2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Mission accomplished: student protest at recruiting stations
By: Macalester Students for a Democratic Society
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Opinion
Macalester SDS was extremely pleased with the amount of attention the protest drew. However, efforts to articulate our views on the war in Iraq, supporting our troops and veterans, Iraqi self-determination and the upcoming presidential election often were swept under the rug while locks around necks and arrests nearby created media feeding frenzies. By ignoring the demands made by the action and the motivations behind it, certain media sources portrayed SDS and the lockdown action as childish, meritless, and silly.
In many media sources reporting on our action, our statements about the action were reduced to one or two ill-chosen quotations. One widely distributed article, quoting us only once, closes by pompously saying that we didn't protest on the official anniversary because "we were on spring break". Framing a lone quote from the protesters in such condescending context implies that Macalester students are lazy, uncommitted and have other priorities. What the article fails to mention is that March 27th was the Twin Cities Day of Student Action Against the War. We chose this day to act against the war so as to do so in conjunction with other anti-war groups across the cities. It is true that we were on spring break during the official anniversary of the war; many of us returned to our hometowns, while others stayed in Minnesota and prepared to lock down. Many SDS members were involved in non-SDS actions throughout the week of spring break, whether here in the Twin Cities or at home. We were extremely disappointed to find that in some coverage our protest and beliefs were reduced to only one quote; such reduction and simplification distracts from the seriousness of our actions and intentions.
It also seems that our attitude toward counter-protesters and opposing opinions may be misunderstood. During the protest, we had the chance to talk with counter-protesters, many of whom were students and young veterans. The counter-protesters said that they were mostly worried about vandalism at the recruiting stations. With a few exceptions, protesters and counter-protesters were able to have peaceful, intelligent conversations about different interpretations of supporting the troops. While we all obviously never agreed on what that means, people with many different beliefs reached a higher understanding that we all care about peoples' lives and we should not lose sight of that. As one of the counter-protesters was leaving at the end of the day, he thanked our group for being levelheaded and committed to what we believe in, even if he disagrees with our approach and views. The protest demonstrated that people can be rational and profoundly kind to each other, even in a confrontational, polarized situation like a lock down at recruiting stations.
Macalester Students for a Democratic Society declare Mission Accomplished because we were able to close the recruiting stations non-violently, avoiding arrest while publicizing our demands. Locking down was not merely a symbolic gesture: we took matters into our own hands by physically stopping military recruitment and thus the "business of war" at this particular station on this day. We used this opportunity to demand that this government, which claims to represent us, end the war and occupation of Iraq; to demand an end to misleading recruiting practices; to demand that our veterans come home, not to government neglect, but to adequate financial, mental, emotional, and medical support. We hope that people all over the world will continue to join the global anti-war movement, work together, and support each other in a diversity of tactics that demand an end to this country's illegal, unethical, and disgraceful war on Iraq and the Iraqi people.
In many media sources reporting on our action, our statements about the action were reduced to one or two ill-chosen quotations. One widely distributed article, quoting us only once, closes by pompously saying that we didn't protest on the official anniversary because "we were on spring break". Framing a lone quote from the protesters in such condescending context implies that Macalester students are lazy, uncommitted and have other priorities. What the article fails to mention is that March 27th was the Twin Cities Day of Student Action Against the War. We chose this day to act against the war so as to do so in conjunction with other anti-war groups across the cities. It is true that we were on spring break during the official anniversary of the war; many of us returned to our hometowns, while others stayed in Minnesota and prepared to lock down. Many SDS members were involved in non-SDS actions throughout the week of spring break, whether here in the Twin Cities or at home. We were extremely disappointed to find that in some coverage our protest and beliefs were reduced to only one quote; such reduction and simplification distracts from the seriousness of our actions and intentions.
It also seems that our attitude toward counter-protesters and opposing opinions may be misunderstood. During the protest, we had the chance to talk with counter-protesters, many of whom were students and young veterans. The counter-protesters said that they were mostly worried about vandalism at the recruiting stations. With a few exceptions, protesters and counter-protesters were able to have peaceful, intelligent conversations about different interpretations of supporting the troops. While we all obviously never agreed on what that means, people with many different beliefs reached a higher understanding that we all care about peoples' lives and we should not lose sight of that. As one of the counter-protesters was leaving at the end of the day, he thanked our group for being levelheaded and committed to what we believe in, even if he disagrees with our approach and views. The protest demonstrated that people can be rational and profoundly kind to each other, even in a confrontational, polarized situation like a lock down at recruiting stations.
Macalester Students for a Democratic Society declare Mission Accomplished because we were able to close the recruiting stations non-violently, avoiding arrest while publicizing our demands. Locking down was not merely a symbolic gesture: we took matters into our own hands by physically stopping military recruitment and thus the "business of war" at this particular station on this day. We used this opportunity to demand that this government, which claims to represent us, end the war and occupation of Iraq; to demand an end to misleading recruiting practices; to demand that our veterans come home, not to government neglect, but to adequate financial, mental, emotional, and medical support. We hope that people all over the world will continue to join the global anti-war movement, work together, and support each other in a diversity of tactics that demand an end to this country's illegal, unethical, and disgraceful war on Iraq and the Iraqi people.
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