Who will stop the war?
January 7, 2007 8:53 PM Subscribe
Who would be popularly considered the top leaders of the anti-war / peace movement in America?
I would like to gain a more comprehensive view of these movements in America, so once the "big names" have been put up, please suggest lesser known leaders. (For non-American mefi's I would also be interested in the names of the top non-American anti-war activists.)
Do these leaders coordinate strategies or are their efforts very diffuse in the US?
I would like to gain a more comprehensive view of these movements in America, so once the "big names" have been put up, please suggest lesser known leaders. (For non-American mefi's I would also be interested in the names of the top non-American anti-war activists.)
Do these leaders coordinate strategies or are their efforts very diffuse in the US?
Cindy Sheehan^ is an obvious answer. Now that she's in Havana, watch the mouths begin to foam!
posted by rob511 at 9:10 PM on January 7, 2007
posted by rob511 at 9:10 PM on January 7, 2007
I don't know that he's the leader of any anti-war or peace movement per se, but Jimmy Carter has been standing up and loudly saying his own opinions about the Middle East, and has made it clear he's definitely opposed to the current administration.
Don't know how much people are listening to him though, since people seem to be focused on the title of his book more than anything he says inside of it...
posted by miss lynnster at 9:13 PM on January 7, 2007
Don't know how much people are listening to him though, since people seem to be focused on the title of his book more than anything he says inside of it...
posted by miss lynnster at 9:13 PM on January 7, 2007
Howard Zinn (historian)
Cindy Sheehan (grieving mother cum activist)
Amy Goodman (journalist)
Anyone from United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
Anyone from Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER)
Medea Benjamin & Jodie Evans (CodePink founders)
Ron Kovic (wounded Vietnam War vet)
Jonathan Schell (writer)
Brian Willson (veteran)
Martin Sheen (mediocre actor)
posted by HotPatatta at 9:20 PM on January 7, 2007
Cindy Sheehan (grieving mother cum activist)
Amy Goodman (journalist)
Anyone from United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
Anyone from Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER)
Medea Benjamin & Jodie Evans (CodePink founders)
Ron Kovic (wounded Vietnam War vet)
Jonathan Schell (writer)
Brian Willson (veteran)
Martin Sheen (mediocre actor)
posted by HotPatatta at 9:20 PM on January 7, 2007
Non-Americans would include Nelson Mandela, Helen Caldicott, Desmond Tutu, Arundhati Roy, the Pope, George Galloway, Scandinavians, and Quakers
posted by HotPatatta at 9:25 PM on January 7, 2007
posted by HotPatatta at 9:25 PM on January 7, 2007
More non-Americans: Aung San Suu Kyi, Thick Nhat-Han, Dalai Lama, Johann Galtung
posted by HotPatatta at 9:29 PM on January 7, 2007
posted by HotPatatta at 9:29 PM on January 7, 2007
Be careful what you wish for, or who you support. Some anti-war groups are not what they seem. For instance, A.N.S.W.E.R. is a front for a Marxist group (used to be the Workers World Party, now the Party for Socialism and Liberation) and some people who have attended their anti-war rallies have found that those in charge are more interested in recruiting people for that cause than in actually opposing the war.
Of course, maybe you don't mind supporting a Marxist group. If so, go for it!
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:57 PM on January 7, 2007
Of course, maybe you don't mind supporting a Marxist group. If so, go for it!
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:57 PM on January 7, 2007
My non-American choice: Bono.
Sure, he's a shill but he eats causes like that up.
posted by champthom at 9:57 PM on January 7, 2007
Sure, he's a shill but he eats causes like that up.
posted by champthom at 9:57 PM on January 7, 2007
for the record, studying the leaders isn't necessarily the best way to go--the American anti-war movement at this point in time is pretty well decentralized, and most organizing is done on a local level. United for Peace and Justice is the big umbrella organization, but again, it's not like they're calling the shots. I'd call people like Sheehan less of actual leaders of the movement, and much more of media-chosen spokespeople.
posted by Subcommandante Cheese at 10:07 PM on January 7, 2007
posted by Subcommandante Cheese at 10:07 PM on January 7, 2007
SC: Agreed! I'm a member of Iraq Vets Against the War, and Cindy Sheehan doesn't speak for me--not one bit. Nor does Chomsky, or Medea Benjamin, or ANSWER.
You want vet leaders? There's Kelly Dougherty of IVAW and Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA. I don't know who Brian Willson is, and I've been active on the vet side of the anti-war movement for 3 years. Never heard of the guy.
We speak for ourselves. I'm no one's pet veteran.
