The irony of protests

[1549]

I love it when Cop's beat the living s*** out of the mofo's blocking major streets, as was the case on fifth avenue the other day. From what I heard the protestors were resisting with mase and stuff...as these protests begin to get a little more violent, it makes me appreciate the irony and hypocracy of war protests, they get violent. "Lets stop war by masing some cops, stopping traffic, annoying the hell out of New Yorkers, and getting the crap kicked out of ourselves"--nice thinking dirtbags, enjoy being the b**** in your night in jail.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

I love it when Cop's beat the living s*** out of the mofo's blocking major streets, as was the case on fifth avenue the other day.  From what I heard the protestors were resisting with mase and stuff...as these protests begin to get a little more violent, it makes me appreciate the irony and hypocracy of war protests, they get violent.  "Lets stop war by masing some cops, stopping traffic, annoying the hell out of New Yorkers, and getting the crap kicked out of ourselves"--nice thinking dirtbags, enjoy being the b**** in your night in jail.

I have been told by a group that I needed to "get some guts and go fight" to which I responded "Are you all enlisted?" (the men were college age) and they said "No." so I told them, "If this war is so important and you believe so strongly, go get enlisted and put your life on the line for it." After which they shut the f*** up and walked away because they realized they were f***ing hypocrites.

 

So because I dealt with that one group that was a bunch of hypocrites, I can then safely assume that the entire pro-war movement is a bunch of hypocrites. It's your overgeneralizations that promote ignorance and moronic behavior. Think before you generalize next time.

 

If you want the truth about the anti-war movement, ask me. Or better yet, look at the BBC or the Guardian or the Observer etc.

[baggio202]

I love it when Cop's beat the living s*** out of the mofo's blocking major streets, as was the case on fifth avenue the other day.  From what I heard the protestors were resisting with mase and stuff...as these protests begin to get a little more violent, it makes me appreciate the irony and hypocracy of war protests, they get violent.  "Lets stop war by masing some cops, stopping traffic, annoying the hell out of New Yorkers, and getting the crap kicked out of ourselves"--nice thinking dirtbags, enjoy being the b**** in your night in jail.

I have been told by a group that I needed to "get some guts and go fight" to which I responded "Are you all enlisted?" (the men were college age) and they said "No." so I told them, "If this war is so important and you believe so strongly, go get enlisted and put your life on the line for it." After which they shut the f*** up and walked away because they realized they were f***ing hypocrites.

 

So because I dealt with that one group that was a bunch of hypocrites, I can then safely assume that the entire pro-war movement is a bunch of hypocrites. It's your overgeneralizations that promote ignorance and moronic behavior. Think before you generalize next time.

 

If you want the truth about the anti-war movement, ask me. Or better yet, look at the BBC or the Guardian or the Observer etc.

the BBC....you cant be serious...they are openly rooting for the coaltion to lose...makes better copy i guess..

 

field reporters from the BBC are telling others that the BBC is editing their reports to make them more sympathetic to the iraqis (msnbc)...a writer from a competing paper said his sister works at the BBC, she dates a soldier but is afraid to tell her co-workers because they call soldiers murderers and thugs(orielly factor)....

 

thats the mentality at the BCC...just like NPR back here

[LowerCaseRepublican]

the BBC....you cant be serious...they are openly rooting for the coaltion to lose...makes better copy i guess..

 

field reporters from the BBC are telling others that the BBC is editing their reports to make them more sympathetic to the iraqis (msnbc)...a writer from a competing paper said his sister works at the BBC, she dates a soldier but is afraid to tell her co-workers because they call soldiers murderers and thugs(orielly factor)....

 

thats the mentality at the BCC...just like NPR back here

Ah yes, MSNBC who was nailed when they had their internal documents posted to the internet showing that the reason that they got rid of Donahue was that he "was not pro-war and pro-Bush enough". They wanna kiss Bush's ass every goddamned second they can. C'mon they are 1/2 owned by GE...the company that makes the guidance systems for the Patriot missiles. They also have editorial license over the news. Do you think they are going to jeopardize weapons sales to tell the truth in the news?

