Iraqi War Demonstrations

Over the weekend, lots of people demonstrated for and against the Iraqi invasion. We found the WMDs, accomplished the Mission and our soldiers were greeted as liberators; showered with candy and ice cream by throngs of grateful Iraqis So far we've seen the deaths of 2,300 American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. We're quagmired more hopelessly than ever, and we've alienated most of our former allies.

Now I’m not pretending this is an accurate statistic, but in our small town, the local newspaper reported that “more than 100” people demonstrated against the Iraqi war on Saturday. There was also a pro-war demonstration attended by “about twenty” people.

Biased reporting from the “liberal media?” The local paper here is way too small-town-y to possibly be labeled as liberal or conservative. You’ve seen papers like this. “Next Wednesday the Bridge Club will be meeting at the home of Mrs. Minnie Hagerton,” etc. Sorry Rightoids, this paper isn’t a fifth column for the terrorists.

The town's voters — this is a red county in a blue state.

Aside from the numbers, there was one thing very noticeable about each protest rally. The anti-war rally was inventive; creative. There were public speakers and live music. And some of the signs and slogans were funny and maddening at the same time. My personal favorite was “torture those as you would have them torture you.”

The pro-war demonstrators had a grand total of TWO different signs: “Support Our Troops” and “God Bless America.” Oh, and you could go blind looking at all the American flags and flag decals. Talk about seeing red. And seeing stars.

Aside from being about as original as the 9,725th Ford Escort to roll off the assembly line, these two slogans say absolutely NOTHING about a person's stand on the Iraqi invasion.

Contrary to what you hear from armies of rightwing automatons, nobody is “against the troops” or “hates America.” Hate the slippery pukebag that’s currently blighting the White House? Absolutely! This is a great country that’s suffering from a severe infection, and that infection needs to be eradicated.

The country itself, and the “Leader” currently ruining it — two separate things. Unfortunately it’s very difficult for some people to grasp these two facts at the same time.

So again, this isn’t supposed to be an accurate survey, but: in a small town in a red county in a blue state, anti-war demonstrators outnumbered pro-war demonstrators by five to one.