*I'm also a Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. They're not expressly anti-war, but they're pro-vet, and do something about it, which is more than you can say about most groups on either side of the debate.
posted by arkhangel at 10:38 PM on January 7, 2007
You want vet leaders? There's Kelly Dougherty of IVAW and Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA. I don't know who Brian Willson is, and I've been active on the vet side of the anti-war movement for 3 years. Never heard of the guy.
We speak for ourselves. I'm no one's pet veteran.
*I'm also a Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. They're not expressly anti-war, but they're pro-vet, and do something about it, which is more than you can say about most groups on either side of the debate.
posted by arkhangel at 10:38 PM on January 7, 2007
Iraq Vets Against the War were taken in by Jesse Macbeth. To their credit, they eventually booted him, but only after others had shown that Macbeth was a complete fraud.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:58 PM on January 7, 2007
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:58 PM on January 7, 2007
Two of the most prominent anti-war activists are Michael Moore and Markos Moulitsas Zúniga ("Kos" of The Daily Kos).
That said, I don't think there's a very well organized anti-war movement in the US. There's quite a lot of ideological difference between opponents of the war, especially between those who are anti-war as part of a broad campaign for "global justice" and those who oppose the war on more isolationist grounds, or as a waste of American lives.
posted by washburn at 12:24 AM on January 8, 2007
That said, I don't think there's a very well organized anti-war movement in the US. There's quite a lot of ideological difference between opponents of the war, especially between those who are anti-war as part of a broad campaign for "global justice" and those who oppose the war on more isolationist grounds, or as a waste of American lives.
posted by washburn at 12:24 AM on January 8, 2007
SCDB: For what it's worth, I was mightily suspicious of Macbeth (aka Jeshiem Alizaid). One of the problems that IVAW has had in the past is that we've been fairly disorganized. I'd also say (and this is just me, not speaking for the organization), that we've had our fair share of people who came up in the Vietnam protest movement trying to jump in on this.
If you were to ask many of the members of IVAW when we were going through the Macbeth fiasco, many of us thought the guy was fairly shady and/or seriously disturbed. Many of the people who were buying into what Macbeth was peddling were people who aren't seeking information, but rather, validation of a pre-existing worldview.
I'm not one to get up on a soapbox; when I've been asked to speak, I've spoken far more about what we need to do in terms of caring for Iraq/Afghan War veterans once they return home, than about whether we should have done this or that back in '02 and '03. We're there, and we need not to be there. How do we get to that point? Furthermore, we have to admit that even if we withdraw tomorrow, the end result will not be peace, at least for average Iraqis. There will be bloodshed in the land between the two rivers for years, if not decades, and we are at the least accessories in that.
As for Kos, I'd not describe him as an anti-war activist. I know Kos--can't say I know him well--and if he's an activist about anything, it's about furthering progressive politics. He's anti-Iraq War, but I'd not describe him as an activist.
And please, don't get me started on Michael freakin' Moore. He's an activist about himself. To the degree that he cares about Teh Troops, it's because it allows him to make a larger point about society. His book, Will They Ever Trust Us Again: Letters From The War Zone, features a bigger-than-big hangdog-looking portrait of Moore holding a teeny-tiny folded American flag, folded just like the ones the casualty notification teams carry. Forgotten in all this is that if that Moore hadn't supported an egotistic blowhard in 2000 (Nader), we wouldn't have been this fix--'cause, you know, damn Teh Man, and Bush and Gore were soooooo alike.
posted by arkhangel at 12:49 AM on January 8, 2007
If you were to ask many of the members of IVAW when we were going through the Macbeth fiasco, many of us thought the guy was fairly shady and/or seriously disturbed. Many of the people who were buying into what Macbeth was peddling were people who aren't seeking information, but rather, validation of a pre-existing worldview.
I'm not one to get up on a soapbox; when I've been asked to speak, I've spoken far more about what we need to do in terms of caring for Iraq/Afghan War veterans once they return home, than about whether we should have done this or that back in '02 and '03. We're there, and we need not to be there. How do we get to that point? Furthermore, we have to admit that even if we withdraw tomorrow, the end result will not be peace, at least for average Iraqis. There will be bloodshed in the land between the two rivers for years, if not decades, and we are at the least accessories in that.
As for Kos, I'd not describe him as an anti-war activist. I know Kos--can't say I know him well--and if he's an activist about anything, it's about furthering progressive politics. He's anti-Iraq War, but I'd not describe him as an activist.