 

And the O'Reilly Factor? You actually want any person to believe that slimeball? The same man who turns off peoples' microphones so he can act like they are still there so he can look good and look like he won the debate on TV? And a writer from a competing paper. Wow, these are just all so credible!

[baggio202]

the BBC....you cant be serious...they are openly rooting for the coaltion to lose...makes better copy i guess..

 

field reporters from the BBC are telling others that the BBC is editing their reports to make them more sympathetic to the iraqis (msnbc)...a writer from a competing paper said his sister works at the BBC, she dates a soldier but is afraid to tell her co-workers because they call soldiers murderers and thugs(orielly factor)....

 

thats the mentality at the BCC...just like NPR back here

Ah yes, MSNBC who was nailed when they had their internal documents posted to the internet showing that the reason that they got rid of Donahue was that he "was not pro-war and pro-Bush enough". They wanna kiss Bush's ass every goddamned second they can. C'mon they are 1/2 owned by GE...the company that makes the guidance systems for the Patriot missiles. They also have editorial license over the news. Do you think they are going to jeopardize weapons sales to tell the truth in the news?

 

And the O'Reilly Factor? You actually want any person to believe that slimeball? The same man who turns off peoples' microphones so he can act like they are still there so he can look good and look like he won the debate on TV? And a writer from a competing paper. Wow, these are just all so credible!

no less credible then the left wing propaganda sites you always reference

 

btw..donahue was replaced because his ratings sucked.

 

its funny..PHG over at the other site that i wish to remain nameless said this today

 

" Fox News is beating the crap out of CNN and MSNBC because of their prime-time personalities, especially Bill O'Reilly. Connie Chung and Phil Donahue have both recently lost their shows, so you know which way the wind is blowing. IF THE LEFTIES WERE WHINING BEFORE, wait till CNN and MSNBC "fix" their ratings problems"

 

..boy did he nail you , youre whining already

[cwsox]

All credibility is lost.

 

On top of all the extravagent claims now the BBC and NPR are"openly rooting" for the US to lose?

 

I listen to BBC about 1-4 hours day, and NPR more, and I hear very balanced reporting from a variety of viewpoints and the concept that the Britsih and US national stations are openly rootiung for Britain and the US to lose is just sheer rhetoric bulls***.

 

I doubt you have listened to either of these news sources but what, some tv talk show host with time to kill who thrives on controversy has told you so?

 

Just ike 95% of Detroit voters voting in 2000 - credibility gone.

 

I will always value you as a friend but this over the top excess of factually untrue matierial or preposterous claims is more than I can bear and it breaks my heart becuase i like you so much.

 

God's peace be with you.

[1549]

It's your overgeneralizations that promote ignorance and moronic behavior. Think before you generalize next time.

 

How am I making generalizations when I say the protest in New York got rather violent, and that it is ironic when war protests get violent. I don't believe I made any generalizations, I made one assumption and that is the protestors got b****ed out in their night in jail, that is assuming that they had to spend a night in jail after their arrest. I am not joining the army either, I am only 16.

 

As far as news originizations, Fox News kicks ass. Shepard Smith delivers the news fair and balanced...The No Spin Zone may be conservative, but that doesn't necessarily reflect the views of the entire network. Hannidy and Combs is a show with one Conservative and one Liberal sound fair and balanced. As far as the BBC goes, stupid ass tv, when I was in London last winter the only good show the bbc had was the olympics, for news I watched CNNinternational. And by the way the details i got from the protest, came from my favorite news paper: The New York Times. So if a liberal newspaper says something bad about war protests, than I will believe it.

 

I still don't even see what would have been accomplished had we not gone to war, Saddam stays in power, continues to abuse his citizens(in the NCAA tournament issue of SI, there is a great article about how Uday Hussein, tortured athletes), and nothing would be solved. I also want to know how you felt about going to war in Aghanistan after 9/11. If you didn't agree with that, than you make me sick. Because then you are taking the deaths of 3,000 people in vain.

