The anti-war movement was an impressive phenomenon, but it gives itself way too much credit for ending the war. Chuck0
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It depended a lot on where you were, what was happening around you and what you were doing. Actually '71 was pretty intense and the year of the National Moratorium marches, I think. It was 72-3 that dropped off, only to be replaced with Watergate. But that is neither here nor there.
The more important lesson that I took from those years was diversity of people, positions, and actions. It really did require a very broad spectrum of activities and people. Nobody I knew was under any illusions about stopping the war---the main point was making it increasingly difficult to conduct the war, to pretend it was a good thing, that is was patriotic, that North Vietnam was the heinous enemy of humanity, or that business as usual, normal middle class life as usual (read all white in the suburbs) was going to not be effected by either the war or the civil rights movements.
One of things that I think would help would actually be more, low key, seemingly ineffectual things like boycotts, pins, bumper stickers, teach-ins, books, pamphlets.
Before you blast away, hear the point.
There is probably a lot of support for at least some of the anti-globalization issues---but ordinary people need a way to express that support and apparently stupid things like stickers, pins, and information pamphlets provide them with a means to express that support.
Civil Rights and Anti-War movements were not entirely confined to violent, radical action and most of their real political power didn't directly derive specifically from these. Their power emerged in many ways, mainly as an effect of scale, and the lowly pin, sticker, and reading material were part of it.
The anti-globalization movements have a lot of issues that can easily be addressed by these apparently meaningless propaganda techniques---they give people a way to show their support without having to commit themselves to a completely radical position---which they won't do in any case. Even a union button these days has some edge to it---because of Seattle, Quebec City, DC, Davos, London, Prague. See, the list is getting longer. Corporate names are tarred---certainly Nike, but then there is Monsanto, ADM, and others. That is their branding and identities are now linked to exploitation, greed, power, death, and destruction. That all to the good. That is their marketing is beginning to be used against them.
Chuck Grimes
gotta to go to work..