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Nancy Oden's avatar

Caitlin - I watched the entire demonstration all day on the Internet from the relative comfort of my old, cold farmhouse on the North Coast of Maine. I follow Jimmy Dore, Max Blumenthal, Chris Hedges, et al - these people are not liberals, they are part of the remnants of the Real Left in this country.

The Rally was a success, an early beginning of erosion of support for the war in Ukraine, and the crowd - some thousands - included a large number of people from the Right. Ron Paul supporters.

We NEED a broad coalition, says this 1960's-70's and onward antiwar activist. Do you think we should not have had the demonstration? Why are you so critical of this initial effort to organize against the war? What else do you think we ought to do?

I believe we need to organize much larger coalitions and demonstrations until we do what we did in the early 70's - finally get the USA to end support for the war in Ukraine and, hopefully, all the other wars the USA is part of.

Again, why so critical? We don't think we're going to get rid of capitalism by demonstrating against the war - please give us what you think ought to be done...I'd be very interested, seriously.

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Stephen Walker's avatar

If you had followed the link in Caitlin's essay, you would have seen that the rally she highlighted is NOT the one you watched (which I assume was the Rage Against the War Machine rally based on the speakers you mentioned).

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MaryJane's avatar

It was not obvious to me, either. However, agree with everything else said. Yeah, and rantings about the "imperialist ambitions of Putin" by the mainstream media... they learned the tactics of "accusing others of what you do yourself". Quite effective, I should say

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Chilblain Edward Olmos's avatar

Projection is the name of the game.

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Duane McPherson's avatar

Caitlin did not make that clear in her essay. I should not be required to follow hyperlinks to understand what is being said on the page in front of me.

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Third-Eye Roll's avatar

I was also misled by her comments, wondering if Caitlin was taking a turn toward the Dark Side by ignoring the REAL leftists who'd spoken at the RATWM rally. I wasn't even aware of this other rally, where the privileged pro-establishment liberals who spoke there don't hide their warmongering, which shows just how popular it wasn't (only hundreds attended).

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Landru's avatar

Caitlin does make us think. The topic is mind bending so............ : )

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Jeano's avatar

Hahahahahahahaha. No you shouldn’t be required to do anything, you poor guy. Mama fix.

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Carol Diane Bevis's avatar

I thought it was clear... the photo shows a Ukrainian flag being waved and she starts off writing about the one year "celebration" of war.

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Magali's avatar

It was abundantly clear.

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Jeano's avatar

Why so critical? Why so blindly accepting if this kabuki theater? Read Jacquline Luqman of Black Agenda Report. That will give you an idea of what you fell for in your nice farmhouse far from the madding crowd.

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Nancy Oden's avatar

Well, I Googled the black agenda report, etc. and got lots of hits but I may have been blocked because none of them will open. In one link I see the phrase "latte antiwar activists" or something similar. this is just egregious slandering. I'm a hard-working organic farmer with gardens and animals who burns wood for heat and I'm 84 years old. No easy life here. No lattes up here, either.

Can we not forget the intense dislike of black or white to work together to solve Earth's worst problems? There's climate discordance, wars which might lead to all of us being toast, poisoning of Earth by so many toxic spills and harmful products, and more.

To not have the strength and intelligence to put aside, even for occasional meetings or demonstrations, our differences is what makes the powers that be very happy. They like it when you express hatred for white people or vice versa. It's simply not in our interests to keep this up.

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Feb 28, 2023Edited
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Jeano's avatar

When did the battle of the sexes end?

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Feb 26, 2023Edited
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Jeano's avatar

This is lovely Zach. Your battle with toxic masculinity does you proud. I don’t know how to battle it in toxic, patriarchal women of which there are many. But I do know how to watch for it in myself, because I’m just as liable to that infection as any ‘Murican. Sometimes I hear it in the things I dash off and post. What is wonderful is that I’m allowed to do that by this site—for which I give CAitlIn all credit—and once in a while the pushback or response is very enlightening. As yours is. Thank you. Blessed be.