[1549]

By the way the question about supporting the attacks in afghanistan was addressed to anybody opposed to the current war in Iraq.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

no less credible then the left wing propaganda sites you always reference

 

btw..donahue was replaced because his ratings sucked.

 

its funny..PHG over at the other site that i wish to remain nameless said this today

 

" Fox News is beating the crap out of CNN and MSNBC because of their prime-time personalities, especially Bill O'Reilly. Connie Chung and Phil Donahue have both recently lost their shows, so you know which way the wind is blowing. IF THE LEFTIES WERE WHINING BEFORE, wait till CNN and MSNBC "fix" their ratings problems"

 

..boy did he nail you , youre whining already

Baggs, if you want to get technical, Donahue was the highest rated show on MSNBC, but then again nice try.

 

Fox News isn't even news. It's Rush Limbaugh Light. They go on there spout anything, call it the news and then get proven wrong by so many other news organizations that it's not even funny. Faux News sucks.

 

And Baggs, I don't just use one source for my news. I check the BBC, the Observer, the Guardian, and World Net Daily. So, I can cross reference the information.

 

And tell me what left wing propaganda sites have I posted? www.iraqbodycount.net , a site that uses various news stories to approximately calculate how many civilians we have slaughtered?!

 

Only reason I watch Fox news (and the reason a lot of people I know do) is not for the news, but to laugh our asses off at the right wing bulls*** they blatantly spout and then try to call it "objective news"

[LowerCaseRepublican]

How am I making generalizations when I say the protest in New York got rather violent, and that it is ironic when war protests get violent.  I don't believe I made any generalizations, I made one assumption and that is the protestors got b****ed out in their night in jail, that is assuming that they had to spend a night in jail after their arrest.  I am not joining the army either, I am only 16.

 

As far as news originizations, Fox News kicks ass.  Shepard Smith delivers the news fair and balanced...The No Spin Zone may be conservative, but that doesn't necessarily reflect the views of the entire network.  Hannidy and Combs is a show with one Conservative and one Liberal sound fair and balanced.  As far as the BBC goes, stupid ass tv, when I was in London last winter the only good show the bbc had was the olympics, for news I watched CNNinternational.  And by the way the details i got from the protest, came from my favorite news paper: The New York Times.  So if a liberal newspaper says something bad about war protests, than I will believe it.

 

I still don't even see what would have been accomplished had we not gone to war, Saddam stays in power, continues to abuse his citizens(in the NCAA tournament issue of SI, there is a great article about how Uday Hussein, tortured athletes), and nothing would be solved.  I also want to know how you felt about going to war in Aghanistan after 9/11.  If you didn't agree with that, than you make me sick.  Because then you are taking the deaths of 3,000 people in vain.

We burned down a haystack to find a needle and we didn't find the needle.

 

Let's see, none of the terrorists came from Afghanistan. We didn't kill the man we were looking for. We bombed the s*** out of a third world country and didn't really accomplish anything. What a great mission!

 

We accomplished nothing except making Osama run off in Afghanistan. And if we were really against the Taliban, how come we gave them millions in aid in 2001? Shepard Smith....fair and balanced? HAHAHAHAHA. I am glad you can believe that.

 

The No Spin Zone, when you come in you have to orient yourself because everything shifts far to the right. And calling Combs a liberal is a joke. He's a moderate if anything.

 

The BBC is a very good news source. You may just not like it because they tell the truth for the most part and don't kiss American ass so much like our corporate owned media does.

 

I've stated before. This war is piss poor foreign policy. Fodder for Al Qaeda propaganda cuz let's face it, this is neo-imperialism. The cost of the war....$80 billion plus more to come, the Iraqi and American casualties, the fact that we've made asses out of ourselves in the world community, etc. etc. etc. The cost of waging this illegal war is too damn great.

