Here's why I didn't attend this past weekend's protests

I live in NYC, but I did not attend the protests this past weekend in DC. Besides having gone for several weekends without one to just spend to myself and with my wife, I really didn't feel called to attend. I believed it would be another meeting that would degenerate into a hodgepodge of so many messages that, well, there would end up being NO message. And it seems that my premonition was right.

Here's an article from Alternet.org that, IMHO, sums this dilemma up better than I ever could. The gist of it is that we need to coordinate our message around a few distinct themes, rather than allowing it to instead become a "come out and voice your pet cause" event featuring signs decrying the dangers of GM foods, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, FTAA, Free Mumia, and so on. Not that people who invest time and energy in these causes are wasting their time -- but rather, by choosing this venue (about the US occupation of Iraq) as a venue to voice their views, they are doing a grave disservice to all those who want to get the US occupation in Iraq to an end.

Rally Recipe Wins No Prizes
By Traci Hukill, AlterNet
October 27, 2003

It was, as the saying goes, all good. The weather was great. The crowd was pissed but in a cheerful, spirited way. The Washington, DC cops, though fully in thrall to their Powellesque doctrine of completely unnecessary and overwhelming force, more or less just lined up in their cruisers, saddles, motorcycles, dirt bikes, bicycles and black boots and watched the proceedings. The A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition and United for Peace and Justice, the two organizers, had obviously mended fences after some squabbles earlier in the year, so that was nice.

In fact, except for its totally unfocused message and the fact that organizers missed a golden opportunity by not holding it three weeks earlier, the anti-war rally in Washington, DC on Saturday was a tremendous success.

SNIP

The first thing such an observer might have noticed is that the rally's message was an omnibus, diffuse expression of dissatisfaction on many fronts. While that is an important thing for a constituency to communicate, it fails as a strategy for making a coherent point engineered to ignite change, which is, I believe, what a rally is supposed to do. This was a cupboard casserole of a demonstration, something thrown together with whatever was on hand. The main ingredients were "end the occupation now" (mushroom soup),"Bush is a liar who should be impeached" (noodles) and "bring our troops home safely" (tuna fish). That is a fairly harmonious combination, one enhanced by "Dude, Where's My Country?" (salt) and "Osama bin forgotten" (pepper).

Unfortunately, other, less compatible, ingredients worked their way in: "support to the Palestinians" (beets), "no to the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas" (pickle relish) and "does your food have a face?" (Apple Jacks). These points of view were expounded both by speakers and by the placard-bearers in the crowd, to the detriment of the rally at large; worthy though each may be as an independent concern, their addition to the mix confused the message hopelessly and probably made it just a little too easy for anyone peering out the windows of the West Wing (not the president; he was in Camp David) to dismiss the whole crowd as a bunch of wackos.

MUCH, MUCH MORE...

These snippets represent the overall theme, but there is much more. Perhaps the most telling statement is the fact that the author saw only one person with a sign announcing what the primary thrust of the rally probably SHOULD have been -- US out, UN in -- but it was lost in a myriad of other causes, and therefore, this blunt, accurate message went largely ignored or unseen by anyone who might have been viewing the rally from the outside.

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chanting here....that's how you create the Kent State....those people deserve to be shot environment in OUR country....

yes, and be sure an do your part to imply the protestors are "conspirators", and fling it out... it stinks.... and you know you are truly part of it and loving every minute of it...like many others here....be sure to find any little flaw, be certain to criticize loud and also with subtle little 'why I didn't go...' arrogance, rather than just realizing that lots of DUers just lazily sitting on their couches, prefer to create the KENT STATE environment...the words, the subtle criticism...the implications that it's OK to shoot these 'wackos'...thanks...

some people have noted that this is EATING YOUR OWN...so enjoy...

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for some DUers, anything idea with which they don't agree is birthed from rove's bowels.

it's a cop out, of course. another way of denying problems.....just slightly above sticking fingers into your ears and chanting "i can't hear you".

That the crux of it.

It's always interesting that, after one of these huge rallies,
where tens or hundreds of thousands of people make the effort
to actually get there and say SOMETHING, we always have
posts that decry what we said.

