Where Are The Peaceniks?
I’m sorry but this is one reason why I have no real respect for the so-called “peace movement”. I would think a peacenik would abhor all war and call for peace whenever and wherever it broke out.
But alas, the peace movement is currently silent (Day Four) when it comes to the recent Russian invasion of Georgia.
In a prior employment venue, it was my job to make sure “Democracy Now!” aired on our station. When it came to the Iraq War, there was hardly a day that passed when there wasn’t some activist or academic who authoritatively bashed the Bush Administration for the “invasion” and our war crimes, torture, and genocide authorized by President Bush, and aided by cronies former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney.
These people were ready to hold war crime tribunals against President Bush, despite the fact that Iraq was basically liberated by a Saddam Hussein (that many Democrats publicly claimed had weapons of mass destruction years before Bush was first elected) that gassed and murdered his own people, allowed rape, torture, and murder to be committed against his own people, and repeatedly violated United Nations resolutions.
Yet, when you go to the Headlines section for the August 11, 2008 edition of Democracy Now!, they couldn’t resist an opportunity to bash America while reporting the Russian invasion.
Fighting Occurs One Month After US Military Exercise in Georgia
Georgia is a close ally of the United States, which has been pushing for Georgia to join NATO. Over the weekend, the US military began airlifting 2,000 Georgian troops stationed in Iraq back home. Last month, 1,200 US troops took part in military exercises in Georgia. Both the US and Israel have helped arm Georgia’s military. Georgia also plays a pivotal role in the supply of oil from the Caspian region to the West as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline runs through much of the country.
So, this is all America’s fault.
But surprisingly absent are any voices in opposition to the Russian invasion. With all the pictures coming out of the area, illustrating the anguish, pain, and carnage occurring there as you read this, where is Code Pink or the Women in Black? Where is Howard Zinn or Noam Chomsky or Medea Benjamin?
Could it be they are silent because there are few communists, deep down, that socialists don’t like?
Look, as many of you know, I respect consistency. I also point out double standards.
When President Bill Clinton ordered the invasion of Haiti, where were the war protesters? When he ordered the invasion of Mogadishu, the bombing of Iraq, Sudan, and put troops on the ground in Bosnia (a nation of which we had no national security interests), the peace movement was in absentia.
I guess silence is better than nothing….
Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis.
— Barack Obama statement, 8/8/08
“Show restraint”?
Has Senator Obama not been watching his television or reading up on the goings on in Georgia? Asking both sides to settle down has me picturing Barack as a girl standing near two men in the midst of a fistfight, shouting “Stop it! Stop it!”
Maybe he didn’t want to come off as confrontational, but to believe the United Nations can end the fighting by just asking, is almost the textbook definition of naive. Barack Obama is a peacknik, however as he’s running for President of the Unites States, he doesn’t have the luxury of being selective like his fellow anti-war pals are today.
Will Medea Benjamin get one of her Code Pinkies to confront Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and shove simulated blood-stained hands in his face as one did Condoleezza Rice?
Of course not.
Does the anti-war left privately sympathize with the commies ethnically-cleansing a pro-Western government in the former Soviet republic (seeing how liberals have a chronic dislike for anything capitalistic)?
Whatever the answer, consistency is the only thing that garners respect.
If the anti-war types have that visceral a response to war, then it shouldn’t just be about one we are involved in, where millions of people just happen to be free today. They should also protest war where civilians are being systematically exterminated, while a sovereign nation is annexed.
Sorry. Consistency from an anti-war liberal may be asking too much.
August 11th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Conceptually, consistency from a liberal on any issue is asking too much. With regard to the "peaceniks", they are essentially marxists so naturally they would not object to a neo soviet war.
Peace has nothing to do with their agenda. It is all about control.
August 11th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Here's one here.
And, oh, yeah, Democracy Now!'s is here.
And here.
And here.
And here.
And here.
Wow. It's amazing how many blogs have this same talking point. What mailing list are you on?
August 11th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
And the "protests"…?
August 11th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Protest where? Russia? Georgia?
Here? Wherever Bush is? He's not at fault. Where Cheney is? To what end?
August 11th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Don't know they protest Tibet around the world. They protest about Israel around the world. They protes6t against the US around the world. So, they just can't p[rotest against Russia, Cuba, Venzuala… around the world.
