With one day's notice, cold rainy weather, and a protest that started during work hours (4:30 PM), Minneapolis still produced somewhere between 1,000-3,000 (based on media estimates and my guesses) people for today's emergency anti-war demo and march through the streets of downtown Minneapolis. Compare that to about 5,000 - 8,000 for the last big protest/march, which was announced well in advance, and was on a weekend. I think the level of commitment that speaks to is quite impressive.
In a sick sort of way, I was relieved that our glorious leader started the war ASAP. Frankly, we all knew it was going to happen, and waiting for any big change always makes me extremely tense. Now it's time to go out there and give a big "fuck you" to war, imperialism, and blood for oil. Getting involved in anti-war activism is exciting and empowering, even if the necessity for it is depressing.
Well, if all the marchers are pacifists, then I can see coming out against war. I doubt that you can organize that many real pacifists. I certainly didn't see marches like this against the Kosovo action.
The facts don't support that this is imperialism. If it had been imperialism, we would have removed Saddam in 1991 and installed a puppet government. No, instead, we imposed reasonable conditions of armistice that were repeatedly violated over 12 years. That's what justifies this action, not imperialism.
Finally, "blood for oil". If we wanted Iraqi oil, we would just lift the sanctions and let it flow freely. Market prices recently, before the recent difficulties in the Middle East and Venezuela, have been rather low, so just lifting the sanctions would give us lots of cheap oil.
Oh wait, his neighbors might feel threatened by the inevitable arms buildup that would follow, seeing as Iraq has repeatedly reasserted it's claim to Kuwait.
Let's see, can't lift the sanctions, that doesn't work. I know, containment! Keep the sanctions on! Nope, that kills more Iraqis every month than the entire Gulf War in 1991 did, according to UN figures. That doesn't work. Well, unless you think they are just Arabs and it doesn't matter that tens of thousands die every year from starvation and treatable disease. The money is there in the humanitarian oil sales program, but the people of Iraq don't seem to get any because Saddam is systematically starving them to death to gain sympathy from the Arab Street.
I guess we have to change the regime and then lift the sanctions. That's the only position that rescues the people of Iraq and stabilizes the region.
Why don't you marchers just say: "Come on out and support the systematic starvation of Iraqis and Saddam's continued ability to threaten his neighbors." That'd be closer to the truth.
Re:Except...
ziggy on 2003-03-21T21:48:29
Yep. If there really were a protest against imperialism, someone would be protesting the farsical aquatic ceremony that distributed swords to a handful of men across the Middle East and South Asia.The facts don't support that this is imperialism.Now it's time to go out there and give a big "fuck you" to war, imperialism, and blood for oil.Somehow, I think the world would have been a tad bit safer if a few more swords were reserved for regions beginning with the letter 'K'.
Oh well. We need to deal with the Doctrine of Immutable Borders and find some way to move on...
