User:David Schaich/Profiteers report
From SP Boston
The Stop the Wars Coalition's March Against the War Profiteers on Saturday 18 November 2006 went well, though the crowd was relatively small and largely made up of the "usual suspects". We had about 200 people attending the rally and concert on the Common from noon to 1:30, of whom 100-150 came along for the march through Downtown Crossing and past the Boston offices of Bechtel, Verizon and Putnam Investments.
There were also, of course, many people passing through the Common and large crowds in Downtown Crossing who got to check us out -- I saw many of those in Downtown Crossing applauding or chanting along with the marchers, others trying to pick their jaws off the sidewalk.
We didn't have the SP Mass banner, but we did have some SP USA posterboard that we put to good use. We produced a short statement on the war and the war profiteers, and handed out several dozen copies. We also handed out a few copies of The Socialist and our Statement of Principles and had good conversations with a number of other activists.
The Stop the Wars Coalition had been planning this action for some time, but it seemed things didn't quite come together in the end. The crowd was smaller than they were hoping for (certainly compared to last year's 3000), and some of the bands apparently didn't pan out. I know from my attendance at the planning meetings that they wanted the concert on the rally to be mostly bands, with only a couple of speakers, but on Saturday the organizers were going around inviting folks to speak, which puzzled me.
There were several factors contributing to the low turnout. First of all, the level of energy and activism in general declined after the elections (and just before Thanksgiving). The larger organization United for Peace with Justice only endorsed the event about ten days ahead of time and didn't make a big effort to turn out a crowd. Finally, the choice of targeting war profiteers probably didn't excite as many people as protesting the war itself, as we will in January and March.
The rally and march were followed by an indoor planning meeting to start organizing for those demonstrations in January and March. Currently a national demonstration in Washington D.C. is being planned for 27 January, the day the new Democrat-controlled Congress will start its session. The goal is to remind the Democrats that they were brought into office to stop the war, and pressure them to get on with it. In March local demonstrations are being planned to mark the fourth anniversary of the 2003 invasion and call for, once again, troops out now.
Unfortunately, the planning meeting seemed poorly organized, and the hour for which I stayed was more like an open-mic session than anything else. This was odd, since at a previous planning meeting I attended, the Stop the Wars folks had emphasized the importance of keeping the meeting running smoothly, and had even agreed to approach Grace Ross (and some others) to see if they could get a strong, dynamic chair. Clearly that didn't work out, and the meeting was the poorer for it.
Statement
Stop the War -- Stop the War Profiteers
A statement of the Socialist Party of Boston
The Socialist Party USA opposed the invasion of Iraq from the start, and we continue to demand the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq. The had no legitimate reason for invading and it has no legitimate reason to remain there.
The invasion of Iraq was not a mistake, or an error based on faulty intelligence. It was the logical consequence of a foreign policy designed to ensure that U.S.-based corporations control vital resources and that the U.S. military dominates key regions throughout the world. The U.S. is in Iraq to control its vast petroleum deposits and to solidify its control over the Middle Eastern region.
After years of occupation and chaotic violence, it is critical that we maintain popular pressure for a total withdrawal of all military and intelligence units. Yet we also need to expand our horizon beyond Iraq. The Socialist Party stands for a drastic reduction in the military budget, beginning with an immediate reduction of 50%. The hundreds of billions of dollars currently wasted on weapons of destruction need to be reallocated for schools, hospitals, mass transit and low-cost housing. We also call for the return of all soldiers from overseas and the closing of military bases around the world. U.S. imperialism benefits the corporate elite and not working people either here or abroad.
U.S. military force is the glue that holds together a world that is being torn apart by global capitalism. As the gap between the rich and the poor widens under the impact of an integrated world economy, divisions between social classes, regions, countries and ethnic groups are accentuated. Ultimately, the creation of a foreign policy that is not based on bolstering the empire will require a new society, a democratic socialist society based on decentralization, cooperation and equality. The tasks are enormous, but the need for change is imperative.
The Socialist Party of Boston is the Boston-area local of the Socialist Party USA, a democratic socialist, feminist, anti-racist party, that strives to establish a radical democracy that places people's lives under their own control.
- Socialist Party of Boston
- PO Box 15342
- Boston, MA 02215
- www.spboston.org
- spboston (at) spboston (dot) org
(This is a modified and updated version of the International Commission statement, "US Out of Iraq Now", 27 November 2005.)