THE HALT, THE LAME, AND THE BRAIN DEAD:

Geriatric war resisters (Zev Chafets, Oct. 14, 2002, Jewish World Review)

A week ago today, they gathered in Central Park to rally against the war, carrying "Imagine" signs and reminiscing about the days when scoring a joint meant getting high, not having a hip replacement. They came to hear NBC's Martin Sheen, Tim Robbins and outgoing Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.).

The rally was put together by the Not In Our Name Project, a coalition of superannuated Maoists, anarchists, Saddamites, Starbucks-resisters, anti-imperialists and the robotic followers of Ramsey Clark. One of the rally's chief organizers was Mary Lou Greenberg of the Revolutionary Communist Party.

A few days before the rally, Not In Our Name published an anti-war petition. Its signatories included Vietnam vets (stateside division) Tom Hayden, Angela Davis, Daniel Ellsberg, Philip Berrigan and Gloria Steinem. This is the wrinkled face of resistance 2002. Today's Jane Fonda is Jane Fonda.

Meanwhile, the younger folk who show up at these things are the same dreadlocked vegans who show up to protest the World Trade Organization and stuff like that. They don't care about this particular war either; they just oppose the West. If Iraq didn't exist, these protestors would have had to invent it. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 14, 2002 6:38 AM