By Debra Sweet
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and beyond: find a protest near you and speak out against the war together with people around the country.
In DC – the occupation of Freedom Plaza has begun. More reports to come…
Watch and read coverage from USAToday, where Debra Sweet is quoted: "The disparity between rich and poor is unbearable and outrageous… Everything is set up to benefit the 1% who run this country."
The World Can’t Wait presence centered around brightly visible displays, including the Museum of Torture, protesters snake marching in orange jumpsuits to represent the unjust detained prisoners who are still rotting away in Guantanamo, and, perhaps most moving of all, a display of hundreds of shoes to represent the close to one million dead Iraqis, tens of thousands of Afghanis, and thousands of US soldiers. World Can’t Wait ensured a clear anti-war message would be heard – and it was, by thousands of DC residents, tourists, and the press.
One man, a passerby who was so moved by the display he joined the protest, commented about the power of this display: it reminded him of the pile of shoes he recently saw in the Holocaust museum, also in DC. "It’s much more powerful than a statistic: you are reminded that these are real human beings with stories and lives that are gone now."
From CBSNews:
Samantha Goldman, a member of the steering committee for the anti-war group World Can’t Wait, said the "Occupy Wall Street" movement is a chance to get more young people involved in the anti-war movement.
"The amount of people in my generation camping out is very inspiring," said Goldman, 24. "Most people my age can’t remember a time without the wars, so that affects the resistance."
Camped among the young people hula-hooping, strumming guitars, debating politics or gathering petition signatures, Goldman and other anti-war protesters vied for the attention of the hundreds gathered. They set up drone models, a "torture museum" and a "sign garden" where people could design their own protest sign.
"A lot of people, broadly speaking, aren’t seeing the connection" between economic injustices and the wars, Goldman said. But she’s optimistic.
"There is a lot of potential to link those more. It’s still in its embriotic stage," she said. Now, she added, the question is "whether it goes to ‘I care about my debit card charges,’ or ‘I care about the other 99 percent of the world, who are toiling in factories or on the other end of a drone strike.’"
In Afghanistan itself, protesters gathered to denounce the US occupation:
Hundreds of Afghans marched through Kabul on Thursday, the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, to condemn the United States as occupiers and demand the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops.
About 300 men and women gathered early in the morning with placards and banners accusing the United States of "massacring" civilians while denouncing President Hamid Karzai as a puppet subservient to Washington….
"Ten years since the invasion, all we have seen is suffering, instability and poverty in our country," said protest organiser Hafizullah Rasikh.
In Chicago, World Can’t Wait joined with others at a press conference / vigil outside of Obama’s 2012 campaign HQ (photo above, right). The protest there on Saturday will also march onto Obama’s HQ. The "Is it really OK if Obama does it" shirts were very popular today in DC. Now, more than ever, we must raise our voices and say "Crimes are Crimes – No Matter Who Does Them." See Jill McLaughlin’s piece: There As In Here: Demanding An End To The U.S. War & Occupation in Afghanistan While We Occupy Together.
Find a protest near you!
