[thechat] protests?

[David Wagner]

Debbe wrote:
> I understand both sides of this issue and of course no one wants war.
> We live in a free and open society so everyone has the right to protest,
> however there are bigger things in this picture than the individual
> protestor.

[much snippage]

> Give it up!  Use your voting power to protest, not your life.  You get
> more than one vote.  You only have one life.


Voting is, of course, extremely important. However, it is not the only way
to get things done.

Facts:

- Political analysts agree with common sense: a US president will no longer
go ahead with military actions without popular support -- a lesson learned
from the Vietnam War era. Protests during that era led directly to major
changes in the way the government handles itself, especially in regard to
public opinion.

- The Bush administration believes that it has popular support for this war.

- Recent protests against the current military actions have been called "the
biggest protests since the Vietnam War." Judging by the expansion in size
and enthusiasm of the rallies in recent months, I would expect to see
continuing and growing vocal opposition.

- Most importantly: every active body makes a difference. Every person can
change minds. I did it yesterday -- a very kind, deeply religious pro-war
businessman came and talked to my friends and I at the protest last night.
He started out with "But you do support our troops, right?" and "Do you want
to be part of a winner or a loser?" After about an hour of conversation, we
agreed to disagree on the necessity of violence in human nature, but we
heartily agreed that war was not the best solution in this case.

The rally in Eugene yesterday was not passive, nor was it (for the most
part) angry. It was a loud statement by a large group of people that we
believe that peace is possible, and that causing death and destruction is
not a reasonable answer to any problem.

The only thing that anyone's been able to accuse me of is being
idealistic -- which is not something that bothers me. Cynicism stops being
fun after awhile.

Debbe, a specific message to you regarding point 1 of your message: please
don't live in fear of terrorist attacks. Terrorism is a horrible and awful
thing, and it only gets worse when it works.

--

David Wagner
dave at worlddomination.net