Yes, we probably could do without the "Free Mumia" and "Free
Leonard Peltier" people. But the taped message from Mumia
actually was precisely on point and much more germane than
I was expecting to hear. And the various Palestinian and other
Arab speakers who spoke merely identified for us the Elephant in
the Room, and elephant which many here deliberately choose to ignore:
That there will never be peace from the Middle East until
there is peace and justice IN the Middle East.

And, program speakers aside, the crowd's message wasn't in the
least bit confused. Here it is, boiled down for you:

• The Iraq war is wrong
  
  
• It is one of the many bad things the Bush "administration"
  has done.
  
  
• As long as the Bush administration is in power, bad things will
  continue, so
  
  
• End the occupation AND end the Bush administration (the
  root cause of the problem)
  
  

And if you don't like that message (or the ANSWER/UFPJ message),
then the answer's simple: organize your own demonstration. Get 100K
people to Washington and 30-40K to San Francisco. If you've got a
good message, I'll even help. But right now, ANSWER and UFPJ are
doing the job that you appaerntly think could be done better.

Maybe you should prove you can, or re-think your decision to stay away.

Atlant

First off, my beef is not necessarily against UPFJ or ANSWER (at least not with regards to protest organization, in ANSWER's case). My problem is with the multitudes of people who take a demonstration about a specific item (End the US occupation of Iraq) and use it as an opportunity not to support THAT cause, but instead to support their OWN cause. IMHO, that's not an example of selfless activism, it's selfishness on their part. It's a selfishness that ends up contributing to the muddlement of the overall message.

I'm not saying this as an "outsider" Atlant. I've taken part in my share of demonstrations as well. Some have left me feeling more positive about a more focused message than others. This one was leaning toward the "others" category before it even started in my eyes.

My decision to stay away was based on the fact that I can have much more of an impact, personally, by working within the structures that I already have access to -- such as my UU fellowship and the formation of a local "interfaith alliance" to help spread awareness on issues like this. By attending this past weekend's protest, I would have actually not accomplished much of anything, other than being part of a completely muddled message and perhaps feeling just a little bit better about MYSELF for a few hours.

Why is the desire to see a more focused message -- for those supporting diverse causes to get on board for the GREATER GOOD of supporting the cause currently at hand -- seen as such a bad thing?

My problem is with the multitudes of people who take a demonstration about a specific item (End the US occupation of Iraq) and use it as an opportunity not to support THAT cause, but instead to support their OWN cause.

You make a good point, IrateCitizen. What you wrote reminded me of the last National Day of Mourning that I attended in Plymouth, MA. As a person who is Jewish, I believe I am commanded to stand up for the rights of those whose rights are denied, and if the American Indians don't fit that criterion I don't know what group does. But I saw signs supporting the Palestinians at the NDOM. Yes, I can see a connection, but I feel less welcomed at the NDOM as a result of that experience. I suppose I should develop a thicker skin about it, but I didn't plan on tucking the Star of David that I wear inside my shirt either. (I didn't, BTW.)

I do agree with most of the causes... I want Leonard Peltier free, I want Mumia to at least have a fair trial, and I do want an independent state for the Palestinians, but I don't want to be drawn in to these other concerns without being forewarned. There are many things wrong in the world, and they are all related on some level, but I guess I think that I can weaken the whole rotten structure if I manage to successfully undermine one post of the foundation at a time. Maybe I'm wrong about that though.

There are many things wrong in the world, and they are all related on some level, but I guess I think that I can weaken the whole rotten structure if I manage to successfully undermine one post of the foundation at a time. Maybe I'm wrong about that though.

No, you're not wrong about that. The concept of "connectedness of injustice" is a pretty hard truth to swallow -- I know that when I began to scratch the surface on trade issues and saw how economic advantage through trade was achieved through the covert overthrow of popularly supported regimes in other countries that was carried out through the CIA and use of proxy warriors trained at the School of the Americas that fell directly under the Pentagon... I felt as if my head was just about ready to burst. It was only through reading a LOT of stuff that opened my eyes to this phenomenon that I was able to realize it as a basic truth at work in the world. It was also with that realization that I came to find that I would never look at the world in the same way again, and that I had discovered many things that flew directly in the face of what many of my friends and family members had been conditioned to view as "reality".

