Where were the war protests of the 70's, and where are they today?

[Omaha Steve]

I remember being just a bit too young to be at the big protests against the war in the early 70's. The BIG one's were held across the street from Omaha University. It was the state's largest park dedicated to America's war dead. I do remember losing a close friend to the jungles of Nam. I've seen his name on the traveling "Wall That Heals". IF the war in Iraq continues unabated, I'm sure I will loose somebody very close. Everything old is new again. Is it too late to raise up and stop this madness?

OS

http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=3

[Captain Hilts]

1. Getting rid of the draft took some of the wind out of them. nt

[msongs]

2. today's college crowd does not sacrifice anything of consequence in iraq war terms

except for those who volunteer to be in the war. if there was a draft, the protests would appear like magic because those being told to be cannon fodder for the pro-war-funding politicians like McCain, obama, and clinton, would rebel.

Msongs

[EFerrari]

3. Can't find an image of the beach protest of Nixon's second inaugural.

But I sure remember it. It was my first one.

We're still out there.

[thunder rising]

4. Getting real .. on the political stage.

Grace Slick pointed out that after Woodstock she had an epiphany: RCA (their record label) was excited and enthusiastic about promoting their albums while at the same time manufacturing bomb fuses. She realized that "the establishment" is so powerful they can profit from each side of a conflict.

[patrice]

5. 300,000 Strong in DC September/October of '02 and again in January of '03

We had the WH quadrangle completely surrounded, all streets filled curb to curb, and more people were coming. I talked to Gordon Parks and old women were there in wheelchairs.

In NYC winter 2004(?) we filled the streets to the UN, lots of SEIU, Women's Groups, Old Peace Activists, Neo-Hippies, Churches, Artists, and Universities.

The Media blacks us out.

[Captain Hilts]

22. I think one was about 500K. I went to most of them. nt

[patrice]

23. SEIU? The one in NYC stretched for dozens of blocks to ________ square.

The streets were full with people from ALL over the country.

There was another gathering at the UN in NYC. There have been gatherings in San Francisco and Seattle.

The gathering in '02 had the Civil Rights grassroots from the Sixtys and thereafter. There was a Palestinian Family Coalition and wonderful Buddhist Chanters, and Take Back the Streets!, Musicians, and Artists from everywhere, Mummers, and The Drummers' Union. I talked to Gordon Parks, people kept coming up to him and shaking his hand and I'm going, "is this who I think it is?" He IS Gorgeous and everyone was so happy to see everyone else that day. Musicians everywhere. Old ladies in wheelchairs came to march with ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice. Two organizations I'm proud to have been acquainted with.

Edited for: And of course The Quakers, Gods bless them.

[NOLALady]

36. Hey,

I was there October 02.

Yes, it was awesome! It seemed like every slice of America was there. (errrrrr... Miss Kitty just said Hello)

[lonestarnot]

24. That was the underrepored number. I saw it for myself. Way underreported number.

[patrice]

31. Many Universities and Church-groups, old Peace Activists, new Counter Culture Families. nt

[Radical Activist]

33. I was there with a lot of people of all ages.

People complain about young people not getting involved but they didn't wait 5 years after the Iraq invasion to start protesting like they did in the 60's. Things are getting better in some ways.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. There were HUGE protests in Portland before and during the early stages of

the invasion.

On the night the invasion started, protesters blocked the freeway that runs through downtown Portland as well as the major east-west street.

At one point, we had a march that was said to number 30,000.

Personally, I started to get disillusioned with marches. The Portland news stations were pretty good at covering events like that, but here in Minneapolis, which is a much larger metropolitan area, marches get zero publicity. Communication among anti-war types doesn't seem particularly good, either. I pass a utility pole where there's a sign for a "mass rally"...that happened last week, and I never heard of it.


I think there must be a better way, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it is.

