Protest Without a Purpose?
by Mac Beaulieu
June 7, 2003

Keeping abreast of current events leaves me with no doubt about the dangers lurking in the tumultuous corners of our lives: "due to ongoing heatwaves people will be using more power than usual . . . the knives you spread your butter with can kill you . . . Iraq's army now includes a 12 year old girl . . ." So with a strength of pride and purpose I announced to friend and foe that I would take part in the Philadelphia "Justice in July" protest on July 4. The unanimous response was a dumbfounded, "what are you protesting?" The implication being of course that the war in Iraq is over: the surviving Iraqis are free, WMD have been found, Iraqi babies born with two eyes and four limbs are named "George". Given the signal to noise ratio of information out there, it's easy to see why people are confused. Apparently you have to instinctively suspect that something has gone terribly awry to know that you should look for sources that tell you that something has gone terribly awry. And even when you know what you're looking for you may not find what you're looking for: much of my pre-protest preparation turned up a disproportionate number of free-Mumia websites.

No matter. For once in my grey-whiskered lifetime I was going to take advantage of my right to assemble freely and publicly take the government to task. Against the well-intentioned wishes of the event organizers, I struck another nail in the environment's coffin by driving down in my SUV (hey, I buy a lot of groceries) instead of riding a bicycle that is certified to not be manufactured in Myanmar by hungry, doe-eyed, barefoot children and their cadaverous great-grandmothers. As expected, there were people spreading their distaste for Bush from a myriad of organizations, from the unfortunately ubiquitous A.N.S.W.E.R. to Cat Lovers Against The Bomb. A common element among many was a penchant for foaming at the mouth while expressing outrage. A woman I thought I agreed with had me pinned to my chair as she ranted about her son dodging shrapnel in Iraq, while I dodged shrapnel from her mouth in Philadelphia. There was a man trying to hand out voter registration forms while apologizing profusely for being a "standard liberal Democrat." One could find more labels here than in the grocery section of a Super Walmart, yet one thing most people agreed with was that the protest tried to cover too many points; if only they'd concentrate on Bush, the PATRIOT Act, Iraq, Palestine, the environment, stopping U.S. repression worldwide, freeing Mumia, releasing all political prisoners, giving women and blacks positions of power, securing welfare rights for the people of Kensington, and saving the Yellow Buttocked Tree Toad of Brandywine, Delaware, we'd have a solid focus for all to rally 'round.

Speakers were far too numerous to mention, and included a Pennsylvania representative who declined to speak at the opening of the National Constitution Center down the block, and another representative who thankfully concentrated on a resolution against the PATRIOT Act. Larry Holmes from International A.N.S.W.E.R. delivered a rousing speech that focused on Iraq: "The message we're here for is get out of Iraq, get the hell out NOW! Bring our troops home – not tommorrow – TODAY! It's not just about our country, it's about empire!" Okay, I can relate to this, but now we have a guy complaining that the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision didn't pass by a wide enough margin and we still have far to go to get same sex marraiges legal in this country. In a similarly
compelling vein, musical performers Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow put on a cringe-inducing performance, from their complaint that the root cause of all the world's problems is that the administration is male and very, VERY, white, to the laughable attempt at injecting rap into one of their songs. These chicks have about as much street funk as Ward Cleaver. Another speaker lambasted the British in Zimbabwe while singing the praises of President Mugabe, which caused one woman to leave in a rage. She apparently is studying in Zimbabwe and she had some rather choice, yet articulate, words for our delusional speaker. I suggested she ask to speak her piece, a first hand experience, but no dice: the organizers wouldn't hear of it.

The simultaneous opening of the National Constitution Center down the street was probably better attended. Though I can't find a figure for the protest's attendance, my scientific guesstimate would place it at about "rather dismal." In spite of the radical nature of the attendees, my proclamation that I am a conservative was met with open ears and genuine interest for my views. A college professor at the "free Mumia" table next to me couldn't have been more pleasant. I had hoped however, that there would be more of a representation of middle America, like the protests before the war. Perhaps my experiences at the beginning should have clued me in: the war in Iraq is over, the surviving Iraqis are free, etc., etc.

Mac Beaulieu is a non-war serving veteran, electronic technician, registered nurse, and music reviewer. He designs and sells politically-oriented t-shirts.