Antiwar:
In the street and visible
Local Activists Discuss Strategies for Reviving Opposition
By Jim Grilli,
732-735-8022 and jgrilli@live.com.
As
the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan,
the latter now the longest war in U.S.
history, continue to rage on a small yet
spirited opposition organizes in the Philadelphia
area. On Wednesday July 7th Philly
Against War (PAW) and the Philadelphia Regional
Antiwar
Network (PRAWN) called a
meeting at
the Tabernacle
Church on 37th
and Chestnut
to discuss the situation regarding the beleaguered local and national
antiwar
movements and what must be done to revive interest, opposition, and
most
importantly activism. Present at the town hall style speak-out
were
activists from a variety of local groups as well as unaffiliated
participants
who sat in a large circle in the sweltering heat to share agendas and
priorities.
The
purpose of the meeting being discussion and organizing, it was prefaced
by
three short presentations to help put the wars and the current struggle
against
them into context. Copies of a list of proposals for united
actions were
distributed amongst the participants to under score the importance not
of
dialogue for the sake of discussion, but the importance of using the
realizations come upon in the meeting to outline concrete plans for
demonstrations, teach-ins, mass actions, etc. The list itself is
half of
the action proposal drafted by the co-sponsors of the United National
Antiwar
Conference, www.nationalpeaceconference.org,
to
take place this summer in Albany,
N.Y. July 23-25. Members
from
PAW, PRAWN, and other local
groups
will be attending the conference and saw the meeting at the Tabernacle
as a way
to unify the antiwar movement in Philadelphia
with national efforts which will be present at the conference.
Wayne
Rossi of PAW, www.phillyagainstwar.org,
was
the first person to speak as he provided a brief analysis of U.S. imperialism and how it relates to
the
extreme disparity of wealth amongst U.S. citizens. He was
followed by David Houck, a
member of
the Green Party, who voiced his complete disappointment with Obama and
the lack
of activism following his election. Mr. Houck also gave a quick
endorsement for the U.S. Senate campaign of Mel Packer, www.milpacker.com,
from Pittsburgh, a founding member of
the
Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a Green Party member, and critic of U.S.
military policy who is petitioning to get on the ballot for the
November
election.
The
last person to speak before the floor was opened up for discussion was
Tom
Paine Cronin, the retired president of AFSCME District Council 47 union
as well
as an experienced civil rights and antiwar activist. Mr. Cronin
stressed
the importance of linking the issue of domestic need with the
sprawling,
appallingly expensive U.S.
war effort. He also emphasized, despite the overwhelming
multitude of
issues connected to U.S.
imperialism, the need to “focus, concentrate on one or two issues,”
in hopes of drawing more people into a politically active role.
It is in
this way that isolated contingents begin “gelling into a movement”
as Cronin puts it.
With
the introduction complete, attention is turned to the proposal for
united
actions. The first numbered point on a list of nine reads:
“October
6 to 16, 2010 a period of local and regional protests across the
country to
mark the ninth year of the U.S.
war on Afghanistan.
Actions
to included demonstrations, marches, vigils, teach-ins, solidarity,
etc.” The discussion focused on the specific events that, as of
now, are in the works. Tom Paine Cronin and John Grant, an
attendee with
Veterans for Peace, mentioned an event planned for October 30th at
the
Community College
of Philadelphia
at
Bonnell Hall that will focus primarily on the way the current wars are
leaving
ordinary Americans with their domestic needs unmet. Mr. Cronin
and Mr.
Grant hope to have a large turnout with lots of discussion and exchange
between
those concerned from the immigrant community, labor community,
environmentalists, civil rights, etc. Information
about a
United for Peace and Justice forum on October 3rd at the Friends Center
in Philadelphia
on the issue of the war and the economy also came up.
From
there the discussion meandered a bit as attendees talked about topics
ranging
from the role of the dual party system to the corporate media to the
I.M.F.
meeting scheduled for October 9-11 in D.C. John Grant from
Veterans for
Peace mentioned the recent alliance of Ron Paul with Barney Frank and
other
members of the two-party system to significantly cut the U.S.
military budget. Wayne
Rossi, the first introductory speaker, responded to his remarks with,
“it’s not about supporting this or that bill, it’s about
ending the war,” pointing out that gestures made by the Democrats and
the
Republicans are merely “token”.
Even
the fundamental principal of our country was up for discussion.
“I
would argue that we don’t have democracy in this country,” Tom
Paine Cronin said as the debate over party leadership reached a
consensus that
the people of the United
States are in a corporate strangle
hold. “We need to put people in motion …put people in motion
around ideas that are in their interest,” said Sam Mastriano, a member
of
PAW highlighting the major focus of the meeting.
But
how do we convince people that the war is not in their interests? It is
this
exact task, convincing the unconvinced, that appeared to be viewed as
crucial
for the revival of the national antiwar movement. Most attendees
seemed
motivated to make the working class the central focus while others
seemed to be
more confident in the ability of students and younger people to come
out to
demonstrations and marches. Even labor activists like
Cronin
acknowledged the absence of a strong sentiment against the war amongst
unions: “You don’t have an antiwar movement in the labor
movement; you can, but it has to be built! You always have to
make
connections with people and that takes time…they have to be shown how
it
affects them.”
Minor
differences also arose between the people advocating the final goal
while
ignoring the tedious process of organizing and those dedicated to the
process
of coalition building through tireless political action.
Dan
Zaleski of the group Workers Power spoke eloquently about the need to
create
solidarity between American workers and the workers of Iraq and Afghanistan. He
called for
“indefinite strikes” to “grind imperialism to a halt.”
Of course the impact and force of workers’ strikes is doubtless a
powerful tool especially considering the recent ILWU blockade of an
Israeli Zim
Line ship at the Port
of Oakland; but
talk of
such goals at such an early stage in the building process amounts to
little
movement. A sobering remark from Cronin steers the discussion
back
towards the next step in organizing against the war, “workers won’t
even strike for there own paycheck, let alone the war.” Reviving
the antiwar movement is about creating opportunities that allow
everyday people
to realize that the war affects their lives. Education,
organizing and
participating in the movement and not just observing it, are key.
But
if history has taught us anything it’s that, as Michael Schreiber of
PAW
says, mass action is not an “exotic method.” He mentioned the
impact of direct action in the streets during the Vietnam years and
emphasized the
need to be “in the street and visible” in order to make
progress. Indeed in the late 1960’s Lyndon B. Johnson could
hardly
go out in public without people protesting his administration and the
war he
escalated. Consider Washington
in 1971
when twenty thousand protesters came to demonstrate their opposition to
Nixon’s continuation of the war in Vietnam. He later
conceded
that the various actions taken by the people, everyone from priests to
lawyers
to soldiers, the students, the religious community, the workers,
prevented him
from further perpetuating the occupation.
At
a small meeting of diverse minds there is one consensus: if the U.S.
military budget is to be cut, if the wars will end, if money is to be
allocated
towards human need instead of corporate profit, it will be up to our
ability as
organizers to establish a strong presence focused on change and
solidarity.
One of the last comments made at the meeting was from John Kirkland of
PAW. He said, “How you get people to feel their potential as
working people is to get them out into the streets!” Good advice
to
heed as the Albany conference approaches and we draw from the lessons
of
history to revive a movement, an interest, an involvement that is
beleaguered
and marginalized but not extinct.
For
more information on the Philadelphia
peace movement or the United National Antiwar Conference, please call
267.994.9448 or email phillyagainstwar@gmail.com,
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