Protest Lite
Nationwide candlelight vigils tonight 8 pm
More than 1,000 U.S. soldiers have now been killed in Iraq. 1,000 of our brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, moms, dads, sons, and daughters have given their lives in service to our country.
To honor them and reflect on the loss of their lives, Americans everywhere are organizing candlelight vigils.
Organized by MoveOn.org and Win Without War
Stopping this insane war will take more than well-meaning but anemic Protest Lite vigils, especially considering they have no definable political message. Gee, let’s have a group hug and sing “Cumbaya”, maybe that’ll stop Bush from invading the next country, uh huh, sure it will.
But then, Win Without War has shown themselves time and again to be opposed to genuine protest, and MoveOn.org is a Democratic PAC whose sole purpose is to elect Kerry.
Here in L.A., Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace has called for a march and a rally at MacArthur Park on 9/11, this Saturday, titled “Healing Journeys for Local and Global Justice.”
Two peace marches, each with an individual message tied in to the overall theme of the connection between domestic violence and international violence, will converge in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles for a major rally.
MacArthur Park is heavily Central American and is seriously dangerous at night, although fine during the day. It’s an odd place to march to, especially considering most of the endorsing groups have no ties there. Plus, having the march on 9/11 is, I think, a risky date for such an event, as some might think it borders on being exploitative.
The marchers “are determined to correct traditional misperceptions and convince ‘traditional’ leaders that violence will not change the tragedies that have occurred locally, nationally and globally.”
I’ve read that sentence several times and still have no clear idea what it means! Violence can never change something that happened in the past, true enough, but neither can anything else. So what are they trying to say? They also seem to imply people ought never defend themselves if that means picking up a gun, and I would disagree with that. So, what is their message? That we stop being violent? You think Bush and Sharon are listening?
This country is now deeply polarized, at least as much since 1969, maybe more so. Most people have already chosen sides. The time for feel-good, warm and fuzzy Protest Lite events has long since passed.