[1549]

Let's see, none of the terrorists came from Afghanistan. We didn't kill the man we were looking for. We bombed the s*** out of a third world country and didn't really accomplish anything. What a great mission!

 

We haven't found Bin Laden yet, but he is still believed to be in south eastern Afghanistan. We found and destroyed many al-queda training grounds. We captured many Al-queda foot soldiers, and we killed one of their top 4 executives. Most importantly we installed a new government. So the citizens there are now free. My favirote picture was of the people getting hair cuts after the Taliban was gone, and the guys looking at the porn magazine because they were allowed to now. As for giving the Taliban money...who cares. We gave them money, then we had to destroy them, no problemo. I hate it when people say "we are the ones that armed Bin Laden", well so what, now we have to dis-arm him. You can't change the past, but because we are the U.S. of America we can kill our mistakes...it's a beautiful thing.

 

We had to attack Afghanistan anyways to find Bin Laden. End of story. So far we haven't, but anybody that says, we shouldn't have tried to find him is supporting terrorists and the regimes that harbor them. As known globally, peace is achieved with the sword

[LowerCaseRepublican]

We haven't found Bin Laden yet, but he is still believed to be in south eastern Afghanistan.  We found and destroyed many al-queda training grounds.  We captured many Al-queda foot soldiers, and we killed one of their top 4 executives.  Most importantly we installed a new government.  So the citizens there are now free.  My favirote picture was of the people getting hair cuts after the Taliban was gone, and the guys looking at the porn magazine because they were allowed to now.  As for giving the Taliban money...who cares.  We gave them money, then we had to destroy them, no problemo.  I hate it when people say "we are the ones that armed Bin Laden", well so what, now we have to dis-arm him.  You can't change the past, but because we are the U.S. of America we can kill our mistakes...it's a beautiful thing.

 

We had to attack Afghanistan anyways to find Bin Laden.  End of story.  So far we haven't, but anybody that says, we shouldn't have tried to find him is supporting terrorists and the regimes that harbor them.  As known globally, peace is achieved with the sword

Yes, kill off this generation of terrorists. What of their children...and their children....and their children...etc. etc. etc.

 

Are we ready for the full scale genocide that would have to occur?

 

And if you actually believe that Karzi had any power there, HAHAHAHA. There are assassinations there almost every day and so much political instability. But then again, we just left them to their own devices, soooo....

[Mathew]

I heard that now that the Taliban has been removed from power that the rich Afganistis are walking around with young men, as their hired "bum buddies" a practice the Taliban banned, that has resurged since. That's about word for word how I heard it, any truth to that?

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Opium production has also gone waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay up.

[1549]

And if you actually believe that Karzi had any power there, HAHAHAHA. There are assassinations there almost every day and so much political instability. But then again, we just left them to their own devices, soooo....

 

Actually we still have soldiers there...two were killed in an ambush yesterday, or today.

 

As for future generations of terrorists: There are terrorists because there is poverty in the middle east. Groups like Hamas or evil regimes like Saddam's are able to manipulate the minds of the poor. Now imagine if people were able to get educations, and think for themselves, and know what is going on in the world without hearing it from a slanted Saddam Hussein news report, or a slanted Hamas recruiter. If the poor people there had a chance to think then maybe terrorism would become less popular. Instead they are manipulated and bought by the powers of evil. In a middle East that is free, people will think for themselves and they will not become terrorists.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Actually we still have soldiers there...two were killed in an ambush yesterday, or today. 

 

As for future generations of terrorists: There are terrorists because there is poverty in the middle east.  Groups like Hamas or evil regimes like Saddam's are able to manipulate the minds of the poor.  Now imagine if people were able to get educations, and think for themselves, and know what is going on in the world without hearing it from a slanted Saddam Hussein news report, or a slanted Hamas recruiter.  If the poor people there had a chance to think then maybe terrorism would become less popular.  Instead they are manipulated and bought by the powers of evil.  In a middle East that is free, people will think for themselves and they will not become terrorists.

