We'd better watch out for the San Fransissies
sfgate.com
EDITORIAL
Seeds of a movement
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
THE VIETNAM War established the Bay Area as one of the great centers of anti-war protests. Now it is at the center of a burgeoning mobilization against a war that hasn't even started.
Between 42,000 and 80,000 people (depending on whose estimates you trust) turned out in San Francisco on Saturday to protest the Bush administration's plans for Iraq. As many observers noted, nothing like it had been seen since the anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1960s.
But there are intriguing differences between Saturday's protests and those against the Vietnam War.
By the time protests against the Vietnam War reached anything close to Saturday's size, the United States was already knee-deep in Vietnam. The war --
and the president waging it -- were deeply unpopular. By contrast, most Americans support President Bush, and his plans for a possible Iraqi invasion.
In the 1960s, young people were in part motivated by the prospect that they might be drafted. By contrast, large numbers of young people showed up in San Francisco -- and to an even bigger demonstration in Washington, D.C. -- without facing such a threat.
The Vietnam-era protesters grew up in the shadow of the civil rights movement, and were shocked into awareness by traumas such as the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Today's young have not gone through anything comparable.
Another big difference is that protests against the Vietnam War were largely confined to the United States. Today's protests are being replicated in dozens of cities around the world.
All this suggests that last weekend's mobilization could evolve into a potent national -- and international -- movement. Much will depend on whether the United States invades Iraq, and how long it stays there. Whatever happens, watch for the Bay Area to be at the center of the action. |
