Ramsay Mameesh

Where are the protests? What happened to the Anti-war movement?

The United States of America, has seldom in it’s history, faced the crisis we are entering. Our military is being defeated at the same time we are considering starting an additional war, our economy is on the verge of collapse, and our Constitution is being desecrated.

And a few ladies dressed in pink are the only visible signs of protest.

Before I left the United States in 2003, for self-exile in Costa Rica, I was involved in massive demonstrations against the Iraq War. I joined hundreds of thousands of outraged Americans, in the freezing streets of Manhattan, to try and prevent an illegal war. The people of my home city, San Francisco, were likewise putting on great demonstrations.

Yes, I know Colin Powell lied to the nation, and took the air out of the Peace Movement. I knew he was lying and kept on demonstrating, before I left America during “Shock and Awe”, I attended one last small demonstration outside the “Today” show in Rockefeller Center. A few brave citizens, laid out in the street, and allowed themselves to be arrested.

Bush had 90% approval ratings, dissent was being crushed, everyone stopped protesting. I looked into the eyes of my people and saw nothing but fear. Everyone it seemed had bought the lies, duct-tape was in short supply, ignorance had replaced reason. I left.

While I was in Costa Rica, I convinced myself, that when the American People finally learn the truth, they will become so angered at having been lied to, at having their sons and daughters die for oil companies, at the crimes that have been committed with their money and in their names, that they will rise up and overthrow the regime.

Folks, the truth has been out, most of it, for some time now. Cindy Sheehan exposed the emperor, and ever since, their has been a flood of articles, books, newspaper columns, detailing the ugly details. The reaction?

You elected the Democrats, the same people who voted for the war, and the patriot act, and homeland security, what did you expect? Ms. Sheehan learned this lesson the hard way. 

I’ve been back in the United States since June, 2007, I have seen two bumper stickers, one itty-bitty sign on the highway that said “Impeach”, and no demonstrations. I’m in San Francisco, the most liberal place in the country, the silence is deafening, what’s it like in the rest of the country?

The president and the war are hugely unpopular, 70% of the people thinks he sucks, 10% are confused or retarded, and the remaining 20% are religious crazies - who will always be religious crazies. The opposition Democrats who control the congress, roll over for an unpopular president, and the American people shhh…

Why? What happened to the Antiwar Movement? What happened to protest? What happened to Civil Disobedience?

You all got Blogs! That’s what happened. You still exist, it’s just that you’re fighting the revolution in your pajamas, from the comfort of your home. The anti-war movement is alive and well, protest is occurring, it’s all on the blogosphere! And it’s dangerous for democracy. It’s also futile.

You fool yourselves into believing that you’re activists by setting up a blog, that your angry posts will have an impact, that leaving comments on a blog is a form of protest. No one cares, you’re preaching to the converted, your inconveniencing only yourself.

When women won the right to vote, did they do it by mailing angry notes to one another, on pretty stationary? No. They marched in the streets, and stopped having sex with their husbands, until they won the right to vote.

Did blacks win the right to vote, by reading Fredrick Douglas, and writing letters to the editor of the Negro Times? No. They hit the streets, boycotted businesses, burned down a few cities, got in the faces of the white people, until they got the right to vote.

Blogs are a wonderful communication tool - I’ve got three. Two for business and one personal. I’m going to keep blogging, I’m a writer, and I enjoy reading other peoples blogs and commenting. Blogs can be very useful, for informing and gaining knowledge, but blogs don’t replace action.

That’s why I’m going back on to the street. I’m making a sign and getting into peoples faces. I’ll be on Market Street in San Francisco, as often as I can, not just on September 15th.

I may be by myself, a one man protest, while everyone else blogs. But twenty years from now, I’ll be able to say that I did everything I could to save this country, not just jerk off in front of the computer - like the rest of America.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.