The good news for President Barack Obama as he considers a military response against Syria for using chemical weapons against rebels is that he probably won't have to deal with [an] anti-war movement from Hollywood. But that's not because there isn't opposition. It's just not organized, and, as Ed Asner and Mike Farrell – two of the industry's most vocal progressive activists -- told The Hollywood Reporter Friday, perhaps it never will be. Asner said the lack of an organized effort against war in Syria is a matter of timing. Bush took months to make the case for war in Iraq, giving the antiwar left plenty of time to prepare a response. "It will be a done deal before Hollywood is mobilized," Asner said. "This country will either bomb the hell out of Syria or not before Hollywood gets off its ass."While some conservatives see hypocrisy, Farrell says that an all-out war in Iraq under Bush, a Republican who was very unpopular in Hollywood, was a much bigger deal than potential missile strikes against Syria under the direction of Obama, a Democrat who drew millions for his campaigns from showbiz industry donors. Asner, 83, and Farrell, 74, both expressed extreme disappointment in Obama for advocating military action.
"I have said it everywhere I can and I suspect a lot of others will do the same,"Farrell said. "but whether there will be an organized effort, I don't know. We're talking about the difference between an invasion in Iraq and a limited action in response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria."
Another reason some Hollywood progressives have been reticent to speak out against war in Syria, according to Asner, is fear of being called racist. "A lot of people don't want to feel anti-black by being opposed to Obama," he said.