October 17, anti-war protest in San Francisco

THIS IS WHAT A SELF-SATISFYING INEFFECTIVE SYMBOLIC PROTEST LOOKS LIKE

This is what a white wing whacko sounds like as he ineffectually whines and bitches..."THIS IS WHAT A SELF-SATISFYING INEFFECTIVE SYMBOLIC PROTEST LOOKS LIKE""

He hates people who care

He hates people who ACT

He hates himself

"He hates people who care…He hates people who ACT"

Oh this sounds very much like a Democratic liberal do nothing, whom themselves are definitely white says. Holding signs and singing Kumbaya, is not an action.

-- Jack Heyman of the ILWU and Dan Ellsberg gave the most honest accessments of the rally and why it was so small (Yes it certainly wasn't ''thousands '' present . 1200 tops )
Both acknowledged it was very small and pointed the blame where it belonged : On the Democrats in general and sad illusions in Obama in particular . Even within the rally those illusions manifested itself . Signs like ' President Obama Lead us to Peace '' were common .
On the stage you had speakers that really didn't belong there . Like Normon Solomon who most emphaticially Did not call for US withdraw from Afghanistan and instead babbled some nonsense about a ''humalitarian surge ''.
As for unions there was a symbolic presence but probably no more than 50 open union activists all together . Even the well respected ILWU had only a half dozen guys there .
Sorry yesterday was a flop . We need a open strategy sessions (s) open to all activists to figure a way out of this morass.

sheehan is correct. holding a sign is kind of a ''hope trance'' kind of thing. you can go beyond that,especially if you are ''white''. but all races need to give up illusions of programmed ''society''

I think this rally and march were tremendously successful. The energy was great - the people who were there were those who are truly committed. The speakers were dynamic and if one listened there was a lot of insight. I like to contrast the march with the visit by Obama to the city. The marchers made contact with the public while Obama hid from the public and spent his time with the so-called rich and influential. What I saw on the streets during the march - the public watching connected with the march and what the marchers were saying. There were a lot of horns being blown even by muni drivers. Drivers in their cars waved, honked and gave the peace symbol. Hundreds of people took pictures of the march. THE MESSAGE WAS SEEN & HEARD. Another interesting point - the police presence for this march was much larger than what Obama had in San Francisco. What does that say? I think that the protestors are more powerful and threatening to the system than Obama. WE ARE POWERFUL - WHETHER ONE PERSON OR THOUSANDS. Even though the main stream media completely ignored this event - people on the street saw and heard. Thanks to all those who came. It was great!

I went with a friend who had never attended a protest in SF. We were thrilled to see Daniel Ellsberg in person for the first time. Size does not matter. I was there with 300,000 in 2003, and the government did not decide not to invade Iraq. We need to protest for a number of reasons.

This discussion seems to care about improving our peace movement, so here are some suggestions:

Before and during the war against Vietnam, we had peace rallies at Union Square where we can leaflet thousands of shoppers. We do not need to talk to ourselves; we have to organize the unorganized. There should also have been extensive leafletting of the picket of Obama on 10/15/09 for this peace rally where several thousand total attended with all kinds of worthwhile issues. I heard on KPFA, Saturday 6 p.m. news, 10/17/09, that a broad range of organizations endorsed this event but only 1,000 people showed up in a city of 880,000 people and in a Bay Area of 7 million people. If each endorsing organization had brought at least 10% of their members, which is what an endorsement should mean, there would have been hundreds of thousands attending if not millions, since the SF Central Labor Council allegedly also endorsed this event. THE BIGGEST PEACE ISSUE IN SAN FRANCISCO IS THE NAVY'S BLUE DEATH STRAFING THE CITY FOR 4 DAYS OF COLUMBUS GENOCIDE WEEKEND FOR AN ADMTITED MILITARY RECRUITING SHOW, FLEET WEEK, WASTING TAX DOLLARS AND OIL, MAKING TERRIBLE NOISE SO THAT WE CANNOT HEAR OURSELVES TALK OR THINK AS THEY ROAR OVERHEAD, AND POLLUTING THE ATMOSPHERE. Most people over age 40 and most educated people under age 40 strongly oppose this illegal air show over a city and we can certainly bring thousands of San Franciscans to our peace rallies on this issue alone. Since the schools, courts, banks and post office are closed for Columbus Genocide Day, it is a state and federal holiday which means we could have at least a 2-day peace rally at Union Square, and do a die-in when the Navy's Blue Death strafes Union Square, demonstrating to all the horror of war. This is very effective theater, gets people involved, and gets lots of press. IF YOU DO NOT EVEN BOTHER TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS AND CONCERNS OF THE PEOPLE OF SAN FRANCISCO, WHY DO YOU HAVE PEACE DEMONSTRATIONS HERE? We are all ashamed that all these many organizations who endorsed this event could bring to this event was only 1,000 people. It means they did not do a mass Emailing to all their members and get serious commitments in terms of transportation and attendance to push them to this peace rally. CAN YOU TRY DOING IT AT UNION SQUARE NEXT YEAR, DURING COLUMBUS GENOCIDE WEEKEND, AND DO A DIE-IN WHEN THE WAR MACHINE STRAFES UNION SQUARE? And as to Democratic Party delegates to the convention that nominated the millionaire, warmonger, death penalty promoter Obama like Normon Solomon, he does not belong at any peace demonstration. IN THE LEAFLET promoting any peace march, you should ALWAYS list the war crimes of the current administration. In the case of war criminal Obama, he started bombing Pakistan with drones in his FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE and has continued every week thereafter. He also kept Bush's war secretary, Gates, another war criminal. He installed a war criminal named Hilary Clinton in the Secretary of State's office, who is now busy promoting the coup in Honduras and bombing Iran in December. AND OBAMA SUPPORTS THE LIES OF BUSH ON THE 9/11 INSIDE JOB. Every peace rally should have a speaker from the 9/11 Truth Movement as the 9/11 Pretext for War must be addressed as such. THE ONE SECTOR OF THE PEACE MOVEMENT THAT IS GROWING GEOMETRICALLY IS THE 9/11 TRUTH MOVEMENT. At every rally, the point should be made that the Democratic Party is the war party that brings Fleet Week and the Navy's Blue Death to San Francisco annually since 1981 to admittedly recruit for the military and it promotes the military in the public schools with JROTC which also recruits for the military, just approved by the Democratic majority school board.

