[lbo-talk] War Losses Mount for Small Towns

Chuck chuck at mutualaid.org
Thu Feb 22 14:22:01 PST 2007


John Thornton wrote:


> Not just the Midwest but the South as well.
> 35,000 anti-war protesters in St. Louis, Memphis, or Atlanta is a bigger
> news event nationally than 35,000 anti-war demonstrators protesting
> (again) in D.C.

Right. Exactly. This is the best reason for organizing a large demo in the Midwest or South, although I think that the time for this kind of tactic was back in 2004-2005.

People tune out mass protests in D.C., NYC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The organizers of mass mobilizations in these cities should know this. A mass protest in other places would get more media attention. Just look at what happened last year with the pro-immigrant protests that broke out everywhere.

The anti-war coalitions organize these protests in D.C. not to get media attention or change government policy, but to put themselves at the front of the "peace movement".


> It won't happen because organizers have already written off the Midwest.

It also won't happen because the time for centralized, mass demonstrations against the war has passed.


> There is a shortage of skilled organizers in the Midwest and groups like
> ANSWER or UFPJ could do something about that if they were inclined.

Yes and no. ANSWER and UFPJ could pour enough of their resources into organizing a protest in Columbus or Atlanta. Organizing a mass demonstration in these cities would be a challenge, but it is possible for any organization with the money and resources.

There are skilled organizers in the Midwest. The problem is that we aren't part of large organizations out here with money and resources, except for the organizers who work for unions. It wouldn't be difficult to find enough local and regional organizers. The national organizations parachute professional organizers into local cities anyway.


> When they are approached about this the usual response is that either a
> Midwestern city wouldn't have a large enough turnout or else they
> suggest I organize it myself if I think it can be done. I'm not a
> skilled organizer with a large network of contacts or I would try. Many
> things CAN be done but that doesn't mean I can do them. All the small
> groups local to me that organize small local protests are all church
> based. As much as I'd like to help I simply cannot be civil long term to
> people who drag christ into every topic of discussion.I have tried and I
> just cannot do it.

Right, the national organizations are myopic about the Midwest and the South. They've written us off, which is incredibly stupid.

bitch at pulpculture.org wrote:

> but, it's a demo. it's pretty standard to read/hear people complain about how stupid demos are. I happen to think they have a purpose, but if they are staid and risk-averse in NYC, nothing much is going to change in Columbus. Unless you're just hoping to deal with pork power that's a lot less apt to use NYC tactics?

There are plenty of people who complain about boring mass demos. I complain about them. But I've long pointed out that they are effective if they are part of a strategy that uses different tactics.

I think that if the national anti-war organizations had organized one or two regional demos in the Midwest and South in 2005-2005, the movement would be more prominent and would be a bit bigger.

You wouldn't have to organize anything that confrontational. A peaceful rally of 30,000 would get media attention. Civil disobedience with 500 arrests would get some media attention.

> The something else that has to be done, really isn't organizing some

massive protest in the mid-west, I don't think. Yoshie mentions that they aren't memorable. I think that's more a function of the fact that people just aren't interested in doing the same old, same old. Like I said, I think they have their purposes, but my reading of the typical anti-war liberal is that they aren't into demos since they haven't accomplished a whole lot.

Well, then you can organize civil disobedience outside of some base. Or a peace march. Or a riot. There are plenty of things that could be done. I think that if you organized something "new" and unusual outside of the protest-as-usual cities, you would get media coverage, attention from the politicians, and wake up your constituency in new areas.

Chuck



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