Now, you and I may know that Leonard Peltier's imprisonment and the attempted forcefeeding of GM crops is, somehow, interconnected with the invasion and occupation of Iraq on at least SOME level, but even most relatively well-informed people out there do NOT. For them, they are showing up to protest the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States.

By serving up a more pointed message (which the article I referenced DOES talk about), we can make much more of an impact and possibly even (GASP!) get some media play. But we won't do it so long as we're representing every leftist cause under the clear blue sky.

IMHO, if those who want to protest the imprisonment of Peltier or the use of GM foods or the Occupied Territories want to use an event to further their own message, then they should ORGANIZE THEIR OWN DAMNED EVENT! What they should NOT do is to come to a rally against US occupation of Iraq and expect to use it selfishly as a forum for what the vast majority of people would view as an unrelated subject to the one at hand.

I did not attend for the same reasons. I had been all over the usual sites trying to convince myself that the organizers would not let the
dilution happen. They did.
WTF? Let the Mumia crowd and the Right to choice people speak at an event where the people in the streets are united behind those messages or at least want to get more information about those issues.
Me ? I am a one trick pony - NO KING GEORGE, i.e. no war, bring troops home, war crimes.

sure, there was a group passing out Mumia signs, etc, but few people took them. I felt pretty good about the overall message delivered here..

I haven't seen anything on tv about DC so I can't really compare them...

the message...it was cohesive, simple, well-understood by thousands of community-oriented people, who are now back in their communities, already working to make a change in OUR government....

the whiners and complainers generally just don't want to understand the issues...have very limited ideas about wars, how wars are financed and what creates war conditions....

most of these people should just be left to stew at their computers...

the March was a wonderful display of American Patriotism, by lots of great people, who work in their own communities, as doctors, nurses, voluteers in rural fire department, soup kitchens, adopt children, volunteer in old folks homes, and work with the poor...usually, those whining complaining people do little effort in their own communities or for bigger causes, like the DC March...they enjoy complaining, but never make the effort to get up off their asses and do anything at all other then verbally destroy others...they all have 'excuses' why they were watching TV on Saturday....

> the message was also GREAT in DC...many people understood"
> the message...it was cohesive, simple, well-understood by thousands
> of community-oriented people, who are now back in their communities,
> already working to make a change in OUR government.

Yes, lot of us get it (and I agree with you that the speakers
were pretty explicit about the need to go home and "make it local!").

We went (essentially) straight from DC to a major Dean campaign event
(which is one of the main ways I think I can make a difference in
changing the United States' "global posture"). And that's not the
only local thing that we're working on to end the war.

Atlant

and get off the backs of those who are trying to communicate a truth--I spok to a few neighbors who are NOT Republicans who watched the C Span broadcast. They are intelligent, mature, responsible and concerned voters who will work to oust Bush in the coming election and their input is important--and should be important to anyone trying to organize an effective protest--like A.N.S.W.E.R. They protested the inaugural, going to DC on a bus and traveling in a raging snow storm to be there, as well as standing for two hours every Sunday on the bridge in my small town, freezing in the frigid winds that sweep over the bridge in winter, to protest the impending war and they had the same impression as that which is expressed in the article. It is not the protesting they are criticizing, but the manner, the agendas, and the subsequent ineffectiveness of the initiative by the two groups--they work hard I am sure, but miss the mark for a lot of people who shun their style.

Now, this is a piece of information from other Democrats--it is not a personal, demeaning criticism of anyone who attended and their personal feelings about Mumia, Phillipines etc. or anyone who did not attend, or any of the groups that were there--this is a legitimate avenue to explore if protests are to be taken seriously by a lot of people--take it and chew on it and analyze it before taking out the righteous sword to slay other Democrats who offer this information--I think it is important to understand--if the message is NOT getting across, then consider this information as a tool to improve the protesting instead of blaming the media, stupid and lazy people who do not attend and and any other excuse for failing to reach the people--the people who vote!!

The single thing that would make our protests MOST EFFECTIVE
would be FIVE OR TEN MILLION people filling the entire Mall,
the Elipse, and spilling over into the forbidden parks and
streets that surround the White House.

