[lbo-talk] War Losses Mount for Small Towns

Chuck chuck at mutualaid.org
Thu Feb 22 11:12:43 PST 2007


bitch at pulpculture.org wrote:


> yeah, but it's the numbers. with large coastal cities, you automatically
> have a lot of people who will come out for a protest, people who don't have
> far to travel. People who head to the coastal cities to protest are often
> combining the visit for other reasons, or just to go to DC, NY, SF.

I understand that protests on the coasts draw on the large, dense populations in those regions. Yes, people combine protest trips with visits to these cities. You even find instances such as the funny anecdote I heard a few years ago.

Several of my friends were standing on a subway platform in New York City. They overheard a conversation between two women.

First woman: "I went down to D.C. this weekend to do some shopping and to visit friends."

Second woman: "How did you swing that?"

First woman: "Oh, I got on one of those cheap buses which were going to a protest in D.C."

Look, if ANSWER, UFPJ and the labor unions are such skilled organizers, than certainly they can organize a national anti-war mobilization in Columbus, Ohio. Us Midwesterners always have to get on the bus for D.C. protests, so why can't East Coast people get on some buses to the Midwest? If you really want to stop the war, aren't you going to have to step outside your comfort zone?

I think that the focus on big city protests also greatly underestimates the number of people from the Midwest which will be drawn to a mass mobilization in their neighborhood. Many people out here never go to protests in D.C. Who wants to spend 20+ hours on a bus only to have to do it again after a few hours or days?

There are many anti-war and peace groups in the Midwest. Chicago itself has dozens of anti-war groups. I think that a Midwest or Southern U.S. protest would draw lots of people who are against the war and who don't go to protests on the coasts.

Then there is the strategic argument for trying this. If the left wants to have any base outside coastal cities, it has to be active in the middle of the country. If you write off the Midwest (or the South or the Mountian states), then the Midwest will write you off. They'll just drift back to voting for right wing candidates.

Chuck



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