From: \\\ (lmpallad@midway.uchicago.edu)
Date: Sun Sep 29 2002 - 11:23:29 EDT
----- Forwarded message from Ivan Boothe <ivan@sccs.swarthmore.edu> -----
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 14:51:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ivan Boothe <ivan@sccs.swarthmore.edu>
Reply-To: Ivan Boothe <ivan@sccs.swarthmore.edu>
Subject: [april20] Iraq protests may be working
To: nsan@lists.riseup.net, antiwarconference@lists.riseup.net,
studentsnowar@yahoogroups.com, april20@lists.riseup.net,
azpeaceweb@yahoogroups.com
"The only reason the only reason that Congressional Democrats this
past week started speaking out against invasion, in more than their
previously token numbers, is because they have been deluged with phone
calls, faxes, and e-mails expressing the public's opposition. Polls show
widespread doubt. Congressional office intake valves, a measure of the
people passionate enough to contact their public officials, has been
running more than 90 percent against the planned invasion. And volume has
been high."
The Peace Movement Lives
Geov Parrish | AlterNet
2002-09-27
http://why-war.com/cgi-bin/fulltext.cgi?id=2290
In the coming week, Congress may vote on a resolution authorizing use of
the American military to invade Iraq. That's the timeline President Bush
wants because questions about the wisdom of such an invasion relegated
to the fringes of discourse among political elites for the better part of
a year have suddenly gained the upper hand. The White House is desperate
to forestall an anti-war movement that has seemingly materialized from
thin air.
In a sense, of course, it has. Thank you, Mr. Internet. The challenge has
been obvious: to insert into the public debate a moral critique of an
invasion, the part that says that killing is wrong and killing on the
pretext of a manufactured crisis is criminal. The critique needs to be
linked to the logistical and political objections, which have been raised
mostly by conservatives, and that were, only three weeks ago, the only
widely visible opposition to the war. The challenge is also to connect
with the large numbers of non-activists who simply had their doubts about
the wisdom of Dubya's folly, or who sensed that the ceaseless drum-beating
for war simply didn't add up.
It's happening.
The only reason the only reason that Congressional Democrats this past
week started speaking out against invasion, in more than their previously
token numbers, is because they have been deluged with phone calls, faxes,
and e-mails expressing the public's opposition. Polls show widespread
doubt. Congressional office intake valves, a measure of the people
passionate enough to contact their public officials, has been running more
than 90 percent against the planned invasion. And volume has been high.
Without that pressure, Congressional Democratic leaders like Tom Daschle
amd Richard Gephardt who two weeks ago sneered at Iraq's offer to allow
"unconditional" access to U.N. weapons inspector would never be
resisting the White House's timetable for a Congressional vote on
war. They now want to delay the vote, which would allow more time for
anti-war opposition to build, and, of course, more time during election
season for Dubya to insert his size 238 cowboy boots into his mouth on a
daily basis.
The timing of a Congressional vote will be the first actual test of how
far and for how long Democrats are willing to use their newly-discovered
spines. Will they postpone a vote? Maybe. Will they water down the
resolution? Perhaps. Will they vote against it? Maaaay-bee.
Only further, more widespread, more intense opposition can stiffen
Congressional backbones on both sides of the aisle and raise the
political price for Dubya high enough to stop this catastrophe in the
making. But the anti-war movement cannot hinge on the Congressional vote,
nor stop if a resolution is approved. In all likelihood, it will be. The
point of pressuring Congress is to generate enough debate and opposition
at that level of government to create legitimacy for the much wider,
ongoing public opposition and to give time for that opposition to build
and organize further.
The infrastructure is there, and the public visibility is starting to kick
in. Three different groups have called for nation-wide demonstrations on
coming weekends (see below). But there is no need to wait. There are
plenty of anti-war resources and web sites on the net, and some of them
are very good. My favorite lately is a fine libertarian-oriented site
called www.antiwar.com. The new publication War Times also merits a
plug; it is distributed free in many cities, and can be reached at
www.war-times.org or 1230 Market St. PMB 409, San Francisco CA 94102.
Other than these sites, there are the national anti-war groups each with
local affiliates, flyers, publications, and other resources designed to
aid your efforts. There are far too many to list here, but these are a
dozen that, depending on your personal leanings, are worth checking out:
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC): A group with regional and local
offices across the country, AFSC is active on a number of social justice
issues, but its roots are in the pacifist Quaker church ("Friends") and
they are always eloquent and effective opponents of war. www.afsc.org,
215-241-7000, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia PA 19102.
Central Committee for Conscientious Objection (CCCO): The nation's best
source of information and counseling for Selective Service registrants,
enlistees, and active military personnel seeking information on their
options if they don't want to fight. www.objector.org, 1-888-231-2226
(toll-free), 630 20th St., Ste. 302, Oakland CA 94612.
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR): The nation's oldest pacifist group,
the Fellowship is an interfaith ecumenical outfit founded, nationally and
internationally, in 1917 to oppose World War I. They're still at it, and
are active on a variety of issues including, in recent years, Iraq
sanctions but resisting war is foremost among them. www.forusa.org,
845-358-4601, 521 N. Broadway, Nyack NY 10960.