When George II can't get back from Camp David for all the
protesters clogging the streets, then we'll be maximally
effective.

When you stay home, you help maintain the King's reign.

Atlant

to make the crowd bigger by one person, but one reason that a large crowd matters is to create publicity. Bush got a soundbite out to the larger television audience, but opponents of Bush did not. A larger crowd who have made our message more important, but we also needed a spokesperson - someone to promote a message that the crowd would agree with. The message that the Bush Presidency has been bad for our country and our world.

to lead these protests. One that has real organizing skills and leadership on the top.

I have seen this same kind of thing before on Cspan, there will be an "anti-war" protest, but it really isn't. Because of these pet agendas of various groups are aired, it is just a jumbled mess with a confusing message.

I also read before on DU from those that participated in these protests before, and how unhappy they were when they saw some of the fringe agendas being promoted that didn't reflect their beliefs, and in some cases, were the opposite of what they believed.

It seems it should be not that hard to get an anti-war protest coordinated where the speakers were limited to themes that fit the message.

I noticed a lot of Mumia groupies and various fringe elements, including one woman who got up on stage and screamed for 15 minutes about the Palestinian plight. It did no good for her cause, I can assure you. IrateCitizen is right. Focus, people, focus.

They are the only ones putting something together. If others want to step up to the plate, I encourage them to do so. But since these two groups are the ones who are willing to do the work, I guess that's the message that will go out until someone else takes the initiative to give a different one.

I do not agree with everything the organizers do. I also think the message is diluted with various issues. THE issue for the majority of Americans is to get George and his thugs OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

A rally would draw larger crowds, I'm sure, it it would focus on a message about the wrongs of the Bush gang related to Iraq, the economy, and voting rights. They could have booths to organize poll watchers to offset the repuke challengers, for instance. Lots of things. But again, the ones organizing this see it as a moment to promote their issues. Until someone with the organizational ability to do something else, this is what we have to bring us together.

I'd heard the speeches on C-Span before, so I really felt no need to listen to them again. Instead, I spent my time watching the crowd and enjoying the experience in all its permutations.

I know I'm not the only one there who was not in total agreement with Answer, but who were there, like me, because they had a need to send a message to America.

I wish someone would organize a march with lots and lots of music early in the day, to allow people to gather. I KNOW they could get many well-known musicians to participate. They could/would have to do a lo-fi set. There could be speakers in between who could address issues and give FACTS about what George had done and is doing.

Again, there could be booths to insure voting rights across the nation, and booths for different states/regions to help bring people together when they leave the area.

I'm not an organizer for any such event, but I would help if an existing organization came forward. MoveOn would be one group which could pull something like this together, imo.

Along the march route, there were people who were preaching their political gospel, but they could not and will not convert me. I reject ideologies for the most part, anyway, and simply want rule of law and the foundations of our enlightenment experiment to prevail against the abuses of power in all its forms in this country. Attention to those issues, and honest reform, would take care of so many problems the people of this nation face.

Other western democracies have shown you can have mixed systems and succeed. Extremism on any side won't win the day for Americans, but education about the abuses of power will.

just my two cents.

I didn't either for largely the same reasons. But I am not sure I made the right decision.

I was, and remain torn, between opposing this &^%$%^ war and appearing to support the anti-American left-wing totalitarians in ANSWER.


Besides, I would have likeed to have met some more Duers.

"I don't have to like Bush to Love America."

I had many people come up to me saying they wish they had that bumper sticker (someone...here's your cue)

Maybe those here who feel like you and Irate do could ask other groups to do something and offer to help. You could ask people on DU to offer to help, too.

It would be great to have a march with banners from all fifty states with people from all walks of life coming together to present an alternative to Bush which is viable for most Americans (Answer is not.)

But again, until that time, if I want to march in Washington, it looks like I have to take what I need from the rally and leave the rest.

> It would be great to have a march with banners from all fifty states
> with people from all walks of life coming together to present an
> alternative to Bush which is viable for most Americans.

This is a good point. One of the many signs we carry says:

New Hampshire says NO to war!

More and more people are starting to provide a "geographic"
ID on their signs; I'd certainly encourage that.

Atlant