[Quantess]

12. Even here in Portland

(I'm in the Portland area currently) the protests, marches, and rallies were largely ignored. Back then, I was steadfastly opposed to an Iraq invasion, but I didn't go, only because I was too busy with other things. But I knew others who went. If Portland was better than other cities at giving attention to the protests, that isn't saying much.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. I do remember that on the night of the invasion, Channel 2 (I think)

kept its newscast running overtime to cover the people who were sitting down on Burnside Avenue.

Anyway, that 30,000-person protest was pretty hard to miss for anyone who was downtown.

In the late 1990s, there was a 30,000-person march for school funding. It started at the Rose Garden and went all the way to Civic Stadium. Evidently it stretched the whole distance between those two landmarks without a break.

[Quantess]

17. Oh, I heard about them, too. (Were you in OR at the time?)

Mostly, I'm just sad that these huge protests did no good.

NO words of wisdom were heeded. There were authoritative, reputable sources saying no, the intel is bad, there are no WMD's. No weapons of mass destruction. No, no. There were no WMD's. Osama Bin Ladin doesn't even hang out in Iraq, so stop trying. Nobody fucking listened!

The knowledgeable sources from other countries were easily dismissed by the GOP administration because, since they aren't AMERICAN, they obviously don't know !!1!FREEDOM!!!1! :eyes:

I'm sorry, but we need to save our once great nation.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

21. Yes, I lived in Portland from 1993 to 2003

(pause for a moment of nostalgia about the physical setting and the transit system)

[patrice]

25. Portland can teach the nation about the nuts and bolts of CHANGE. nt

[Pastiche423]

34. On March 15, 2003

I wheeled along w/those 30,000. We began at Waterfront Park, listening to speeches. Two of the people I was with had to carry me over a wide, tree filled median because the street we were on was too packed.

About a half hour into the march, I looked immediately to my right, and there was a naked guy. His most pierced body part was at my eye level. (Damn guys, doesn't it hurt to get pierced there?)

We walked/wheeled through the downtown streets and at the end, we had to circle back to our van.

Three days later we invaded Iraq.

[Hardrada]

7. One must now appeal to the sense of justice or the sense

of shame of those you wish to rouse against the war. One cannot appeal to fear or inconvenience (the Draft) anymore. It's just harder. And the old countercultural strata is not there anymore.

[MadHound]

8. Well, actually there have been some pretty large ones,

But most aren't mentioned in the MSM, and if they are, they're downplayed in a major way. I've noticed as the years and decades go by that protests large and small have gotten smaller and smaller press. This has culminated with almost an entire news black out. The nationwide strikes got some notice initially, albeit drastically undercounted and downplayed, but starting a couple of years the media coverage has really dived. I've been surprised on more than one occasion to find out about a march numbering well into the thousands while wandering the 'net, yet there hasn't been a peep about it in the press.

[knitter4democracy]

9. We've had them. They haven't worked.

Remember Bush calling that massive protest before the war a focus group? Ever since then, the only time I read about a protest is here on DU. They rarely make the news, and when they do, it's buried deep, and they downplay the numbers.

I think, if we're going to get the leaders' attention, we're going to have to step it up a notch. Problem is, most people are paycheck-to-paycheck and can't afford to lose everything for a strike or massive sit-down.

[OzarkDem]

19. Start the draft

that will get them out on the streets.

[madeline_con]

10. There was one at Kent State...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings

[OzarkDem]

18. Sen. Sherrod Brown knew Bill Schroed, IIRC

They were both Eagle Scouts from Ohio. It scared the shit out of us then, but we still kept demonstrating. It was scary as hell.

Watching the video footage still gives you a little PTSD. Makes me sick to my stomach. Bless all the students and teachers who are still paying a price for it.


