Dispatch from the Iraq War Protest
I wasn’t planning on covering the Iraq war protest in Eugene yesterday, but I happened to run into it on my way to the office and decided to play “embedded reporter.”
By the time I had arrived at the EMU, there was already a large crowd gathered, hoisting various signs and such. I unfortunately missed Ty Schwoeffermann’s speech and a rap by Ari Lesser, although I imagine both were spectacular. I did, however, make it in time to hear a speech by U of O sociology professor Gregory McLauchlan. The speaker who introduced him noted that McLauchlan “has been a peace and social activist since Berkley.” (And we all know how well that turned out).
McLauchlan was well spoken and articulate, but I got the feeling I could have done just as well by perusing DailyKos or any other liberal blog. His speech was sprinkled with the usual, tired phrases like “blood war for oil” and “war of occupation.” The only quote I took the time to fully write down was regarding John McCain:
“Another candidate says we may have to spend 100 years in Iraq,” McLauchlan said. “That alone should disqualify someone from seeking higher office!” [Cue cheering and applause].
For harping so much on participatory democracy, leftists seem eager to exclude people they don’t like. The crowd ate it up, of course.
After the speech, everybody gathered to march. And what a crowd it was. You could see the distinct groups and factions – the old-guard hippies, the young Obamaniacs, the nappy-ass radicals. People were costumed and adorned in all manner of attire (or the lack thereof).
As the march started to trudge down 13th street, the obligatory, arrhythmic drumming started, accompanied by obligatory, atonal chanting. I estimated that the protest was about two blocks long at most.
I saw a woman pushing a stroller that said “toddler for peace” on it, and I briefly considered having a child for the sole purpose of putting it in a “toddler for war” stroller. At one point a man pelted me with peas, yelling “Peas be unto you!” Another nappy man in a pair of far too large pants was burning sage in a bowl and waving it all over the crowd.
I tried to get some quotes from people about what they actually hoped to accomplish, but all I could gather was the usual metaphysical effluvia. “We’re here to promote peace, not protest war,” one marcher told me. “We need to gather an energy of positiveness.”
The low point for me was walking back through the crowd and seeing a guy trying (and failing) to sing “Get Up, Stand Up” a capella through a megaphone.
However, my mood was considerably lightened at the corner of 11th and High by the appearance of Samba Ja, a local samba percussion ensemble. The march turned from a dreary protest into a politically themed dance party. Much like a real dance party, I couldn’t bear most of the people, but at least I could enjoy the groove.
The march finally reached its destination at the old federal building in downtown. There was a multitude of booths for left-leaning organizations, such as the Lane County Democrats, the Bus Project and the ACLU. There was also (sigh) another round of speakers. I tried to stay and listen, but my mood was back in the gutter after Samba Ja stopped playing. I briefly heard one of the speakers congratulating everybody for coming out and participating because “that’s what makes democracy work.”
At that point, I thought back to the march; I remembered a man running up to people and yelling “How do you expect to stop this war if you don’t shout it out!?” I realized then what irks me so much about protests. It’s not so much the goals (although it sometimes is); it’s the utter lack of grounding in reality.
The Left in America has been relying on the same, unsuccessful tactics for the past 45 years, and they’ve been getting the same, unsuccessful results. You’d think they would have learned by now that putting plastic fairy wings on their dog and walking down the street with a carboard sign won’t stop the war. One of the post-march speakers remarked that he couldn’t believe he was still protesting this war five years later. I can believe it.
Protests like yesterday’s don’t actually do anything besides providing a momentary catharsis for those involved. Sorry everybody, but no matter how much you chant and sing, we don’t live in a participatory democracy; we live in a representative republic. The war will go on until victory is achieved or it is no longer politically expedient.
It’s okay, though. Just put on your inflatable sumo outfit, grab a sign that says “Bush = Hitler” and pretend you’re saving the world.
