure power of the rally was something I will always remember. I'll never forget looking down Pennsylvania Ave towards the Capitol and seeing the entire street, for about a mile, wall to wall with people. I think that was the capping moment of the protest for me, just to know there were that many people who cared enough to drive all the way from wherever they were from to protest the war.
The two main themes of the protest were the number of American casualties in Iraq, Jews protesting Israeli occupation of Palestine (which I found interesting) and, newly added, the importance of ending the war to help New Orleans after the hurricane. Sadly missing from most people's minds, it seems, is the huge number of Iraqi casualties. I don't know how many signs had something like "Bush lied, 2000 died," which made me want run up to the person and berate them for their ethnocentric worldview. But they were there, and the ends are all the same.
There were a number of pro-war protesters there yesterday (about 400 showed up for a pro-war rally today, and I think it is very important to note the miniscule number who felt like defending the war) and they recieved a pretty heavy verbal beating from the main bunch. I felt somewhat bad for them, since they were brave enough to show up (I wouldn't go to a pro-war rally, thats for sure - I'd get killed), but they also were idiots or nationalistic ideologues. One guy had a sign that said "Al-Qaeda thanks you for your support," which is, of course, total bullshit. Our right to speak our mind is not supporting terrorists, the war is by creating more of them. There were about 200 College Republicans hanging around the steps of the Commerce Department, and some 500 of us chased them off, and hung out there until the mounted officers showed up, since we were technically trespassing on federal property and I wouldn't want to fuck with a horse.
That was one thing about the protest I was a little perturbed about - the heavy police presence. There were probably 5,000-10,000 officers deployed along the protest route. In front of the white house, there were three fences and a cop every five feet between the second and third fence. And every cop I saw had their nightsticks drawn, looking ready to crack some skulls. As for the protesters, we were almost entirely non-violent, with only a few minor incidents; most of the anarchists spent their time marching and not breaking shit.
Bush, of course, was off in Colorado because he didn't want to listen to people who are unpatriotic. But in reality, despite the fact that Bush was the one blamed the most, the protest was really for Congress, who both authorized the war and have the ability to end it. With any luck, they'll all be out of there in 2006 and we can get a real government together.
Just one quick thing about today's pro-war rally, aside from its small size. Here is a quote that seems to sum up the idea of the event entirely:
"The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world," Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, told the crowd. "I frankly don't know what they represent, other than to blame America first."
Another referred to us as "traitors" and said we should be arrested. What is wrong with people that they can't look at the views of others without reducing them to traitors? Another said that the troops are in Iraq fighting "for our rights." The only right ever in danger was the right to go into another country and suppress others' rights. Even if we were fighting for our "rights," is it worth the deaths of one hundred thousand innocent civilians to secure them? If the blood of 100,000 American civilians would secure the rights of Iraqis, would these same people support them? Absolutely not. It is this "America First" bullshit that is what I find most worrying about this country right now, and probably for a long while forward from here.
I was only there for six hours, but the utter excitement and pure power of the rally was something I will always remember. I'll never forget looking down Pennsylvania Ave towards the Capitol and seeing the entire street, for about a mile, wall to wall with people. I think that was the capping moment of the protest for me, just to know there were that many people who cared enough to drive all the way from wherever they were from to protest the war.
The two main themes of the protest were the number of American casualties in Iraq, Jews protesting Israeli occupation of Palestine (which I found interesting) and, newly added, the importance of ending the war to help New Orleans after the hurricane. Sadly missing from most people's minds, it seems, is the huge number of Iraqi casualties. I don't know how many signs had something like "Bush lied, 2000 died," which made me want run up to the person and berate them for their ethnocentric worldview. But they were there, and the ends are all the same.
There were a number of pro-war protesters there yesterday (about 400 showed up for a pro-war rally today, and I think it is very important to note the miniscule number who felt like defending the war) and they recieved a pretty heavy verbal beating from the main bunch. I felt somewhat bad for them, since they were brave enough to show up (I wouldn't go to a pro-war rally, thats for sure - I'd get killed), but they also were idiots or nationalistic ideologues. One guy had a sign that said "Al-Qaeda thanks you for your support," which is, of course, total bullshit. Our right to speak our mind is not supporting terrorists, the war is by creating more of them. There were about 200 College Republicans hanging around the steps of the Commerce Department, and some 500 of us chased them off, and hung out there until the mounted officers showed up, since we were technically trespassing on federal property and I wouldn't want to fuck with a horse.
That was one thing about the protest I was a little perturbed about - the heavy police presence. There were probably 5,000-10,000 officers deployed along the protest route. In front of the white house, there were three fences and a cop every five feet between the second and third fence. And every cop I saw had their nightsticks drawn, looking ready to crack some skulls. As for the protesters, we were almost entirely non-violent, with only a few minor incidents; most of the anarchists spent their time marching and not breaking shit.
Bush, of course, was off in Colorado because he didn't want to listen to people who are unpatriotic. But in reality, despite the fact that Bush was the one blamed the most, the protest was really for Congress, who both authorized the war and have the ability to end it. With any luck, they'll all be out of there in 2006 and we can get a real government together.
Just one quick thing about today's pro-war rally, aside from its small size. Here is a quote that seems to sum up the idea of the event entirely:
"The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world," Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, told the crowd. "I frankly don't know what they represent, other than to blame America first."
Another referred to us as "traitors" and said we should be arrested. What is wrong with people that they can't look at the views of others without reducing them to traitors? Another said that the troops are in Iraq fighting "for our rights." The only right ever in danger was the right to go into another country and suppress others' rights. Even if we were fighting for our "rights," is it worth the deaths of one hundred thousand innocent civilians to secure them? If the blood of 100,000 American civilians would secure the rights of Iraqis, would these same people support them? Absolutely not. It is this "America First" bullshit that is what I find most worrying about this country right now, and probably for a long while forward from here.
posted by Jimmy at 12:09 PM
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