Or if the poor didn't have their homes bulldozed by the IDF. Or if Sharon wasn't doing a wholesale slaughter on Palestinians.

 

So, manipulation is bad...yet it is okay for us to manipulate them into having US friendly governments?

[cwsox]

1. If the poor people there had a chance to think then maybe terrorism would become less popular.  Instead they are manipulated and bought by the powers of evil. 

 

2. In a middle East that is free, people will think for themselves and they will not become terrorists.

1. Is there anyone else out there like me who is so god damned tired of those f***ing assholes who do not think for themselves? Obviously they do not think for themselves because if they did, they would think just like me. Any sane intelligent free person has to agree with me so if you don't think like me, then you are obviously not thinking for yourself and are just a poor duped person. Anyone who does not think just me me obviously has to be manipulated by the powers of evil because they disagree with me since everything that I think is pure and righteous.

 

 

2. How true that is, but not at all in the way that you mean.

 

If they think just like us, maybe they will do shock and awe and drop bombs on other peoples the right way, huh?

[1549]

So, manipulation is bad...yet it is okay for us to manipulate them into having US friendly governments?

 

Notice that U.S. friendly governments are for the most part governments that are based on the principles of freedom. Note that the only good governments are governments based on freedom. Bad government: Iraq, no freedom civilians killed (Iraqui soldiers fired at all civilians who tried to leave Basra today). So yes I guess we should manipulate them into having U.S. friendly governments for their own sake.

[1549]

1. Is there anyone else out there like me who is so god damned tired of those f***ing assholes who do not think for themselves? Obviously they do not think for themselves because if they did, they would think just like me. Any sane intelligent free person has to agree with me so if you don't think like me, then you are obviously not thinking for yourself and are just a poor duped person. Anyone who does not think just me me obviously has to be manipulated by the powers of evil because they disagree with me since everything that I think is pure and righteous

 

Open your eyes; kids in these countries go to school and beat up dolls of American business men when they are 4. The school teacher they interviewed said it is a way to vent the childrens anger. that is called manipulation. Just like how since I was born I have been taught to hate the cubs, and now I will do so for life. If there are not some jarastic changes kids there will hate Americans for life, So don't throw your s***ty sarcasm at me, and try to say that the people there are not manipulated.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

Notice that U.S. friendly governments are for the most part governments that are based on the principles of freedom.  Note that the only good governments are governments based on freedom.  Bad government: Iraq, no freedom civilians killed (Iraqui soldiers fired at all civilians who tried to leave Basra today).  So yes I guess we should manipulate them into having U.S. friendly governments for their own sake.

What about previous governments like Chile? They democratically elected Salvador Allende quite freely. Except that he was socialist and wanted to nationalize the copper industry in Chile. But the US and UK owned over 80% of it, so the Chilean military had a coup led by Augusto Pinochet and killed Allende in 1973. This led to one of the most brutal and diabolical regimes ever (worse than Saddam....thousands disappeared...usually shot behind the National Stadium) If you want more info check out the movie "Missing" because it is a true story from a US businessman whose son was kidnapped and murdered by Pinochet. During the 1990s, the CIA admitted in front of Congress that it helped, donated money and arms, trained, and organized the entire coup with the Chilean military.

 

I am very hesitant to believe "US friendly regimes" because they usually mean a lot of blood being spilled. The US friendly governments are just friendly to the US, they usually aren't that benevolent to its' people.

 

We've made it a habit of overthrowing democratically elected leaders to install people friendly to the US. If we like democracy so much, why not let the people have who they want?

[cwsox]

So don't throw your s***ty sarcasm at me, and try to say that the people there are not manipulated.

everyone is molded by the circumstances of their lives. You are manipulated as much as anyone else in the world. We all are.

 

Some break free however.

 

I never said that no one was manipulated. Please deal with what I say and not what I didn't say.

