what good are massive anti war marches & demonstrations anyway?

[mopaul]

what good would come of the fabled day that we 'take it to the streets'? taking it to the streets is just a tired old doobie brothers song, and the last time millions took to the streets to protest bush and his stupid fucking war, it happened anyway.

so what if millions spill into the street in anger? then what?

[leveymg]

1. The alternative for most is to do nothing. Not an option.

Those who have special talents, should exercise their imaginations. What a marvelous opportunity for those with a genuine interest in politics and a knack for expressive communication! You're a lucky guy, and we're lucky to have you on our side!

[niallmac]

2. Good question. Organized civil disobedience better?

Seems when the world is on the pavement the government could care less. It has been made clear by the White House that the publics job is to just keep shopping. Boycotts worked for Gandhi.

[deutsey]

3. I think you're correct that demonstrations alone don't do much

I see them as part of what should be a larger strategy.

Prior to the march people like us should be organizing and building coalitions in our communities, drumming up support for and educating people about the cause(s) behind the march.

We should be organizing groups (busses, carpools, whatever) to attend the demonstration. The demonstration itself is a show of force and something of a pep rally to energize people, to show they're not alone, to build a momentum.

Then the real work begins. After everyone gets home, have a plan of action for bringing the issues home with you. Start up campaigns for contacting your local, state, and national representatives, put political pressure on them through phone, mail, and personal visits. Send LTTEs to local papers. Have local events and rallies to raise issues in your community.

In other words, do what the Left has done for decades until it became tamed and the Right co-opted our strategies: build the grassroots.

Anyone who thinks going to walk around for four hours in DC or where ever is going to change anything is naive or stupid or both.

[lynettebro440]

4. I don't think you could get enough of them

off the couch to protest anything other then loosing their electricity or daddy's money. The young generation of today doesn't even care or want to know what's happening at least until they come knocking on their doorsteps to be drafted off the couch and into this insane world we live in. I have had this discussion with my own 20 something kids, and their world doesn't think like in the 60's. There is no revolution, there is only stupidity and shallowness.

[bunkerbuster1]

5. Not even a good Doobie Brothers song

It was the evil Michael McDonald-era Doobies.

[acmejack]

6. General strike!

And to the streets. Don't buy any thing more than you must have. I am a huge fan of civil disobedience, not big on jail though. Been there and I will go again if I must. It does come in handy knowing a bunch of lawyers...

[Monkie]

7. Lessons from Bolivia?

http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/6/12/214534/676

“Here, ‘the revolution’ is anything but a party. Dancing hippies, drum circles and four-story high puppets are notably absent from the recent mass mobilizations that have rocked Bolivia for the past two weeks. There are no breaks for concerts, no hemp clothing for sale. You are not an individual, but a part of your contingent, and from them you do not stray. In stark contrast to the large-scale demonstrations in the US that have characterized the burgeoning anti-globalization movement, marches here in Bolivia are supreme examples of discipline and seriousness. Rigidity replaces fluidity; unity replaces individualism; rash actions are rare. The marchers have anger and determination in their hearts but reign that in for the sake of the long-term struggle. Their intensity is in their expressions, chants and willpower - not in violent behavior. Sure, some bring their whips, dynamite is abundant, and I saw one man yesterday wielding a cactus. But most of the time these are symbols of strength, rather than weapons for destruction.”
~snip~
"The Bolivian military, that on this day had deployed troops in various cities of the country, especially in Santa Cruz, evaluated the situation of Senator Vaca Diez. 'Seeing that the country was in a delicate situation,' one high ranking military officer told La Jornada, 'and that it was impossible to get him out of there discreetly without causing confrontations, we made a call to him.' Vaca Diez listened, via his cell phone, to the firm voice that explained everything to him. At the time the position of the Armed Forces of Bolivia was made clear to him: 'Avoid a confrontation between brothers at all costs.'

"'It was about nothing more or less than an 'invitation' to consider that the Armed Forces were not going to resort to bullets, in contrary to what he and others believed,' the high ranking military official continued. 'And he was also reminded that we had said that Congress should listen to the voice of the people, to the popular demands.' That made the difference. And Vaca Diez, a capable politician, opted to return to the Congressional meeting in Sucre three hours later."

I think i have said enough already?

[deutsey]

9. Many of us on the American Left aren't interested in doing the hard work

that would make such a movement here possible.

[julianer]

8. It politicises people

and helps them identify with a particular cause.

The million strong anti-war march in Britain 'did no good' in that the war went ahead, but the political ramifications are still being worked through. It helped generate the really massive interest in Make Poverty History, and thus the nature of capitalism, and the general radicalisation of the UK in its understanding of the nature of imperialism, the nature of our democracies and much besides.

It is possible that we will never get such a big demo again, but it was most definitely worth it.

[quiet.american]

10. If nothing else, it shows the world there are still some of us here --

--who do not support the brutal policies of our current regime.