International Action Center (IAC): A Ramsey Clarkled activist group that,
behind the scenes, is actually controlled by the Workers World Party. The
IAC has managed to attract support broader than its roots, but it still
raises the interesting question of how fans of Stalin can plausibly claim
to be the nation's preeminent "peace" group. Their focus in recent years
has also been on Mumia and anti-racism work, but the IAC and especially
former U.S. Attorney General (under Johnson) Clark have been in the
forefront of challenges to U.S.-led sanctions against Iraq. They've called
for a "National Day of Action" and a large protest in Washington D.C. on
Oct. 27, the weekend before elections. Hard to imagine that Ramsey Clark
and John Ashcroft held the same office. www.iacenter.org, 212-633-6646, 39
W. 14th St. #206, New York NY 10011.
Jonah House: As good an entry point as any for the wildly diffuse, but
militant and well-organized, radical Catholic left. Phil Berrigan and Liz
McAllister founded this urban Catholic Worker outpost in Baltimore three
decades ago, and it has inspired imitators across the country. It served
as a way station for the mostly anti-nuclear Plowshares movement. But when
war threatens, you know they'll be there or, more likely, getting hauled
off while bleeding at the White House gates. disarmnow@aol.com, 1301
Moreland Ave., Baltimore MD 21216.
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee: The nation's best
clearinghouse for information, counseling, and local contacts for those
interested in refusing to pay for war. NWTRCC offers a realistic
assessment of the risks of not paying income and other federal taxes and
the risks, especially moral, of paying them. www.nwtrcc.org,
1-800-269-7464, P.O. Box 6512, Ithaca NY 14851.
Not In Our Name: The sectarian left loves to hide behind front
groups. Worker's World has the IAC, and now the Revolutionary Communist
Party (Maoists, for those not up on your commies) has spawned a new one,
Not In Our Name. But like the IAC, Not In Our Name has attracted support
far beyond its radical sectarian roots, and NION is what appears to be the
larger of two national efforts to sponsor local "National Days of
Action" on the weekend of Oct. 67, the anniversary of the beginning of
the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Their focus is somewhat larger than the
war, but if you can avoid gagging on the cliched rhetoric, it's worth
checking out. www.notinourname.net.
Pax Christi USA: This is a more traditional Catholic peace group than the
type of liberation theology represented by Jonah House, with over 200
local groups scattered across the country. www.paxchristiusa.org,
814-453-4955, 532 W. 8th St., Erie PA 16502.
Peace Action: This is the answer to the question "Whatever became of the
Freeze Movement?" It merged with the anti-nuclear power group SANE to
become Sane/Freeze, and then changes its name in the early 90s to Peace
Action. This is the Sierra Club of the peace movement cautious, with a
focus on lobbying combined with grassroots activism, and lots and lots of
members. The group is planning a march this weekend (Sun., Sept. 29) in
Washington D.C., followed by Congressional lobbying on
Monday. www.peace-action.org, 202-862-9740, 1819 H St., Ste. 420 & 425,
Washington DC 20006.
Voices In The Wilderness: Not specifically an anti-war group, but included
here because Kathi Kelly's Chicago outfit has been at the forefront in
challenging Iraq sanctions: delivering donated food, medical, and public
health supplies to Iraqis in regular defiance of the U.S.-led embargo,
collecting the horrific stories of the Iraqis they meet, and bringing
those images back to America. Nobody is better equipped to describe what
the U.S. has already done to the Iraqi people, and what further war would
do. www.nonviolence.org/vitw, 773-784-8065, 1460 W. Carmen Ave., Chicago,
IL 60640.
War Resisters League (WRL): The nation's oldest secular pacifist group,
founded in 1922 in the wake of World War I. Like FOR, it has both an
international network War Resisters International and local groups and
contacts. "War is a crime against humanity." Full disclosure: I've been on
their National Committee (essentially, their board) for 17
years. www.warresisters.org, 202-228-0450, 339 Lafayette St., New York NY
10012.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom: WILPF is a creation of
the feminist movement specifically, the movement to win the right for
women to vote. It's been around that long, and while it's not very active
in some cities, it's very active in others, bringing the wisdom of women
not just as the people most likely to suffer in any war but the people
most likely to stop it. www.wilpf.org, 215-563-7110, 1213 Race St.,
Philadelphia PA 19107.
These groups have their differences it is notoriously difficult to get
them all to work together and none have distinguished themselves for
their ability to craft a message with broad public appeal. That is the
challenge at hand because it requires not relying solely on the same old
messages and tactics. But these groups also represent, among them,
centuries of experience at anti- war opposition and resistence. There's a
lot of knowledge, skills, and expertise afoot.
In the end, their particular visions for an ideal world are not what
matters; stopping the war is. And in the words of Gandhi, the patron saint
of nonviolence, "Whatever you do, it is most important that you do it."
Let's get busy.
----- End forwarded message -----
lenore m. palladino
773 752-3576
lmpallad@midway.uchicago.edu
"your silence will not protect you.." -audre lorde
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