- Anti-War Police Rallies: No War Cries!
by Julie Fall
The peace demon-stration in our nationıs capital earlier in the year was underreported, and most people do not know that the number of people that came to show their support for peace was huge. It was a massive demonstration; the three and one-half mile peace march in D.C. took at least three hours. The crowd was diverse: from children to the elderly, men and women, church groups and anarchist groups, and many ethnic groups represented themselves. The featured speakers were diverse in ethnicity as well, giving the public viewpoints from different cultures.
It was inspiring to see so many people promoting peace. There were many colorful signs among the animated marchers at the D.C. event: Drop SUVıs Not Bombs, Drop Bush Not Bombs, Drop Bread Not Bombs, President Bush - Are Your Daughters Going To War?, No Blood for Oil, Pay Women - Not The Military, Who Would Jesus Bomb and Why Should Vermonters Die For Texas Billionaires? These are barely a handful of what was painted on paper and carried on a stick.
Rallys of today, however, are much different than rallies of the past. Today, there are many issues brought up during one rally. For example, the speakers all spoke on different issues, from Iraq to Palestine to oil, to people going to jail in Cuba. All of these issues are important and need to be addressed, but in their own separate gatherings. A central, strong issue will be more effective than many issues combined.
People in the crowd chant about different things during rallies of today. One group drowns out the other, and neither of the chants are effective. There is a basic lack of unity among protestors. One chant would inspire everybody to be united and work together.
We need one or two ³leaders² of the peace movement rather than many speakers presenting many different issues. We need one central theme for each rally. This is the difference between the Vietnam rallies and the rallies of today. Perhaps this is one reason why todayıs peace rallies do not seem to be as effective as those of the past.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered to speak out for peace. Is there anyone out there supporting the war on Iraq? It seems they are in the minority.
