As the Democratic majority in the House and Senate continues to show its unwillingness to take a serious stand against the continuing war in the Middle East (the most recent example being the House Democrats' decision to retreat from a provision to limit actions against Iran), the national anti-war movement continues to heat up. Following the advice of Henry David Thoreau to "[l]et your life be a counter friction to stop the machine," increasing numbers are choosing civil disobedience and protest over passive waiting for their elected officials to act.
The most recent example is the Monday arrest of 23 anti-war activists for occupying a military recruitment center in downtown Manhattan. Nearly 100 students from area chapters of the revived Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) marched to the Chambers street station and managed to occupy and close down the center for nearly 2 hours while NYC police officers and FBI agents looked on.
According to one SDS report:
Outside dozens more protesters supported those being arrested with chants including, "Troops out now!" "N o justice, no peace. U.S. out of the Middle East!" and "Stop the war. Yes we can. SDS is back again!" Member of Pace University SDS, Uruj Sheikh said.
"The fourth anniversary of the occupation of Iraq is in one week," said Uruj Sheikh of Pace SDS. "Billions of dollars are being spent and hundreds of thousands of people have been murdered. Military recruitment has been systematically deceptive and we as students, as targets of recruitment, say something must be done to stop the war aboard and at home."
The detained activists are expected to be arraigned on Tuesday, and requests are being made for jail solidarity across from the New York State Court on 100 Centre Street.
In addition to Monday's actions, several anti-war events are being planned for the coming weekend, as the Iraq war enters its 5th year. Here on the east coast, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition is leading a march on the Pentagon on Saturday in Washington D.C., while United for Peace and Justice intends to march around midtown New York on Sunday afternoon. On Monday, the 19th, expect more arrests in NYC, as the March 19 Peace Actions Coalition has organized a mass civil disobedience action for the Wall Street section of the financial district, a gesture intended to disrupt the center of funding for the war.
For more information:
http://www.studentsforademocraticsoc...
http://answercoalition.com
http://unitedforpeace.org
http://march19peaceactions.org
Please feel free to provide information on your area's anti-war activities in the Comments.