Where were you when the war started?
Five years ago next month, San Francisco was essentially shut down by protests as the United States invaded Iraq, capping a series of large demonstrations urging our leaders not to launch an offensive war that we knew would be a disaster. The Guardian offered the most comprehensive coverage of those protests, and now we're reexamining that momentous time to explore what it meant -- then, now, and for the future.
I've written a bit about the project here, and I'm now conducting interviews with some of the significant players and thinkers from that time, but I also want to hear from you. How did you make your voice heard before the war? What did it mean to you? How has it affected you to watch all of our worst predictions come true? What does it mean to the future of this country and to the notion of democracy?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section, or send them to me at steve@sfbg.com. Thanks.
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Comments (1)
I was a college student during the years immediately before, during and after the invasion of Iraq. And I was more active than most of my peers, doing peace activism on my campus and attending several of the large marches, as well as the Day X shut down downtown protest, where I was arrested. At the time I knew I had to do everything I could to stop the invasion from occurring, as I was sure (and am sure) that it was (and continues to be) a war crime and a catastrophe for humanity.
As the occupation wore on, and the anti-war movement dwindled even as public sentiment turned in its favor, I grew cynical and dropped out of activity for a while. And I still don't feel like what we do has much of an impact; mass cynicism seems the norm and while almost everyone I know thinks the U.S. has to get out now, nobody seems to know how to make it happen. For my own part, I've joined up and started doing outreach work for a new group that has formed under the name Direct Action to Stop the War, including many more veterans of the mass actions of 5 years ago. We're planning two direct actions against the warmakers and war profiteers in our midst, at the Chevron refinery in Richmond on Saturday March 15th, and all around downtown SF on Wednesday March 19th, the anniversary of the invasion. We're hoping everyone who can, will show up and take direct action against those who spur on and profit from the ongoing pillage and destruction of Iraq.
Details about DASW at:
http://www.actagainstwar.net
Posted by Alex | February 13, 2008 07:21 PM