Later I was encouraged again by the
> formation of the Coordinating Committee and a good
> meeting in the end of Oct. with over 50 people
> present. Since then everything I have attended has
> been smaller and narrower it its political view.
>
I think this paragraph sums up one of the big problems that has caused the anti-war movement to spins it wheels. There was apparently an effort made in the anti-war coalitions that were formed right after 9/11 to get rid off the grassroots democracy that had been a hallmark of the anti-globalization movement. I suspect this was done by groups that wanted to control the agenda, especially peace groups who have long been dominated by hierarchical organizaing styles. And then there are all the leftover vanguardists who have been itching to be part of an old-fashioned hierarchical coalition. These groups inevitably organize tame protests which are conducive to recruiting and newspaper sales.
It's probably no surprise that many activists in the anti-glob movement who were used to a more democratic style of organizing decided to stay away from these old school coalitions. This doesn't mean that they aren't doing antiwar activism--I know many activists who are doing anti-war activism in their own groups.
Normally I would complain about how these activists hadn't learned any lessons from the successful anti-capitalist movements, but I know understand that they don't want to learn those lessons.
<< Chuck0 >>
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INTERNATIONALISM IN PRACTICE
An American soldier in a hospital explained how he was wounded: He said, "I was told that the way to tell a hostile Vietnamese from a friendly Vietnamese was to shout ‘To hell with Ho Chi Minh!’ If he shoots, he’s unfriendly. So I saw this dude and yelled ‘To hell with Ho Chi Minh!’ and he yelled back, ‘To hell with President Johnson!’ We were shaking hands when a truck hit us."
(from 1,001 Ways to Beat the Draft, by Tuli Kupferburg).