We are nearing the anti-war demos of Feb. 15-16. These will occur all over the world in an unprecedented display of international anti-war and pro-justice solidarity. In this message we wanted to convey a new question and answer piece regarding anti-war activism. Click on the foto if you're interested in the original answers to the questions or if you're in need of a powerful soporofic...
1. As anti-war sentiment grows and the anti-war movement gains momentum, what are the most important priorities for peace and justice organizations?
To build a movement able to marshal sufficient numbers of sufficiently informed and committed people to compel ruling elites around the world, and ultimately in the US, to restrain or even terminate their war designs out of fear of the repercussions of their not doing so. That means getting lots of chicks to come out for these rallies. We need lotsa chicks, preferably naked. If they're naked, you're halfway there, right? And nobody can ignore a naked chick, unless maybe it's another naked chick.2. From progressive organizations, you sometimes hear the demand, "Let the inspections work." Is this a sensible demand? Should the Left back inspections?
The demand "Let the inspections work" has three meanings, one that the Left should endorse, one that is reasonable but inadequate, and one that is immoral and quite dangerous. We're just not sure what they are. The alternative to inspections would be to either do something of substance, and that would mean the world would lose a perfectly good dictator, or to do nothing, which is what we'd like best, of course. Now, if the Man, the Powers That Be, the Establishment, felt that having the inspections was a good thing, we'd obviously have to change what we think, and we could denounce them as unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign dictatorship and demand that they stop. Then we could go back to bitching about the sanctions, which are another alternative to war, and which haven't worked, but we won't admit that. See? And what about all those dead babies, huh?3. What should the Left be calling for in response to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, etc.?
There are two parts to the Left response to terrorism. First, the US Left ought to demand that its government cease carrying out and supporting terrorism. Like, you know the U.S. is the greatest terrorist threat in the world, don't you? 'Cause of, ummm... Chile. They did something there, man, and it was, like gross. Terrorism, of course, is not confined to Muslim fundamentalists crashing planes into the World Trade Center. It is terrorism also to bomb Afghanistan knowing that reputable aid agencies warned of a potential humanitarian catastrophe. I mean, you never read about it when it happened, and people don't talk about it, but that's why it's silent genocide. As for anti-Western terrorism, just ignore it, man. It doesn't apply to us. Probably doesn't even apply to anyone we know. If the U.S. would just change its entire foreign policy, and the structure of its government, and put us in charge, then it would all go away.4. Should we, and if so how should we, emphasize the economic costs of the war?
The reason to oppose a war, first and foremost, is that it is immoral, not that it will cost a lot. I mean, like, all war is immoral, except for when it's run by Third World dictatorships, and fighting back is immoral, too.5. What are the links between oppressions at home and the war abroad?
War is corporate globalization writ violent. Corporate globalization is capitalist market competition writ international. The connection between war and the basic institutions we live within is unbreakable. So we have to, like, smash the state, y'know?6. Why does the "peace movement" seem to be disproportionately white and middle class?
In the US, polls show that African-Americans are more skeptical of war than the population as a whole. Nevertheless, it's probably still the case that current demonstrations are disproportionately white and middle class. But to a considerable extent this is a function of which sectors of society can most easily take the time and expense to travel to major anti-war events. I mean, like, Negroes can't even afford bus fare to come out and demonstrate in favor of Sammy. Can you believe that? Is this country hosed or what?7. What can social change organizations do to break down internal race, gender and class disparities?
On the one hand, there is the need to reach out to underrepresented constituencies with information and organization. On the other hand, there are things that need to be done to our movements and their agendas. So, basically, was we really need is more chicks. Once you get the chicks — and I'm talkin' chicks who put out, man! — then you get the guys. And once you've got that, you've got, like a movement, y'know? You don't have to worry about the financing, because we've got, like, Soddies and Libyans and student unions to take care of that...8. As we respond to the current crisis, how can we make choices that will ensure that we have a stronger, larger, and more deeply connected movement six months from now?
There is a tendency in all organizing to focus, very understandably, on the immediate present. We want to get some task done. In this case we want to prevent a war — or perhaps if that fails, to end one. But y'gotta think in the long term, man, like two, three, maybe even four months down the road, and who knows what's gonna happen then?9. Should we be doing more to link to international movements?
In a word, yes. The international opposition to this war, and war in general, and to corporate globalization, and to racism and market exploitation — and so on — is currently magnificent in scale, breadth, diversity, and energy. I mean, we got chicks from all over the world show up.10. How do we measure success?
Too many people think that success is a function of numbers of people, or whether some short term goal is attained or not — such as closing down an elite meeting. It isn't. It's volume, man. The more noise you make, the more attention you get. The more attention you get, the more likely you are to get on television. What we are doing is, or ought to be, always conceived and measured in terms of the overall struggle for peace and justice, not a momentary aim. Otherwise, the teevee guys will ignore us.