These are the early scenes of a nascent antiwar movement. Activists have quickly mobilized behind several causes: averting war against the already afflicted people of Afghanistan, fighting the erosion of civil liberties and protecting U.S. Arabs and Muslims against hate crimes. Protesters are organizing teach-ins, vigils and demonstrations. Last Thursday’s rally at Berkeley was part of a nationwide effort involving 146 campuses in 36 states. At Union Square in New York City, a spontaneous memorial blossomed into a monument to peace before it was taken down by the Parks Department.
Getting the message out has been tricky. In these times of patriotic fervor–when even Todd Gitlin, former ’60s radical and now an NYU professor, has a flag unfurled on his balcony–many people find the dissenters distasteful at best and traitorous at worst. Activists have been grappling with a knotty question: how do you voice dissent without seeming to minimize the horror of the attacks and the obvious need for greater security? “We avoided any political analysis in the first few days out of respect,” says Scott McLarty, 43, of the D.C. Statehood Green Party. “What we’re saying now is that the objective has to be justice and not vengeful retaliation.”
The anti-globalization crowd has had to shift gears. Some have adopted the battle cry of the antiwar demonstrators. Others have simply canceled their plans for protests later this month in Washington aimed at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; somehow, that cause seems less pressing.
It remains to be seen whether more traditional peace groups will find new strength. At Peace Action in Washington, D.C., a descendant of antinuke groups, members are getting fired up–mobilizing local chapters, raising money, recruiting new members. “We’re a little older and stodgier–at least that’s how the young bucks of the anticapitalist movement see us,” says communications director Scott Lynch. Yet the neopeaceniks are likely to find plenty of young converts among the globalization protesters–and draw on their organizational infrastructure. Are we about to witness the resurgence of flower power? “It’s not going to be ’60s peace and love,” says Lynch. “I think the younger generation is going to be coming at it from a more pragmatic point of view.” At this time of inflamed passions, they hope, appeals to the mind will prevail.
