<raises eyebrow> Uh, okay. I'll play.
I moved in June, leaving the group I had worked with the most. There had been an robust influx of new people. The majority of them were new to activism. Fresh energy, fresh ideas -- very good. It was the best experience I ever had in left politics (such as it is) in the D/FW metroplex. We had major march/rally on the international day of protest with over a thousand, perhaps two, in downtown Dallas. This was unprecedented. There were numerous smaller demos leading up to and during the war, usually drawing several dozen. We even set up a discussion group, which was very popular and continues today.
After the move, I looked up the local anti-war groups in San Antonio. There appear to be two separate ones, though they occasionally work jointly and I know of no sectarian quarrels between them. Of course, I don't know the history of organizing here. One is centered around a Mennonite church, and it is exactly like the other Mennonite-peace groups I've encountered: quite small, much older, and largely pacifist -- forever "bearing witness." (That's not intended as a put-down, just an observation.) The was some anti-war activity by a rather interesting cultural center, the Esperanza Center. The latter's primary focus has been the rapes/murders in Juarez, Mexico. There was recently an anti-war protest drawing a few hundred at a Bush fundraiser (I couldn't attend due to an International Economics class), but little else.
Back in early July there was a large meeting for anti-war organizing at the Esperanza Center. 60+ must have shown up. At the time I signed on to the media committee. We had about half a dozen people, one with actual experience working at the local daily. There were a couple of meetings, but then it collapsed. I don't know what happened. The meetings simply stopped, both for the larger group and the subgroups. I signed up to the e-mail list, but I haven't received any additional notices. All my snail mail from them is about Juarez.
The alternative weekly here in SA is an ally. The one in Dallas was not.
There is an activist group on the UTSA campus, now with about several dozen students. Last spring they organized a "speak out" on the war, which had healthy attendance and a fair amount of publicity. This semester the focus has been on pressing the coffee shop to offer Fair Trade coffee (apparent success), running a leftish film fest (well, leftish with the odious exception of an Alex Jones film), and a "globalization" forum. I haven't attended the meetings due to a class schedule conflict, but stay in touch with them.
... One of the greatest losses from not being in Dallas is that I don't have my friend here to relay his first-hand accounts of Ross Perot's views on the subject. "The peace is going to be hell." Heh.
-- Shane
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