 

When homes are bulldozed and given the realities of the treatment of the poeple in the palestinian areas, it doesn't take much more than looking around to understand where the hate is coming from - not taught by Hamas but simply reality recruits for Hamas, just as what is happening in Iraq right now is the best recruiting tool for al Queda ever.

 

When 45% of the American people polled believe Saddam was behind September 11th, we know that Americans are manipulated, perhaps by Bush saying "9-11" and "Saddam" within almost sentence during his press conferance even though there is still no evidence of that other than casual.

 

And as far as that goes, the Bush family is friends with the bin laden family - not with Osama but with a lot of the rest of them - that type of connection is far more real than any alleged connection between Saddam and Osama, who actually detest each other.

[1549]

everyone is molded by the circumstances of their lives. You are manipulated as much as anyone else in the world. We all are.

 

Well at least in the non-third world countries we are molded on ideas of peace, and not blowing up buildings. Maybe one day the Middle East will be able to try this.

 

When 45% of the American people polled believe Saddam was behind September 11th, we know that Americans are manipulated, perhaps by Bush saying "9-11" and "Saddam" within almost sentence during his press conferance even though there is still no evidence of that other than casual.

 

Who cares, whether Saddam has ties to Bin Laden or not, he still has to go. The guy is a threat not just to his people, but to the world. If he had no intent to use Chemical Weapons why would he go threw the trouble and risk of building them, knowing that it could lead to his demise.

[cwsox]

I am resurrecting this thread because something has ciome up that shows the one-sided bigoted and uninformed nature of so much of all the comments made against those who oppose the war.

 

I was reading at dinner the Sunday 3-30 Chicago Tribune, Perspective section, page 3, "Faces of Chicago protest" by Sean D. Hamill and Rudolph Bush.

 

Anyone out there actually read the paper and get beyond their own preconceptions? All the hate that has been poured out on those who protest the war and I read this - something no one who lives in Chicago has had the guts to post because it contradicts your little theories.

 

What really caught my eyes was the following vignette:

 

By the time the March 20 marchers headed north on Lake Shore Drive, in one of the vehicles caught up in the demonstration was a member of the military, a man named Rob in his late teens or early 20s.

 

Dressed in his formal Army uniform, he attracted a throng of marchers. One after another leaned in to shake his hand, told him they supported him, that they hoped he didn't have to go to Iraq and if he did that he got back safely. And then a few coaxed him out of the car so they could hug him.

 

As police hurried people along, shooing the last marcher past his car, Rob was in tears.

 

"I'm overwhelmed," he said, bowing his head. "I've never had so many people show me so much love."

 

Here is the link: trib story

 

Here is the whole story: Faces of Chicago protest

War protests left numerous stories untold

 

By Sean D. Hamill and Rudolph Bush. Sean D. Hamill and Rudolph Bush are Tribune staff reporters. Staff reporters Robert Becker, David Heinzmann and Jeff Long also contributed

Published March 30, 2003

 

The stories, photos and television coverage of the anti-war protests that filled Federal Plaza in the Loop and closed Lake Shore Drive in the last week and a half have focused on the conflict between protesters and police.

 

Given the tarnish that lingers on Chicago's image after the tumultuous events surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention, that's understandable.

 

But lost in the coverage were moments and people that reflect another side of these events, sometimes funny or moving, sad or surreal. These are some of the tales you haven't heard yet:

 

Some protesters might have had a tough time figuring out which group they belonged with.

 

There was the group Not in Our Name, which was formed to oppose the war in Iraq, but not to be confused with the group Not in My Name, which was formed to oppose Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.

 

Other confusion arose over the fact that Not in Our Name was handing out fliers with the text of its own "Pledge of Resistance," a general declaration to oppose injustice, but not to be confused with the "Iraq Pledge of Resistance" campaign, which specifically pledges civil disobedience.

 

Creative sign-making happened everywhere. But at a anti-war rally Monday at the University of Illinois-Chicago, several students pushed the limit.