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Feb 26, 2023Edited
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Carol Diane Bevis's avatar

Live by the sword, die by the sword. Of course that is your choice. I think war is evil and civil war an even deeper level of evil. We need balance between our masculine and feminine natures. The last few thousand years of patriarchy have been bent on aggression, abuse, domination, theft and violence. The world will only change when people change and get in touch with their feminine sides and heal. In other words coming to know, be, love and trust themselves. Love all. Peace.

Written history during patriarchy glorifies violence. Hollywood glorifies violence.

Love is more powerful.

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Doris Wrench Eisler's avatar

I agree, but the softer nature, quite natural to all of us, has been deliberately snuffed out in men, to a great degree. Men are more useful in war if they can suppress their softer, more empathetic and reasonable natures. But nature itself isn't an idiot, and doesn't discriminate.

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Contrarian 33's avatar

Your comments, both Doris and Carol making a clear distinction between the natures of men and women is absolutely correct but sadly, in 2023, it has lost some of its impact based on some of the women running the US today. One doesn't have to identify them and there are so many, as many of them line up behind the likes of the evil Hilary Clinton. Who knows why? Yes, we did see an example earlier this week from Pelosi and her praise for Bush, the man who lied to the world and who was directly responsible for half a million children dying in Iraq.

An error in judgement?

I am not able to ever forgive anyone for such a crime but obviously a women was able to do that in a very public way. Yes, a woman. One has to admit that there are so many like her, as they continue to increasingly populate the houses of government in America. They obviously find it easier to join the men rather than to take a stance for truth and humanity.

In other countries, the rise of women in politics and other places of importance is noticeably on the increase and as a male, familiar more so with a male dominated world for most of my life, I, for one, couldn't be more pleased.

But the danger is, in my reckoning, that the climate today is such that the really outspoken women are cautious, are few in number, and seem to take refuge in eventually "going along with the majority" ( i.e. the males), as we see every day in Washington. If they continue to fly a flag for peace, they don't last long and there are so many examples of that. Bucking the system tales courage in today's climate.

But Pelosi? How can she justify that comment? What must children think who are of an age to understand her words and know the disgraceful history of the war in Iraq, built on a lie by the man she so soundly praised from the rooftops.

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Feb 26, 2023
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unwarranted's avatar

Your language suggests that you have total confidence in the Constitution to render a society that you find just. And as I read that document, I conclude that justice, by anybody’s definition, is not the purpose or mandate for which it was drawn up. It is a blueprint for a capitalist economy and its attendant laws. The men who wrote it all had property, and strong misgivings about according legal protections to those who didn’t.

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CarbonCopy's avatar

I have said the same for many years in regards to the Criminal Elite Making laws against us. There is still a major flaw in this "militant" mindset in that if these Mass Murdering Sociopaths feel in the least threatened there will quickly be Marshall Law and I can guarantee our military will comply. I am a Veteran and like all veterans and even these parasites have taken an oath to defend this country against the very corrupt government we have. But look how many of us are in the fray against them. I would be right there with you in every way if it could be done.

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Feb 26, 2023
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CarbonCopy's avatar

Well you give me some hope since I have been to long exposed to the sheep. I know very well that the same old routine will never work against the form of corruption we are up against and this is what can be so disheartening that there doesn't seem to be a viable way to take them out. I can't walk very far as an old disabled Vietnam vet but point me in the right direction and I will be there!

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CarbonCopy's avatar

One little add on... I have read the "Declaration of Independence" and I am a firm believer that is the place to start from.

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Carol Diane Bevis's avatar

We do not form "a more perfect union" by tearing apart the people. United we stand.

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Feb 26, 2023
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CarbonCopy's avatar

That is what I hear so often "we can't change the constitution because"... Well I say why not especially when it has been used against us and outright ignored when it suits the Criminal Elite. So why isn't it completely right for We The People to change it to the betterment of We The People!?

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