We walk the peace path

On September 11, I drove up and down the 9 miles from mid-town Baltimore to the Beltway that rings the city. “Women in Black” had sent out the call for a “peace path” to “honor the memory of September 11th.” I am not sure what that means, but I do know that as I headed home I felt depressed.

The first of these peace paths was organized in 2001. It was the largest demonstration in town that most of us could remember. It was exciting. It involved people lining Charles Street, a busy north-south street that runs from the downtown Harbor Place to the Beltway. Participants hold signs such as “Bring the troops home” and “Bush Lied” appropriate to a polite middle class demonstration. That first peace path mobilized close to one thousand people. They came mainly from churches and schools, and most people stood in front of their institution. Others from neighborhoods mainly east of Charles Street, walked over and occupied street corners. One of the striking aspects of that event was the age and diversity of the participants. I recall interviewing people from two groups who stood within twenty feet of each other. The one, a punk musical “ensemble” appropriately dressed in torn and safety-pinned clothing; the other, parishioners of a Lutheran Church dressed staidly in business attire.

This time around I would guess there were only about 300 participants, and did not get that sense of diversity. At both times, however, the peace path was lined by whites. The separation of black and white is an issue that haunts all peace and anti-war activities in Baltimore despite the fact that this is a majority black city.

There was something different: the American flag. I can’t recall seeing so many flags at a demonstration. People were waving flags and waving stop the war signs as if there was no contradiction. Frankly, I am worried about “patriotism.” It is the first step towards ethnocentrism.

I think that it is important for those of us in the political opposition–in this case in opposition to U.S. policy in the Middle East and to its pursuits of the elusive “terrorist”-- to take part in demonstrations. I believe, however, that we need to be creative in expressing our opposition. We need to remember, too, that we can’t rely on the establishment news media to report on what we do. Witness The Sun. Its typical report is a photo with a brief caption in the Maryland section. In case you missed it, see Tuesday’s page 2b and note that the picture features a person from Harford County and says virtually nothing about the peace path. Of course, there should have been a story on the IndyMedia website. Actually, there should have been three: a future story announcing its coming, a story covering the event, and a story/analysis of what happened and why.

About three months ago I met one of the organizers. She asked if I would do a story about the event coming. And I replied that what we really want at IndyMedia is for people to do their own story. I told her, as I tell everyone, that we don’t have the people power to cover all the events and issues that should be covered. More important, and I try not to get shrill, I remind people that we are a participatory news group. We will edit, polish, and upload your stories if you want. Otherwise we are menu-driven so that only rudimentary skills are required for your uploading your own article to our news wire. Our website has a calendar for your self-listing and features a gateway to a national radical calendar.

There is more than good media coverage, of course. For any demonstration there needs to be a solid explanatory leaflet. As people walk by or cars stop at traffic lights, there should be a flyer telling people who we are and why we are here. Political protestors too often assume that what they are doing is obvious or even clear. I also want a good demonstration to have a planned follow-up. What better time to involve people than when the have already taken that first step. We grow step by step.

Demonstrations are often satisfying, sometimes even exciting to its participants. That’s good. We need to constantly fight burn-out and build solidarity. Too often, though, we confuse the experience and our own satisfaction with being effective. The big question: What constitutes an effective political action?