You know, it’s odd. It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of those polls of American war sentiment that not so long ago seemed to litter our news pages and drip all over CNN and prime-time TV news. Could that mean Ruth Rosen (see below) is right and support is dropping here for the war in its unilateral form, but possibly also in any form? Globally, there’s no question of that. The Washington Post recently reported the following of sentiment in France — and it’s typical, as far as I can tell of European and even worldwide reaction to the very idea of an Iraqi war:
“A poll Thursday by the Ipsos organization for the newspaper Le Figaro found 77 percent of those interviewed opposed to military intervention against Iraq. The poll found that anti-war sentiment largely spanned the political spectrum, from people on the far left, who are most opposed, to people on the far right.”
To read this Washington Post piece click here
Let’s remember that it’s hard to get 77% of anybody to agree on any subject in any country not run by the Taliban, so this might be considered a remarkable unifying feat of the Bush administration.
There are to be major demonstrations in Washington, DC and San Francisco this Saturday. Ruth Rosen in a column in today’s San Francisco Chronicle suggests that never before in history has an antiwar movement grown so fast, assumedly in the country planning to “commit war” but also in the period before the war could even start. Can that statement be backed up? I suspect intuitively, or anecdotally, that it’s accurate, but how about a few reporters out there doing their jobs and trying to gauge in a serious way the depth of antiwar sentiment in America today
For those of you who, on reading Rosen’s column, immediately think, well, that’s hippy-dippy Northern California for you, I include a homey piece in today’s Portland Press Herald of Maine, sent on to me by an acquaintance, with the following note:
“Little ole Maine is sending eight busloads (and growing) of protesters to next Saturday’s march in DC I don’t remember that many going down for the November 1969 march. To me that says something about the zeitgeist. The following article appeared on Page 1 of my morning paper today.”
To read this Washington Post piece click here
Let’s remember that it’s hard to get 77% of anybody to agree on any subject in any country not run by the Taliban, so this might be considered a remarkable unifying feat of the Bush administration.
There are to be major demonstrations in Washington, DC and San Francisco this Saturday. Ruth Rosen in a column in today’s San Francisco Chronicle suggests that never before in history has an antiwar movement grown so fast, assumedly in the country planning to “commit war” but also in the period before the war could even start. Can that statement be backed up? I suspect intuitively, or anecdotally, that it’s accurate, but how about a few reporters out there doing their jobs and trying to gauge in a serious way the depth of antiwar sentiment in America today
For those of you who, on reading Rosen’s column, immediately think, well, that’s hippy-dippy Northern California for you, I include a homey piece in today’s Portland Press Herald of Maine, sent on to me by an acquaintance, with the following note:
“Little ole Maine is sending eight busloads (and growing) of protesters to next Saturday’s march in DC I don’t remember that many going down for the November 1969 march. To me that says something about the zeitgeist. The following article appeared on Page 1 of my morning paper today.”
As I’ve been saying for a while, something’s happening out there and it seems to be getting wider, deeper, and more mainstream by the second. Stay tuned. Tom
Bay Area protests war
By Ruth Rosen
January 13, 2003
San Francisco ChronicleNEVER UNDERESTIMATE the common sense of the American people. According to recent polls, early support for an invasion of Iraq is slipping. Most Americans agree Saddam Hussein is a monstrous dictator. But with each passing month, more people recognize that he is not linked to al Qaeda terrorists. The real nuclear threat posed by North Korea has also made some people wonder — in the absence of new evidence — whether it is Iraq that threatens our national security. Finally, some people may realize that it is control over Iraq’s oil fields that our national leaders covet, not the prospect of installing democracy in Iraq.
Never before in human history has an anti-war movement grown so fast and spread so quickly. It is even more remarkable because the war has yet to begin.
Publicized throughout cyberspace, the anti-war movement has left behind its sectarian roots and entered mainstream culture.
To read more of Rosen click here
Portland Press Herald, Maine
Mainers flocking to rally as anti-war mood builds
By Joshua L. Weinstein, Portland Press Herald Writer
January 13, 2003The people at Peace Action Maine knew that plenty of people would want to go to Washington, D.C., next weekend for the mammoth peace rally planned for the city, so they chartered a couple of buses.
Two wasn’t enough. Neither was three. Or four.
On Friday, eight busloads of Mainers will head down, filled with about 400 people. They’ll leave Friday night, arrive in the capital for the rally and come right back.
Greg Field, executive director of Peace Action Maine, said Sunday that he is astounded – and thrilled – at the reaction.
“We got such positive response that the first thing that happened was the midcoast people decided to do one on their own, and it turned into two.”
Activists in Bangor have two buses, as well. “It’s eight at this point, so it’s really been snowballing,” Field said.
To read more of this Portland Press Herald article click here