2008 Woodie Awards
What's wrong with the antiwar movement?
They're a motley bunch of fools
Phil Primeau
Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Opinion
On Jan. 27, Americans gathered in public spaces and demonstrated against the War in Iraq. While the focus of the national mobilization was a tremendous antiwar march in Washington D.C., smaller events occurred across the country.
Here, people braved the cold and took to Boston Common to show their frustration with the confusing trajectory of the war and to make explicit their distaste for its shady motivation and admittedly tragic handling.
The event here was a shameful and inane spectacle that should have made every rational person shake a sad fist at the First Amendment. Little more than a circus, it provided a revealing cross section of the "protest movement," while at the same time underscoring the juvenile sentiments and half-baked logic of those who would seek to end our involvement in Iraq with all due haste.
The demonstrators were a motley, though unsurprising, bunch. There were burnt-out hippies hoping to relive the good old days of the 1960s, as well as a gaggle of anarchists costumed as pirates.
Characteristically timid card-carrying Democrats passed around polite petitions while lunatics spewed the newest 9/11 conspiracy theories to anyone who would listen. A contingent of antiwar veterans made a meager showing and some college students looked uncomfortable and talked mostly amongst themselves.
More of a weekend social for the leftist fringe than a legitimate political demonstration, the small crowd was lively and friendly in a clownish sort of way. People consoled one another over the myriad horrors of "empire."
All the while, the anarchist-pirates used an accordion and a leather drum to produce what they must have intended to be music while 60-somethings with gray ponytails danced in circles.
The signs and banners alone were sights to see. The slogans were hokey and worn, the images crude and predictable. Banners made reference to oil, empire and corporations. Opponents of the war prove again and again that they are unable to escape the temptation of attributing all that is wrong to that evil trinity.
Here, people braved the cold and took to Boston Common to show their frustration with the confusing trajectory of the war and to make explicit their distaste for its shady motivation and admittedly tragic handling.
The event here was a shameful and inane spectacle that should have made every rational person shake a sad fist at the First Amendment. Little more than a circus, it provided a revealing cross section of the "protest movement," while at the same time underscoring the juvenile sentiments and half-baked logic of those who would seek to end our involvement in Iraq with all due haste.
The demonstrators were a motley, though unsurprising, bunch. There were burnt-out hippies hoping to relive the good old days of the 1960s, as well as a gaggle of anarchists costumed as pirates.
Characteristically timid card-carrying Democrats passed around polite petitions while lunatics spewed the newest 9/11 conspiracy theories to anyone who would listen. A contingent of antiwar veterans made a meager showing and some college students looked uncomfortable and talked mostly amongst themselves.
More of a weekend social for the leftist fringe than a legitimate political demonstration, the small crowd was lively and friendly in a clownish sort of way. People consoled one another over the myriad horrors of "empire."
All the while, the anarchist-pirates used an accordion and a leather drum to produce what they must have intended to be music while 60-somethings with gray ponytails danced in circles.
The signs and banners alone were sights to see. The slogans were hokey and worn, the images crude and predictable. Banners made reference to oil, empire and corporations. Opponents of the war prove again and again that they are unable to escape the temptation of attributing all that is wrong to that evil trinity.
Be the first to comment on this story