 

In the midst of the fervent feelings--both pro and con--about the war, UIC student Mike Navarro clearly didn't know what to believe or which side to take. Wandering around with a few friends at the anti-war rally, Navarro, a 20-year-old English writing major, carried a sign inscribed with "Cucumber Salad Bonanza."

 

It was a consciously absurdist take on a topic that has provoked intense feelings among Navarro's peers at UIC.

 

"I don't want people to die, but I don't know quite where that puts me. I came here, thinking, Protesters, they're wasting their energy. But when I heard them speak, they have good points."

 

The point of his sign?

 

"Who can disagree with Cucumber Salad Bonanza?" he said.

 

At the same rally, a young woman, perched on the shoulders of a stocky friend, waved a sign that read "Support Our Troops" and continually whooped as speakers lambasted the war.

 

The anti-war movement reacted quickly, with one protester taking up a spot next to her and holding a crudely made sign saying: "Don't pay any attention--She's from Girls Gone Wild."

 

By the time the March 20 marchers headed north on Lake Shore Drive, in one of the vehicles caught up in the demonstration was a member of the military, a man named Rob in his late teens or early 20s.

 

Dressed in his formal Army uniform, he attracted a throng of marchers. One after another leaned in to shake his hand, told him they supported him, that they hoped he didn't have to go to Iraq and if he did that he got back safely. And then a few coaxed him out of the car so they could hug him.

 

As police hurried people along, shooing the last marcher past his car, Rob was in tears.

 

"I'm overwhelmed," he said, bowing his head. "I've never had so many people show me so much love."

 

That same day, at one of several early-morning rallies on Federal Plaza, Grant Newburger wanted to make sure people could be heard when they came out at 8 a.m.

 

He brought his own bullhorn and set it up on a marble column in the plaza, inviting people to the open microphone to speak about their opposition to the war.

 

But after an hour of impromptu speeches and anti-war chants, Newburger, a systems administrator, picked up the microphone and announced: "That'll be the last [speaker]. I actually have to go to work now."

 

Some in the crowd chuckled--they had to go to work too.

 

Toward the end of the demonstration on March 20, when protesters were stuck in the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Oak Street, many pedestrians not involved in the march got caught in its midst.

 

One of those was 75-year-old Norma Brown of Park Forest, with her husband, Herbert, also 75.

 

She was enjoying the spectacle.

 

"This is wonderful. I'm totally ashamed of our country, and I'm thrilled about this," she said. "This is where I like to see our youth."

 

If nothing else, the Christian Peacemakers Team is a solemn bunch. When a group of them gathered under the Water Tower early on March 21, most looked and acted as if they were on their way to a church service.

 

But their small, sober rally, which started with a silent prayer, was interrupted when a man, tattooed all over and sporting a local shock jock's T-shirt, romped into the mix and began shouting "God Bless America" over and over again.

 

The display didn't shake the bunch, who did an admirable job of ignoring a man who the press and police couldn't take their eyes off.

 

The man was tattooed from his close-cropped peroxide-blond hair to his ankles. His T-shirt was about two sizes too small and didn't hide two colorful arms. His khaki pants were ripped along the seams of both legs high into the nether regions of the thigh.

 

The cops told him to get lost, but not before a scene unfolded to turn the 1960s upside down. The war protesters looked like a church congregation. The guy in line with the government would've made a mother blanch.

 

Ten people holding signs protested the war March 21 during rush hour at Illinois Highways 31 and 62 in Algonquin, McHenry County's busiest intersection.

 

They drew honks and obscene gestures from drivers, even though some of the protesters were children.

 

Five-year-old Pammy Foszcz of Wonder Lake, protesting with her parents and 3-year-old brother, held a sign saying, "Don't be naughty and mean. Have love in your heart for all the people."

 

Some drivers honked their approval; others raised a middle finger and shouted, "Go home!"

 

Protester Ed Geiss, 62, of Lake in the Hills, acknowledged that he had "been given the finger and everything else.

 

"But that's what I like. This is America."

[1549]

That doesn't change the fact that it is ironic when war protests get violent