I remember when my father and I marched in the anti-war march in San Francisco, Feb 16th. The seemingly lone pro-war viewpoint came from a plane that flew twice overhead, trailing a banner with pro-war slogans. On the first flyover the banner said "Saddam gasses his own people". On that one, well, maybe, maybe not. The second said that "Iraqis says the protesters betray them". That second one seemed strange to me. That Iraqis might want regime change is not surprising. But the idea that they would actually want war, in which they would surely be caught in the middle, caused me to doubt the truth of the banner. After that, I heard of the Where is Raed blog. In Sunday's article Raed states what should be obvious to us. The people of Iraq do not want to have the world "bomb us to democracy". It's a good read, and to hear an Iraqi viewpoint is very refreshing.
On further reflection, that plane above the protest was such a good symbol for what is happening. While tens or hundreds of thousands were marching on their own two feet below, one person with enough money for a plane stated their right-wing message. It reminds me of how much more money the Republicans have. It reminds me of the superior technology of the US, who intends to impose its will on the rest of the world, protesters be damned. It reminds me that no matter how many people are on the ground protesting, the Republicans can use their money and their corporate connections to get their message out. And from the looks of things now, it seems like none of it mattered. Those in power in the US, the UK, and Spain are, like the plane, on a different level of existence. The will of the people mean nothing to them, and they fly above, pursuing their goals, where nothing can affect them.
Posted by ahyatt at March 17, 2003 10:08 AM | TrackBack