5th Year In Protest Thread

Chicopee, MA (AP) -- Eight anti-war activists, including several senior citizens, face charges after Chicopee police say they blocked a gate at Westover Air Reserve Base.

The arrests early Wednesday come as protesters held rallies and vigils in Massachusetts and nationwide to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Five people were arrested Wednesday for blocking the front door of a federal courthouse during a protest to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Police arrested more than 30 people who blocked entrances at the Internal Revenue Service building Wednesday morning, part of a day of protests to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Demonstrators converged in big cities like Miami and San Francisco, and smaller towns in Vermont and Ohio, among others, to add their voices to a call to end the war.

A marching band led protesters down the street near the National Mall and around the IRS building before about 100 gathered at the main entrance. As police began the arrests, some protesters shouted "This is a crime scene" and "You're arresting the wrong people."

Shalome said:
How's that protest thing working out for you?

Making any progress on stopping the war yet?

FondleMyBalzac said:
I told my mom that today was the 5th Year Anniversary, and she said, "what war?"

Outrage Fatigue.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Nearly 300 anti-war activists marched, drummed and chanted their way through the streets of downtown Saturday, calling for the end of the 5-year-old war in Iraq and dodging police cruisers trying to keep them on the sidewalk.

Along the way, two protesters were arrested and are awaiting arraignment on charges of willfully obstructing a public road.

OneWithAll said:

maybe she was trying to be funny, by saying "which war?"

s5 said:

As part of the unit often referred to as the 1st Suicide Battalion, [Reyes] traveled from the Kuwait border, to Baghdad, then north into the Sunni triangle. After that operation was complete, he returned to Fallujah, where he conducted reconnaissance and surveillance.

"Us Latin guys, we dressed as Pakistanis or contractors and we grew long hair %u2026 it took me a long time to grow a beard. I had to just start with the goatee, cause I'm kind of a hairless Mexican," he said. "We would turn the tables in a matter of milliseconds, shoot and engage and kill in the street without any civilian casualties."

Reyes, who served twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan, eventually opted to leave the Marines.

"I started hating the fact that we're not helping anybody over there %u2026 I wanted to fight people and engage and kill people who are oppressing others, right? It's quite sobering when you look in the mirror and you're like, 'Oh I guess I'm kind of that person too.'"

Shalome said:
How's that protest thing working out for you?

Making any progress on stopping the war yet?

Shiny_Metal_Ass said:

Guess we should all stay at home and do nothing then, eh?

Shalome said:

Did I say the only options were "march around with a silly sign" and "sit at home doing nothing?"

By all means, if it makes you feel better to walk around yelling and waving signs to "raise awareness" that we've been fighting a ridiculous war for 5 years, please, continue to do so. I just hope you're doing other things like writing elected officials and voting, too.

PointBlank said:

How's that "writing elected officials" thing going?

Making any progress on stopping the war yet?

Shalome said:

Did I say the only options were "march around with a silly sign" and "sit at home doing nothing?"

By all means, if it makes you feel better to walk around yelling and waving signs to "raise awareness" that we've been fighting a ridiculous war for 5 years, please, continue to do so. I just hope you're doing other things like writing elected officials and voting, too.

PointBlank said:
ha!

I just think that protests might not have actually brought about the end of the war (clearly). But seeing massive amounts of people in the street especially when the war was extremely popular did give the backbone-less Democrats a visual cue that there were a TON of people against a fraudulent, needless war and forced them to swing away from simply "yes boss"-ing the administration which, in turn, helped them win an election.

Shalome said:

Did I say the only options were "march around with a silly sign" and "sit at home doing nothing?"

By all means, if it makes you feel better to walk around yelling and waving signs to "raise awareness" that we've been fighting a ridiculous war for 5 years, please, continue to do so. I just hope you're doing other things like writing elected officials and voting, too.

InnocentSid said:
So anyway, any hope in hell we'll ever get out of there no matter what we do? I am convinced that as long as the powerful make bundles of money out of war and it doesn't come for them and theirs, it will continue. I am tired!

bald_eagle said:

There was a plan?

ShadowDrgn said:
Heres what i know, which isnt alot, maybe we shouldnt have gone there in the first place, But we are there, and my best friend who's a Sgt in the army (reinlisted recently), who served in Iraq when this first all started, even says we cant just pack up and walk way from it now, more innocent people would die, and im sure there are still some dying now, but if we were to just pack up and leave it would fall into WORSE chaos than it is now, this is coming from a Sgt from the 3rd mechanized infantry who spent a year and a half (the first year in a half) knows we cant just pack up and go home and think everything will be alright.

i think personally its basicly saying weather we should have or shouldnt have is irrelevant, We need to stay and clean up our mess, it would be irresponsible to just pack up leave something we started.

But the people who got us there can't get a free pass.