So Blaine I call Bullshit on that.
August 11th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I dead in proof.
Before you ask, you need to show that in the length of time between now and the beginning of hostilities in Georgia (what, 4 days now?) that the organization's you are calling out had already staged protests over some other war in Tibet, Israel or whoever else you were talking about.
P.S. And Bob, I'm serious, what mailing list are you on?
August 11th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Well … The Fwench activists as an example of one group ….. are blaming Bush !
August 11th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Uh, ok, French activists protest the U.S. . . I stand um . . . note corrected . . . maybe . . . befuddled? What does the French protesting the U.S. have to do with the anti-war movement (presumably in the U.S.)?
August 11th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Blaine puhhhleeeezzzze. The protesters against the US are almost immediate. And instead of having someone else prove their stand you need to stop mis-dirrecting and prove your side. If the peaceniks are truly against ALL wars then they should be out in the streets right damn now.
I think the owrd starts with an H. You can say it. I know you can.
August 11th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Obviously Blaine, I'm not on any mailing list of groups that call my fellow soldiers and/or veterans murderers.
(But as they now support the troops, we shouldn't don't judge their patriotism.)
August 11th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Perhaps. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, after all, I haven't paid attention. But I deal in facts. I'm perfectly willing to accept said proposition, after you prove it.
Wow.
A statement that goes against the entire history of epistomology, and you make it seriously, without jest or even a hint of sarcasm.
If you claim squirrels can fly, you need to show me a picture of a flying squirrel. That's what's called a "positive claim." If you claim something DOES EXIST, the burden of proof is on you.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Sorry Vern, you claimed they don't you provehave the burden of proof. I know you like to spin stuff but it is up to you. I see no protests against eh Russian invassion. Now if I am incorrect I am sure you can show me. However, until you prove that… Otherwise I will accept your mea culpa.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
And yes I know I type for shit. The burden of proof is on you.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
No: every philosopher or epidemiologist who's ever weighted in on the subject claims I don't.
Also note that your repetition of various condescending statements ("puhhhleeeezzzze") don't intimidate me, nor are they capable of deflating the truth of my argument.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Well if you provided some truth then you might have an arguement. However, you have not. You merely misdirected the proof onto others after your claim that you can not support. So, as I said, I accept your mea culpa.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
That's pretty dense.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
As I said I accept your mea culpa. You can't support your stand so I am dense. You lose. thanks for playing.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Well, I see on thing I got wrong. I said "pretty dense." When in reality, it's amazingly dense. We're approaching black hole here.
Moving on . . .
That's not what I asked. I saw many posts in the search I did that said the SAME THING you did: the peace movement was ignoring the war in Georgia and truthfully, the peaceniks are are just Anti-American.
So it's kind of obvious I'm not asking what anti-war movement mailing list you are on, I'm asking what Republican/conservative mailing list you are on. There's some reason you are parroting the same talking points everyone else is:
http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2008/08/true-colors-wheres-anti-war-movement-on.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/080811/p41
Just for starters . . . I could post a LOT more but your spam filter must be blocking my attempts to do so.
August 12th, 2008 at 6:30 am
Obviously, the spam filter is doing a good job of keeping additional garbage off this blog.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:47 am
While Bob's original post needed work, I don't think what he said or the ones parroting the same idea should just be dismissed as garbage.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Well, thank you very much…
August 12th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Yes Blaine you are amzingly dense. Perhaps you should have taken a couple of debate classes in school.
Stick to the issue as you claim you wanted on other topics. Obviouos tactic. Again thank you for playing.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I heard something about 90% civilian casualties. How can we help out those in trouble?
August 12th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
In the spirit of the Olympics, I'm going to start rating the ad hominem's I get here, there's one in every thread. Reviews will be based on originality, brevity, and humor.
I give this one 1/10. It's kind of pathetic.
This is the claim that needs proving. It is the positive claim: he claims that these protests exist, and are immediate. He needs to prove that this is true (easily done, 1 link to news report would be a start, a few more on various wars to prove a trend would be a killer). I do not need to prove a negative (possible, to a reasonable extent, but time consuming and even then incomplete).
I find it odd that nobody here can link to one immediate protest to a foriegn war held on American soil. Not even one.