Iraq Veterans Protest the War
August 28th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
In 1992 the radical group ACT UP marched on George H. W. Bush’s GOP convention in Houston. It ended in mayhem, with Houston’s irate cops violently dispersing the protesters. It was an ugly scene. Mobs of police chased and struck AIDS activists who had staged a die-in just feet from cops on horseback. ACT UP burnt police barricades and generally pushed nonviolent protest to its logical limits. Still, the GOP ignored them.
Back then the relatively new idea of creating a “free-speech zone” far from the convention hall was just paying dividends, collecting the disgruntled and all their issues in one, dismal, fenced-off park or parking lot and calling it accommodation. Nowadays the “freedom cage” is the rule. Even the Chinese recently used the tactic. But some smart protesters are violating the rules to make a point.
In Denver, protest has been under control, to put it mildly. But, with a little help from the band Rage Against the Machine and Tent State, a protest organization called Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) yesterday made a difference and got some attention — for a little while at least.
A group of uniformed veterans led the march from an outdoor concert at the Denver Coliseum — a long way away from Lower Downtown Denver (”Lo-Do”), where the Pepsi Center and most delegations’ hotels are located. The band and concertgoers reportedly followed the veterans to a spot near 7th Street, just outside the convention hall. IVAW claims the crowd numbered 10,000; the Denver Post put the number at 3,000. I’d say it was more than 3,000, but not 10,000.
IVAW demands an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, full benefits for veterans, and reparations for Iraqis — not exactly Obama’s plan. A spokesman for the group and former Marine, Jeff Key, said he wanted to address the convention and wanted acknowledgment from the Democratic nominee.
The leaders of IVAW appeared to back down after police declared over a sound system that marchers must “disperse from 7th Street or prepare to be arrested.” To the relief of both protesters and police, after maybe 30 minutes, the marchers began to retrace their steps.
However, they stopped just around the corner, and again made their demands. According to two reporters and the IVAW site, protest leaders got a response from those inside the convention hall. The details remain obscure and the Obama camp has not commented on the situation as yet, but the veterans’ march of 2008 has all the hallmarks of a smart, successful protest.
It’s a hopeful sign for protesters everywhere.
