Protests in Tallahassee

For those curious, there was a downtown protest today in Tallahassee.



I went and talked among the crowds, (or three or four people, depending on how you look at it). Alex, one of the organizars, was tired from staying up all night making signs and a peace ball. Apparently the ball was 8 feet wide and 7 feet tall, but the police said they had to get rid of it. I asked him what he would say to the soldiers, and he said, "They're in a rough spot, they really are. I really feel for them. They have to carry out orders, that are really questionable." Most of the other protesters I talked to expressed similar sentiments.



The cops were on hand, but apart from two dogs who didn't get on so well, there was no violence or civil disobedience that I saw. Just people who don't agree with this war and are expressing their opinions. That is what America is all about.

Protest against the War

Watching the protest against the war in DC on C-Span. All I can say is I'm really really depressed. Other than a cool song by Patti Smith, all I heard was largely nonsense. There is a good case against the war, but these people aren't making it. Their intellectural blinders condition them to look at the US a certain way, such that no war America involves itself in can be positive.

Good song by Patti Smith though, who probably wouldn't agree with my assessment. I'll write more on this later on.

Lysistrata

For those interested in Lysistrata, the posting is down near the bottom--I posted it on Monday the 3rd. And you should go check Elayne Riggs website--she's interesting, and she linked to me, so I'm in favor of her.

Boy, was that awkwardly worded.

Anyway hope you are all doing wonderful.

For those Who Don't Know

Lysistrata is very funny and very sexual.

Lysistrata

Lysistrata is a play about a woman in ancient Greece, who, being fed up with the constant warfare and the lack of male companionship, comes up with the novel theory that the woman of Greece can make their men less warlike by witholding sex.

Ok there's more to it than that, she and her followers take over the acropolis and force a peace treaty by refusing to have sex with the men. Lysistrata presuades the women of Sparta and Corinthia to follow her lead. To make a long story short, they succeed.

In what is being heralded as the "First-Ever World Wide Theatre Event for Peace," in over 1,000 locations, mostly today, this play is being read. One such location was here in Tallahassee (and actually there will be a second reading tonight at The Mickee Faust Clubhouse, 8:00 I believe). I attended and took pictures, as is my wont, and I have a bit of sound from the performance as well.

To hear a bit of the performance, click hear. We were outside so recording conditions were not very good--but it is reasonably clear.







Cara Rossen, who organized the event, stated "Our goal is to make our legislators and state administrators aware that the citizens of Tallahassee, and this nation, do not want to see a war in Iraq. There are so many options available to us, being the most powerful nation in the world. War is the last of those. We have to set the example and be responsible to the rest of the planet. Yes, we have the ability, but it doesn't mean we should use it. Might does not make right. I believe that we do need to take action in Iraq. I do agree that they have violated the UN's requests and directives for too long. But we need to take action against Pres. Hussein and his government, not the people of Iraq. And that's what a war is, an action against a people. And the Iraqis, at least 99% of them in my opinion, don't deserve that. They deserve our help. They have suffered enough."

In a discussion with Ms. Rossen (who is the primary voice on the MP3 as well (unless my memory is faulty, which is entirely possible)), she confirmed that she believed this war was avoidable, and that even with a UN resolution, she might not be able to support military action against Iraq.

Light updating this morning

Won't be updating much this morning, but will have a larger update with pictures later on--going to an anti war function at noon. It is a reading of Lysistrata at the capitol (in Tallahassee) at 1:00 p.m. Should be interesting.

Hope you are all having a nice day.

And Still More

Sent an e-mail to the rally organizers (one of which needs to clean out their hotmail mailbox) to find out how many people marched on Saturday. Tom Baxter replied, saying, "The Democrat said 500 the IMC reports 750. My count stopped at 400 and people were still coming." Still when you compare that to 6 billion people on Earth, I suppose it's not very much.

On the other hand, those four pro-Trident dentists are even less significant.

Yesterday's Rally

As previously posted I attended the Rally against the war held in Tallahassee, on February 15, 2002.
We are told a number of things about about those who would protest the war.

We are told that they hate our country. I saw no evidence of that yesterday. I saw evidence that people were disappointed in some of the choices their country has made, but not evidence that they hated our country. That said, it's clear that President Bush is a rallying figure for many in the crowd (posters included "Depose King George" and "W = Worst President Ever", which is only a problem if you believe that opposing President Bush is the same thing as hating America.

We are told that they hate out troops. This is patently nonsense. I saw several posters that made their position clear. Although they don't approve of the policies that have led our troops to Iraq (almost), they do wish our troops well.

We are told that they are all burnouts and hippies, the dregs of society. Well, there was some of that element there, but it was swallowed up by the mass of normal people, concerned with where our country is going.

We are told that they are all brain dead students, mindlessly following their professors. I talked to several students, and all seemed aware and certainly able to think for themselves. They all expressed different viewpoints, but expressed them reasonably well.



We are told that the anti war movement has been hijacked by the Stalinists and Maoists of ANSWER. The Rally hear did not have any involvement from them. I did see two ANSWER posters (see above), but the couple explained they had received them at another rally in Orlando (I believe). The rally Saturday was organized by Students for Peace, the National Organization of Woman, Vietnam Veterans against War, and others.

Honking for peace is easier than working for peace, I noted. Lots of people did honk for peace.

The rally seemed more serious this time around. The first rally I attended (almost by happenstance) was much more in your face. There were several placards that were very aggressive, that expressed more anti-American views. This time around they seemed like they were more interested in educating than in protesting, which is certainly a positive change.

Said Gabriel "Gabe" Pendes, one of the organizers of the rally, when asked if he saw this movement as working towards any long term goals, "You're organizing against the war, and you also want to . . . these are the kinds of things that really politicize individuals. It forces you to make political decisions. Once you cross that line, once you become aware of your surroundings, it is very difficult to go back and be like, 'Well I just don't care now.'"



Adam Smith (pictured above), commented on his poster, saying, "It's a slogan that's been thrown around. I've heard it at a few rallies, seen it on a button, on a website. . . . [it refers to] the similarities between his regime, his administration and a military coup. They are forwarding war at all costs, and that is their mission statement." Mr. Smith made it clear that he opposed the war at least in part, because of the unilateral way we were pursuing it. He was also concerned that issue was taking precedence over the real danger of nuclear war in Korea.

Tallahassee Anti War Rally

I just got back from the Anti War Rally in downtown Tallahassee. It was interesting. As you know my modus operandi is to mock the people I comment on. In most cases they are wealthy or well off commentators who, frankly, are well enough paid that they can take my abuse. That's not the case with these protesters. I know it's common enough to say that they are all students or teachers who never have to do anything anyway, but I've been a student. Yeah, there are fun times, but there is a lot of work too. I'll post longer comments later on, but I write this just to say, don't expect me to be as vicious as I usually am.

Here are some pictures.