what the fuck....

the discussion topic of the week seems to be: should we keep protesting now that the war started?

i'm no college grad but i swear to god i'm not completely braindead - but i just can't figure out what the point of the question is. i really don't get it.

i mean THINK about it, people!!

now that the war has started.... maybe we should sort of gradually phase back out of the indymedia idea and dismantle the whole network. i mean it made sense before the war.... but now, it's like.... hellooO... the war already like STARted.

now that the war has started.... maybe we should set aside some time to discuss the possibility of working more closely with the cops. you know, just because, you know, the war has already started. i mean what's the point of hating cops now? the cops are here to help us. i mean, like before the war started i couldn't stand the sight of one of those fuckin pigs. but now... it's like two weeks of bombing already. what am i supposed to do - be like "anti - police" or something? do i LOOK stupid?

now that the war has started.... i think maybe it's time to just admit that white people have their shit TOGETHER!! i mean, i love people of color and everything. MLK all the way!! but if you're in the peace movement, you should maybe consider emphasizing the celebration of european heritage at our protests and stuff - now that the war has started. maybe we could get some bagpipers for starters. oh the cops could help us with that. i mean. come on people, the war has already STARTED.

now that the war has started.... this might be a good time for protesters to start focusing on other things again. a lot of us have fallen behind in a lot of different areas. this would be a good time for us all to set aside THE WAR for a little while and you know, get back in touch with old friends and stuff. for thousands of years we've understood that protesting is what happens BEFORE the war. not AFTER it already started!! let's not forget Vietnam. Once the war starts it's too late. we can do a lot more good right now by maybe working a little more and setting aside some savings for our kids.

now that the war has started.... we should be talking about it - i mean about the WAR.... duuhhh. i mean before the war we had peace. so we had a "peace" movement. that's because we were at PEACE. and i don't know if maybe some of you didn't get the message, but like, PEACE stopped a couple weeks ago already. now we have WAR, okay? and so now there is like a lot of PRO-WAR stuff. i mean get with the program. if you're too busy working or going to school or whatever to get out and join the new pro-war movement, then can you at least face reality and admit that PEACE is OVER? like... at least call it like the "postpeace" movement or SOMETHING.... god...

and finally, now that the war has started.... i really really really think it's time for our movement to just admit that we were wrong. i mean we all love peace and the beatles and woodstock and all that but i mean most of those people grew up and realized that we were about to get involved in a big war in Viet Nam and so they stopped protesting and cut their hair short again. i say "most people" because there were a few of those really really like fanatic hippies who never grew up - i mean, like NoamChomsky for example - these big overgrown teenagers who just never figured out that it's fine to dance around and wear clogs and everything and say "peace" and "brother" and "sister" and all those nice things as long as things ARE nice, but they just didn't figure out that once the VietNam war started, all that "peace" stuff wasn't gonna fool anybody into ignoring the real danger that our boys were in. most of our moms and dads figured this out and we can too because history repeats itself you know. it's like a pendulum that goes back and forth. the challenge is just to figure out when it's swung back the other way. and in case you didn't realize it, let me tell you something: it swung back the other way, fool. we had our big peaceful party - - but NOW we're at war boys and girls, so let's try to grow up okay?

okay never mind.. i understand now. great job keeping up with the latest ideas, LA-IMC!!

Let's see if I got it all correctly...You hate cops for being cops, right? Wierd form of bigotry to hate them because of the job they do. Do you think if there were no cops, everyone would be happy?Do you have any idea what they actually do most of the time? Lets see, next, you go off on white people. Racial hatred now? You just looking for things to hate or are you just a collossal hypocrite?

No use hating the Gestapo for tossing Jews in the oven. After all, it was their job...

Duh.

As for the "post-antiwar" movement. The war is not over. In fact, we'll be at war for years. Bush will fail to pacify Iraq. He will attack Iran and Syria. Soon N. Korea will be at war with us. This is not just an antiwar movement. This is an antifascist movement. Let the movement continue.

That's cool you like people of color dude. Me too.

What's up, dog?

Anyway, yeah you're right sometimes when the world shifts, we have to shift too. But i think the real moment when it shifted wasn't the start of the war. I mean you talk about the pendulum swinging and that is so true, dog. But like.... not a lot of people know this, but the pendulum swung back the other way exactly three days AFTER the war started. It's just a weird thing to keep in mind. Check it out.. Look into it. And think about it. It makes sense if you really think about it. Usually that's the way it works - THREE days AFTER the start of a war, THAT's usually when the pendulum starts to swing back the other way - and in a way that's really when the war starts. You see what i'm saying? So in a way it's like you can SAY the war started two weeks ago but really the PENDULUM didn't turn back until three days AFTER that so if you really want to be precise, then you'd say the war started a week and four days ago. Or you could just say the war started three days after the war started, which sounds weird but it's true, dog.

peace (oh - i mean postpeace)

The point is that the war is happening, and as Jake says, will be happening and we have to start thinking about how to deal with this long term.

Do we route for a long bloody war?

Do we use or rallies to organize social movements to do something besides stand in the streets and cheer?

Do we go out and vote or do we call for revolution?