And please, don't get me started on Michael freakin' Moore. He's an activist about himself. To the degree that he cares about Teh Troops, it's because it allows him to make a larger point about society. His book, Will They Ever Trust Us Again: Letters From The War Zone, features a bigger-than-big hangdog-looking portrait of Moore holding a teeny-tiny folded American flag, folded just like the ones the casualty notification teams carry. Forgotten in all this is that if that Moore hadn't supported an egotistic blowhard in 2000 (Nader), we wouldn't have been this fix--'cause, you know, damn Teh Man, and Bush and Gore were soooooo alike.
posted by arkhangel at 12:49 AM on January 8, 2007
[the fact that there is no best answer to this question is very sad]
Amy Goodman's Democracy Now is a great voice for the peace movement. However, I have found that the show tends to be "cause"-related (East Timor, Leonard Peltier, Palestine, etc.) and can easily lose its focus on a larger global mission.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 5:15 AM on January 8, 2007
Amy Goodman's Democracy Now is a great voice for the peace movement. However, I have found that the show tends to be "cause"-related (East Timor, Leonard Peltier, Palestine, etc.) and can easily lose its focus on a larger global mission.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 5:15 AM on January 8, 2007
Eli Pariser and the 3.3 million members of MoveOn.org have anti-war campaigns among many other progressive issues they focus on.
Move On was also behind the "Vote For Change" concert tour of battleground states during the 2004 Presidential election which featured musicians who could be considered leaders in the anti-war movement - Springsteen, REM, Pearl Jam, Bright Eyes, Dave Matthews Band, Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, etc. - with the war being the focus of many on-stage comments during the concerts.
posted by Jaybo at 5:48 AM on January 8, 2007
Move On was also behind the "Vote For Change" concert tour of battleground states during the 2004 Presidential election which featured musicians who could be considered leaders in the anti-war movement - Springsteen, REM, Pearl Jam, Bright Eyes, Dave Matthews Band, Dixie Chicks, Bonnie Raitt, etc. - with the war being the focus of many on-stage comments during the concerts.
posted by Jaybo at 5:48 AM on January 8, 2007
musicians who could be considered leaders in the anti-war movement - Springsteen
I've been to some post-war Springsteen concerts and he didn't actually say anything anti-war, though he did sing the original version of "Born in the USA" as his was of protesting.
posted by jmd82 at 6:44 AM on January 8, 2007
I've been to some post-war Springsteen concerts and he didn't actually say anything anti-war, though he did sing the original version of "Born in the USA" as his was of protesting.
posted by jmd82 at 6:44 AM on January 8, 2007
You might be interested in this DVD, available from NetFlix. It covers a lot of the people mentioned here, and their attitudes towards the Bush administration and the war in Iraq. Gore Vidal, Pete Seeger, and Desmond Tutu, among others, also make appearances.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:04 AM on January 8, 2007
posted by Deathalicious at 8:04 AM on January 8, 2007
Most of the people suggested so far are activists trying to motivate the political process to end a particular conflict. Is that what you're looking for? I think of peacemakers as people who work on the theory of conflict management and the process of peace, e.g. Roger Fisher and George Mitchell.
And just for fun, here's a peacemaker pop quiz.
posted by equipoise at 8:35 AM on January 8, 2007
And just for fun, here's a peacemaker pop quiz.
posted by equipoise at 8:35 AM on January 8, 2007
Personally, I think Move On, Ariana Huffington, Kos, Atrios and George Soros have more impact than Sheehan and Chomsky, etc..
posted by empath at 12:18 PM on January 8, 2007
posted by empath at 12:18 PM on January 8, 2007
JMD82: I'm not sure how directly anti-war Springsteen is/was but I do know that, at the time of the Vote for Change concerts, he admitted it was the closest he'd gotten to partisan politics in his twenty-five year career, something I think is pretty significant in terms of taking a leadership role.
"I've got 25 year of credibility built up, and this isn't something I've moved into lightly," Springsteen says. "But this is the one where you spend some of that credibility. It's an emergency intervention. We need to get an administration that is more attentive to the needs of all its citizens, that has a saner foreign policy, that is more attentive to environmental concerns."
posted by Jaybo at 1:46 PM on January 8, 2007
"I've got 25 year of credibility built up, and this isn't something I've moved into lightly," Springsteen says. "But this is the one where you spend some of that credibility. It's an emergency intervention. We need to get an administration that is more attentive to the needs of all its citizens, that has a saner foreign policy, that is more attentive to environmental concerns."
posted by Jaybo at 1:46 PM on January 8, 2007
My personal heroes are Reverend Graylan Scott Hagler (featured in this fantastic flash presentation) and Father John Dear. If anyone stood a chance in hell of uniting progressive Christians it would be these two men.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:47 PM on January 8, 2007
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:47 PM on January 8, 2007
Response by poster: Thank you all so much - definitely one of those questions where all the responses I received deserve the "best answer".
posted by extrabox at 6:31 PM on January 8, 2007
posted by extrabox at 6:31 PM on January 8, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rolypolyman at 9:02 PM on January 7, 2007