There are big movements in the East Bay. San Francisco has become so gentrified. Maybe it is time for Oakland or Berkeley.

There is lots of poverty in San Francisco. Two-thirds of San Francisco residents are renters, most of whom depend on rent control for a roof over our heads. Most new condominium buildings are empty; there is no money to buy anything. The military recruits in San Francisco schools with JROTC precisely because they are filled with workingclass students. WHY DOES THE PEACE MOVEMENT AVOID THE OBVIOUS POINT OF PROTEST, THE NAVY'S BLUE DEATH? The die-in at Union Square this year during Fleet Week/Columbus Genocide Weekend, organized by World Can't Wait, was very effective in dramatizing the horror of war to the many people at Union Square and to the press, who were there with their television cameras. This was the first time any sector of the peace movement bothered to have any protest of the Navy's Blue Death where people could participate. THE ARROGANCE OF THE SELF-APPOINTED LEADERS OF THE PEACE MOVEMENT HAS NOW BORNE THE FRUIT OF NO PEACE MOVEMENT. THE CHICKENS HAVE COME HOME TO ROOST. If you are going to have a fall peace demonstration, it has to be during Columbus Genocide Weekend, at Union Square where we can leaflet lots of people, and include a die-in to dramatize the horror of war as it roars overhead. And you are REQUIRED to have at least one speaker from the 9/11 TRUTH MOVEMENT, which among other things, affirms SCIENCE, WHICH MEANS KNOWLEDGE. This American Reichstag Fire was the pretext for this latest round of endless wars and this 9/11 INSIDE JOB must be discussed openly and widely, especially at our peace rallies. There are now some 900 scientists and engineers who know the government is lying about the 9/11 INSIDE JOB. See http://www.ae911truth.org/
Our peace movement must rest on the bedrock of science, along with labor, as we want a secular, industrialized, prosperous society. The mumbo-jumbo of superstitious religion has no place among thinking people, which the peace movement must be. Remember: Science means knowledge; religion is superstition; evolution is a fact; abortion is a right and gay marriage is a civil right. The Blue Death war machines are the perversion of science and our peace movement should highlight that fact with a die-in and feature signs protesting the Navy's Blue Death and Fleet Week as the military recruiting show they admittedly are. I hope to see a peace rally next October during Columbus Genocide Weekend at Union Square, and it must include a protest against the Navy's Blue Death and feature a speaker from the 9/11 Truth Movement. We will fill the square to capacity with thousands of people with that kind of peace rally.

Are those people joking carrying a sign reading "Labor against the war-stop Bush's war on working people here and abroad"? Mr. Obama is now running the show and he started bombing in Pakistan when he had not even been in office 3 weeks. Mr. Bush was evil-yet this man carries on the Bush policies and more and you are looking at this tool to bring peace. This is pathetic. He does not believe in peace. He is a warmonger just like everyone prior to him and where is the dim bulb Mr. West to talk about Barack Obama doesn't care about _______ people?

" Cold Reality '' may sound harsh but they're on target . Last Saturday's rally was really small. Why ? Because of these damm illusions in the dominant party of the SF bay area . Not the evil GOP but the democrats .
Of course if we had 50, 000 people in the streets dozens of local Democrats would be clamoring to speak. Afterwards they , if in the Congress or Senate , would continue to vote to fund the war . Or if in City Councils or School boards backing ROTC in schools .
How about we bar any speakers that refuses to clearly call for all troops out now ? And if in any elected position do everything in their power to fight the war. That should be the price of admission to climb on any progressive stage . Any. Pro-labor , Health care, Immigrant rights , Abortion and Women rights . Any . If you're for the war how can you be sincerely for any of the above .

I'm starting to think that people who continue to organize protests are actually totally down with our class enemies. But not exactly - they're just in the protest BUSINESS, and they want business to stay healthy. The Guvernator was right when he called protestors "a special interest group." Everyone knows only direct action gets the goods. The excuse that we need a form of protest that even grandmas can join is baloney. When I'm a grandma I look FORWARD to chaining myself to doors and occupying buildings and supporting strikes with material aid.

Enough with this bulls*it ritual! Let's spend some energy where it counts!