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Going Feral February
2003
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Wow! What can I say. Wasn't the weekend amazing?!!
There was no danger of the mainstream media ignoring
the anti-war sentiment this time. Millions around the world
made their voices heard when they took to the streets.
In the United States, Britain and Australia, where
our leaders are planning unilateral action against Iraq, I expected
to see big demonstrations. But how wonderful to see the huge
response in other countries. Reportedly 3 million in Rome, and
hundreds of thousands in cities from Paris to Istanbul, Berlin
to Baghdad.
I went to the local rally in Lismore. A
city of about 50,000 where the march attracted about 5000 people.
It's always hard to estimate crowd numbers. The organisers usually
give generous estimates, the police can be conservative, and
the media reports vary greatly. Whatever the numbers, we filled
the streets and felt a great bond of common purpose, whatever
our personal ideologies. Only 45 minutes away at Byron Bay
another 3000 people gathered in a colourful rally.
For us in the southern hemisphere there were naked
children painted in peace signs, unborn babies with their mothers
heavy tummies adorned with anti-war slogans, and a joyous summery
festival feel to the protests. In Europe and the United States,
hopefully the huge numbers helped to keep everyone a bit warmer
because temperatures in some cities were hovering around freezing.
What I loved about all the protests was that they
showed the positive side of globalism. Alerts around the internet
let everyone know what was going on. A huge rally in the Australian
city of Melbourne on Friday set the tone for the weekend. I
knew then it was going to be huge. But like many, I'm not part
of an organised group, I just knew I had to be there. And the
reports have inspiring stories of those who have never protested
before being compelled to join the huge demonstrations. Many
people had to wait hours with children in prams, standing in
extreme heat or freezing cols, just to join the marches. But
we knew we had to.
Who dares to ignore this action as not representative
of public opinion?
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The situation in Iraq is obviously a complex one, but
while there are great thinkers and diplomats around the
world trying to find ways of avoiding war, it seems Bush
and his supporters can't wait to get in there with guns
blazing.
What is the hurry? Why not take on the European suggestion
of having UN peacekeeping forces backing up the weapons
inspection teams?
All sorts of possibilities exist. Meanwhile, the citizens
of Iraq suffer the consequences of trade blockades stopping
essential medicines getting into the country. They not
only live under a totalitarian regime, but they also now
face the prospect of being bombarded by the enormous firepower
of the United States.
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| THE RICE
PROTEST |
One novel form of protest that began
in the UK I believe, is to send half a cup of rice or wheat to
your Prime Minister/President with the message:
IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED
HIM
This is a quote from the book of Romans
in the Bible, and as the leaders of Britain, Australia and the
United States profess to be strong Christians, perhaps this might
prick their consciences ( big perhaps there).
The request then asks that the leaders
make sure the food is sent to the people of Iraq, instead of attacking
them.
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NO CLOTHES NO WAR
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In the village of Federal, in the hills of
the north coast of New South Wales, not far from Feral Cheryl's
home, a gathering of women last week stripped for peace.
Singer Grace Knight organised the protest, calling
on women to come and strip off and lie in a field spelling out
the message,
NO WAR with their naked bodies. Grace didn't
know how many people would turn up. The location wasn't advertised,
but women could drive to Federal and then follow the signs to
the protest site. Grace was very surprised when 750 women
turned up to join the daring protest. There were more than enough
to spell out NO WAR, so hundreds of women formed a giant heart
shape around the words.
the protest had the desired affect of attracting
media attention, and I heard from my activist mate Mike, in
New Mexico, that he'd read the story so it was wonderful to
hear that the protest had gone international. It wasn't the
first nude spelling protest for peace, or the last. Women in
New York's Central Park did the same thing this month, spelling
out NO BUSH. There's was a much smaller group, but much braver
too considering they stripped and lay naked in the snow!
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keeping up with the latest events |
For informed media coverage, try MOTHER JONES magazine's
online newsletters
War Watch - Daily developments and adept analysis of
the Bush administration's war plans.
http://click.topica.com/maaaOgpaaVHaFbakeVab/
Daily Briefing - A daily review of under-reported news
and incisive commentary from around the web.
http://click.topica.com/maaaOgpaaVHaGbakeVab/
MOVE ON
The wonders of the world wide web mean you can join ONLINE
VIRTUAL protests too, like this one at MOVEON.OR
"On February 26th, every Senate office will receive
a call every minute from a constituent, as they receive
a simulataneous crush of faxes and email. In New York
and Los Angeles, "anti-war rooms" will highlight
the progress of the day for national media. Local media
will visit the "anti-war room" online, to monitor
this constituent march throughout the day.
With your help, every Senate office switchboard will be
lit up all day with our anti-war messages. This will be
a powerful reminder of the bread and depth of opposition
to a war in Iraq."
More details on the site:
http://www.moveon.org/winwithoutwar/
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FOR A GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE ACTIONS FOR PEACE AROUND THE WORLD..
THERE'S A WONDERFUL MEDIA SLIDE SHOW ON THE NEW YORK TIMES SITE.
VISIT AND SMILE
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2003/02/15/international/15protest.slideshow_1.html
some examples of the slogans seen around
the world:
WAR STARTS WITH DUBYA
SAVE US FROM MAD COWBOY DISEASE
SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS A VILLAGE HAS LOST
ITS IDIOT
HOW MANY LIVES PER GALLON?
and for Australians only:
HOWARD IS LIKE HOLT...OUT OF HIS DEPTH
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