A vindictation of the commons anti-war demonstration

It seems that many people were angered by our protest against militarism on the commons last Wednesday. Some people claimed the demonstration was hypocritical and ironic, some claimed it dishonored the memories of the thousands of people killed by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, some claimed it only demonstrated the ignorance of the protest organizers.

I, for one, cannot see how JMU students thought it ironic that we were bashing a mock missile to protest war violence. The proactive nature of the demonstration was to illustrate our determination; after all, peace activists do more than just sing "Kumbaya." The real irony is that when you shoot missiles at soldiers, villages or hospitals, it is called peacekeeping, but when you destroy a papier mâché missile, it's considered violence.

Perhaps it is an effect of our consumerist society that property has a higher value than life. Personally, I believe the destruction of an instrument designed to kill is ultimately a constructive act. I also don't understand how people could perceive as irony "violence" being used to solve violence, but can still support this war, which is ultimately violence being used to solve violence.

It disgusts me to my core how many people have invoked the names of the over 5,000 victims of the Sept. 11 attack to support their own political views. I personally feel that the victims would best be honored if we learn from their deaths and commit to the difficult but worthwhile course of building a more peaceful world, but I would never dream of using the names of people I never knew to bolster my position. I have heard family members of victims cry for war, and I have heard family members of victims cry for peace. Every time I or someone else speaks out against the war, someone tries to shame us with those victims, as though we revel in their deaths, simply for hoping that no one else will have to experience their fate. Like everyone else, I had people in New York City and Washington, D.C. to worry about. My mother, my father, my brother and my friends were all potential victims. I did not hear that my brother was all right until late in the day, and in all my thoughts, never did I think of revenge. Ultimately, we can only speak for ourselves.

One failure of my upbringing is that I never learned to respect American life any more than any other human life. I grew up largely overseas and saw what I consider to be similarities between all people, regardless of nationality. Accordingly, I worry about the fire fighters in New York City breathing in the poisonous dust from the World Trade Center wreckage and I worry about the fire fighters in Kabul, no doubt trying to save their city from a rain of bombs. I worry about the American soldiers risking their lives on the other side of the world, and I worry about the Afghan soldiers, fighting to defend their homeland. Somehow, people construe this as a disrespect for American life. This I simply do not understand.

My grandfather was awarded a Purple Heart in the Second World War. When I was a child, I always asked him to tell me stories about the war, hoping for glorified epics. "How many zeroes did you shoot down? How many enemies did you kill? How many ships did you sink?" Instead he told me a story about an attack he flew against a Japanese city, flying low over the streets and strafing the crowds. In enlisting for the war, he was fulfilling his duty to his principles, and he stands by that commitment. I respect him for that. I feel a duty to my principles as well, and although my grandfather has slightly different principles, he respects me for my commitment.

Some people asked why we did not hold a demonstration against the Sept. 11 attacks. (We held a number of vigils, including the large vigil on the commons the night of the attack). The point of a demonstration is to bring a neglected point to the public's attention. Everyone in the United States was already united in suffering, so there was no one in the United States to demonstrate against. If we were in Afghanistan, we would be protesting the Taliban's terrorism. (It seems to me that those unquestioningly supporting this war, if they had been born in Afghanistan, would be ardent supporters of the Taliban). Since we are in the United States, it only makes sense to oppose the violent acts being committed in our names.

Many people criticized the demonstrators for being ignorant, but I don't believe they actually took the time to learn the exact reasons for our position. We oppose the war precisely because we oppose terrorism, because we don't want Sept. 11 to happen again, in our country or any other. I think many people in the United States are unaware of the context of this war. The bombing is only creating more anti-American sentiment, and entrenching the global situation that breeds terrorism in the first place. The United Nations recently came out with a statement saying poverty breeds terrorism, yet the United States is only further contributing to the poverty of an already poor nation.

People are rationalizing the attacks saying the terrorists hate our freedom. If this is so, why didn't they attack the Statue of Liberty? The terrorists quite clearly attacked the symbols of American military and economic hegemony. Since World War II (the largest war following WWI, known as the "war to end all wars" — hasn't worked, has it?), the United States has invaded and bombed dozens of countries, many of them Muslim. And while the world starves, America enjoys prosperity. This is not justice, and injustice breeds poverty.

In response to one of the letters to The Breeze, I am quite aware that Mohammed Atta or Osama bin Laden would kill me if they could. As I hold neither of those men as role models, I find this as yet another reason why I should not respond in kind. Osama bin Laden will probably always hate the United States, but bin Laden would be an insignificant and powerless individual if he did not have a global support base. The United States, by responding with violence, a strategy which obviously hasn't been working for us, will only be strengthening bin Laden. This is something none of us want to see happen. If the United States halts its own forms of terrorism and turns toward healing the world, who would take up arms against us?

Peter Gelderloos is a sophomore English major.