[Peace-discuss] AWARE

[C. G. Estabrook]

As I suggested, the functional definition of "unpleasantness" here seems to be 
"the expression of an opinion that departs from the liberal consensus" (e.g., 
"Obama is not anti-war").

It would seem that the purpose of the peace-discuss list would be by discussion 
to discover (a) the source and nature of America's war and (b) effective 
strategies to work against it.  And I think (b) depends upon (a).  In the 
absence of an accurate analysis, the best will in the world can do the right 
thing only by accident.

The largest anti-war demonstrations in human history occurred just before the US 
invasion of Iraq, in the US and around the world, but the American antiwar 
movement in the intervening years largely ceased to exist.  (It obviously still 
exists from Palestine to Pakistan as resistance to US invasion and occupation.)

John Walsh wrote last week <http://www.counterpunch.org/walsh08262009.html>,

"A funny thing has happened on Cindy Sheehan’s long road from Crawford, Texas, 
to Martha’s Vineyard.   Many of those who claim to lead the peace movement and 
who so volubly praised her actions in Crawford, TX, are not to be seen.    Nor 
heard ... Where are the email appeals to join Cindy from The Nation or from AFSC 
or Peace Action or 'Progressive' Democrats of America (PDA) or even Code Pink? 
  Or United for Peace and Justice. (No wonder UFPJ is essentially closing shop, 
bereft of most of their contributions and shriveling up following the thinly 
veiled protest behind the 'retirement of Leslie Cagan.)   And what about MoveOn 
although it was long ago thoroughly discredited as principled opponents of war 
or principled in any way shape or form except slavish loyalty to the 'other' War 
Party.  And of course sundry 'socialist' organizations are also missing in 
action since their particular dogma will not be front and center.  These 
worthies and many others have vanished into the fog of Obama’s wars."

It seems to me that there will be more unpleasantness before an effective 
anti-war movement is reconstituted in the country.  --CGE


Matt Reichel wrote:
> Jenifer -
> 
> It appears that this list has descended into absolute silliness ie 
> juvenile intellectual masturbation from the 3-4 primary posters.
> 
> AWARE was initially founded as an answer to the PRC, which used to 
> dominate progressive politics in Champaign-Urbana with its 
> authoritarian, overly-bureaucratic organizing style. On the student end 
> of things, I founded Student Peace Action for those students who had too 
> much self-respect to sit through a PRC meeting. For a few years there, 
> this model of having three organizations, one for students, one for 
> community members and one for people who were able to withstand PRC's 
> inane bureaucracy, was incredibly effective: on the day the war in Iraq 
> began, we had over 1,000 people marching through the streets of Chambana.
> 
> It looks as if most of the original organizers of AWARE are long gone, 
> and the group has become the wrong it originally sought to correct, i.e. 
> a top-down group dominated by a few unpleasant personalities.
> 
> Best,
> Matt
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:29:50 -0700
> From: jencart13 at yahoo.com
> To: peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] AWARE
> 
> Yet more issues today that take time and energy away from peace and 
> justice work...
>  
> I think about all the good people who have left AWARE because of the 
> unpleasantness, and so I'm hanging on and trying not to become another 
> casualty. But right now I feel so downhearted about all the ugliness 
> that I really don't want to be part of this anymore.
>  
> I will say that it is the good people remaining who give me hope that 
> there are better days ahead for AWARE, as well as for our nation and the 
> world.
>  --Jenifer
> 
> 
> 
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