Anti War Protest

I watched some of the coverage on TV today. I saw more people shopping at Wal Mart in Norton than at this protest in DC. The crowd looked to be made up of aging hippies (odds are they were smelly) and teenagers. I also noticed as the crowd disbanded what a mess they left. From the TV and pictures I have viewed the Gathering of Eagles crowd was as large. I really enjoyed the speech from the Socialist party rep as she blamed the war on capitalism. So there we have it, teenagers, socialists, and aging hippies making a mess. Interesting quotes:

"I'm not sure I'm in support of the war," said William "Skip" Publicover of Charleston, S.C., who was a swift boat gunner in Vietnam and lost two friends whose names are etched on the memorial's wall. "I learned in Vietnam that it's difficult if not impossible to win the hearts and minds of the people."

But Larry Stimeling, 57, a Vietnam veteran from Morton, Ill., said the loss of public support for the Iraq war mirrors what happened in Vietnam and leaves troops without the backing they need. "We didn't lose the war in Vietnam, we lost it right here on this same ground," he said, pointing to the grass on the National Mall. "It's the same thing now."

Henry Sowell, 22, Raleigh N.C., who fought with the Marines in Iraq in 2005, asserted that anti-war protesters were "taking away what my buddies died for and what I fought for."

Very True. Where was Jane Fonda?

Update-I have to add this from MyWay News

Police no longer give official estimates but said privately that perhaps 10,000 to 20,000 anti-war demonstrators marched, with a smaller but still sizable number of counter protesters also out in force. An hour into the three-hour Pentagon rally, with the temperature near freezing, protesters had peeled away to a point where fewer than 1,000 were left.

That is what I call believing in your cause! Reports are coming in! Citizen Tom has this posted- "Disregard what you might hear on the main media. It was not a large crowd, but they were noisy. What they did not expect by any means is the we Vietnam Vets would have them outnumbered and surrounded! Not one of them got the WALL which was one of their objectives."

Andrew Clem has his report here.

STD has his First Post Up.

Swac Girl has this with more to come.

Technorati : Anti War Protest, Iraq War, War, War on Terror

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