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anti-press ezine 2005 08 31
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"We're Positive About The Negative"
This E-dition filed 08/31/05 from NENYland (pronounced nee-nee-land),
the northeastern corner of New York State (i.e. the hinterlands). Our
Precision Reality Center, located in Plattsburgh -- The Fake City --
features Bull Tracker 9000. More details at the end of this E-dition.
(C) Copyright 2005 Anti-Press
* Sisypheans Versus The Boulder Of War: Notes on a meeting of anti-war
activists *
By Stan Spire
FUCK BUSH
Not a particularly nice thing to say about the president of these
Dis-United States. But the button, proudly pinned on her blouse, was
appropriate for the occasion. She was the one who had told me about the
meeting this evening, a documentary on the Downing Street Memo followed
by discussion. It was an opportunity, she pointed out earlier, to meet
like-minded people.
In some ways I'm an unlike-minded individual. Right from the beginning
I said the Iraq War was a mistake; it's not surprising that it's turned
into Vietnam II. I'm usually ahead of the curve, especially one that
drops into an abyss.
I decided to check out the gathering, see what was going on, maybe even
write about it. I left with all sorts of impressions but I couldn't
force them into any sort of coherent article. Three attempts at an
essay: no go. I was trying to act like a traditional journalist,
forcing the material to adapt to a particular form. I always like to
violate rules, especially the one a high school English teacher used to
berate my style: Don't use "I" when writing an essay. Really. I say
"Screw it" to that rule and all the others. Here are my mental notes
instead.
--- The documentary, "The Downing Street Basement Tapes," was shown
using the latest tech: DVD projected onto a screen. No noisy movie
projector cranking away like in the days of teach-ins, the Vietnam War
era, the late 1960s-early 1970s. No hassles with loading the reels or
the film breaking or the bulb burning out. The DVD played quietly,
flawlessly, with a push of a button on a small remote control.
Technology evolves; humanity doesn't.
--- The first part of the documentary presented the highlights of a
public hearing about the Downing Street Memo held in a basement room in
the capitol building (ergo, the reference in the title). The people at
this hearing wanted an investigation into the matter; it seemed that
President Shrub might have committed an impeachable offense. The second
part showed a gathering at the White House demanding action. While the
comments were reasoned during the hearing, the demonstration later
offered some hyperbole and speechifying, e.g. "This is the most
important day in history," "We're going to take back our government!,"
whatever. Speechifying is what got this country into the Iraq mess.
--- A lot of important points were made during the documentary. But
what spoke to me the most was the anguished look on Cindy Sheehan's
face. While she sat quietly in the background, waiting for her turn to
make a statement, you couldn't help but feel empathy with her.
--- During the discussion afterwards, someone mentioned there was only
one person in the room who wasn't born during the Vietnam War; the
average age in the room was 50. I had also notied the evident amount of
gray and white hair. Then again, I had thought, unlike the 1960s,
there's no active draft -- so far.
--- While everyone in the room was like-minded, they weren't
same-minded. There were a variety of opinions on how to advocate for an
end to the war. One person said that there shouldn't be any discussion
of how many soldiers have died. He explained that the other side uses
that against you because they imply you don't have any respect for the
sacrifice the fallen soldiers have made. I didn't agree with him -- but
I didn't say anything. (Didn't want to end up speechifying.) After
all, it's the pro-war crowd using that same insane illogic from Vietnam
I: If we leave now, then the ones who have died will have died in vain.
As if Vietnam I or II could ever be considered winnable.
--- Another person said that he wondered if protesting made a
difference. In his younger years he went to DC to demonstrate against
Vietnam I. He marched in the street, shouted some slogans, and later on
got stoned (as in dope, not hurled rocks). That didn't seem to make a
difference. What changed everything was Daniel Ellsberg leaking the
Pentagon papers. Another person pointed out that maybe all the
demonstrations in the streets motivated Ellsberg to reveal the true
story being kept from the public.
--- Someone repeated a line from the movie: "It's time to take back our
government." Was it ever ours to begin with?
-- The documentary and discussion backed up one of my own lines: "Those
who don't learn from Vietnam are doomed to repeat it."
--- The moderator said that there were different ways that people could
show their opposition to the war. She gestured at a table where some
printed matter was arrayed. One item was a petition form she hoped
volunteers would fill up with signatures to send to their local
representatives. I respect her POV. But when it comes to the pragmatic
expression of the will of the people, I think we might look at French
history for a possibly better method: the guillotine.
* Letters To Other Editors *
This department tracks the opinions of the public at large as expressed
in letter columns published in lamestream newspapers.
> A recently published cartoon has perverted the minds of young
children.
So stated an upset reader to the Peeburgh (news)paper. The cartoon
strip in question, "For Better Or For Worse," showed a woman being
cornered by a stalker. The reader stated that the artist portrayed the
attempted rape in graphic detail; little was left to the viewer's
imagination.
Really? No clothes were torn off, no breasts were exposed, there
wasn't even a glimpse of a swollen male member trying to rip free from
its pants prison. A friend rescued the woman before anything really
happened. So which cartoon did this reader see? One wonders.
The disgusted reader wanted the comic strip permanently removed from the
newspaper. Maybe the next time he has another hallucination, he'll
declare that "Blondie" is too racy and demand that all the women
depicted in it should wear burques.
> God is about to judge mankind; Doomsday is at hand. Why? Legal
abortions!
It's rare for a week to go by without such a letter appearing in the
paper. Sometimes the letter writer will include the details of a tiny
fetus screaming as it's sucked apart by a tube. The way they refer
to the great numbers of babies that have been "torn from the womb,"
one would think God would've smote our collective ass by now.
These blessed ranters think that only God should perform abortions. Of
course, when He does it, it's called a miscarriage.
> People should be treated to the celebrities they deserve.
That was the theme of a letter sent in from a small town huddled in the
wilds of NENYland. The letter writer claimed he had been told that
actress Jennifer Aniston was going to appear at the local Fourth of July
parade. The writer expected her to be there and, implying that his
missive wasn't a joke, he stated he was serious. He camped out for
two hours in the hot sun with nothing but ice cream to sustain himself.
But Ms. Aniston never showed up to lead the parade.
Jennifer -- how could you?
=============================================================
NOTICE: Unless indicated otherwise, all articles by Anti-Press.
Articles submitted by others do not necessarily express or reflect the
opinions or beliefs of Anti-Press.
WHERE WE'RE AT: Anti-Press Ezine radiates from our Precision Reality
Center. We're presently entrapped in the alleged city of Plattsburgh,
northeastern New York State (NENYland), USA. ("But the war in Iraq
isn't like the Vietnam War. Vietnam was fought in a jungle.")
EMAIL: Antipress1@aol.com
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