I recall being transferred to Ohio in 1979 and all I could think of was "Oh shit, they're sending me to the home of Kent State". I've lived here for the last 16 yrs. and still can't bring myself to go to that campus, even though its only about 20 miles away. Refused to let my kids go there. I'll always hate this state for that reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1H6DSzBlVk

Kids today don't know how bad it was. One third of the guys in your senior class in HS getting drafted, coming home wrecked if they came home at all.

[originalpckelly]

11. Iraq does not have as many casualties as Vietnam.

The absolute number and relative number is much lower. Obviously, since the population of the USA has grown, even if we had the same casualty count, it would be a smaller percentage of the population, meaning that it would be less likely that people would be touched in a deeply personal way by the war. It is also because there is a smaller percentage of the population with links to the military and fewer people feel that they are in danger of dying in Iraq, because there is no draft.

That doesn't mean a draft would end the war, it would most likely help it continue, but it would cause greater protests.

We must realize that protests really don't count for much in our system, politicians don't have to react to them. They can be ignored within a certain period of time before they are held accountable in an election, and even then, the people who would be most likely to protest and/or die in a war would be younger, and unfortunately less likely to vote, as is what happened during Vietnam. It even happens today.

That's the long and short of it.

[splat]

13. "Authorities" decided people could walk in circles and they'd ignore them

It only mattered in the beginning.

[patrice]

16. wow

:puke:

[Radical Activist]

35. Protesting has its limits.

I think a lot of people don't protest because they don't see how it accomplishes anything. I think its still worth doing but it won't work if that's ALL we're doing.

[NOLALady]

15. The day after the invasion,

demonstrators closed down parts of San Francisco.

[patrice]

26. We always mark the March anniversary here. Every year since 2003.

We get large groups of Candlers and their Families and Friends.

[NOLALady]

29. I remember so well.

We (my entire family) went across the Lake to New Orleans to take part in a silent Candlelight Vigil in the French Quarters. I told others about the news I'd heard out of San Francisco (via the internet). Everyone was so proud of you.

I lived in the Bay Area in the 70s, Richmond then Vallejo but I worked in the City. Nothing beats the Bay Area when it comes to activism. I loved it. I do miss it.

[patrice]

30. We will not just disappear for the political convenience of those who ignore us.

Solidarity!

[patrice]

32. I'm glad to hear that! I was so outraged, I could barely make sense.

Still am. Though my senses have returned.

My daughter and her husband go to the things that happen in San Francisco or Seattle.

:hi:

[KharmaTrain]

20. Different Age...Different Protests

I was in high school and marched in several big anti-Vietnam marches, including the infamous (and scary) Days of Rage march in Chicago. Yep, it was quite heady at the time, but there was a lot more going on that led up to that point. There was the alternative media...or underground press...that was our internet...as was progressive rock radio listening to the messages in the lyrics. There were few ways a person could speak out...the streets were one of the only places to be heard and be seen.

Today we have a new "town square"...we're part of it. Nope...we're not yelling "Hell No We Won't Go"...but we sure are posting it and it's being seen. Our voices are now rising up from electrons and its being far more effective than the marches were in the 60's and 70's. Just think of how in the wilderness most of us were a couple years ago...and how websites like DU have helped some of us maintain our sanity during these years...and to work toward bringing change to this country.

[patrice]

27. United for Peace and Justice did a wonderful National Lobbying Action Days in DC

UFPJ did a nearly perfect grassroots lobbying activities, including Education, directions to offices, Discuss Local Issues and Concerns.

Let's get to work on SCHIP again!

[Individualist]

28. There have been anti-war marches and protests here and around the world,

beginning prior to the IWR vote and continuing long after the invasion started. Does it tell you something that the US media refuse to let their viewers know about all of them? Even when huge protests take place such as the one in New York in 2006 (see below), they're barely given a mention in the media.

http://www.ccmep.org/2002_articles/Iraq/102702_pictures_of_anti.htm

anti-war march in NY, April 2006

[rug]

37. People are too busy chanting Yes We Can to chant Get The Fuck Out Of Iraq.