Suburbs a world away from war (violence in Iraq fails to stir passions)

Suburbs a world away from war
Clayton minister says violence in Iraq fails to stir passions
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, March 18, 2005


The Rev. John Bennison scheduled a peace vigil Saturday in his small church in the Contra Costa town of Clayton because he hadn't heard of anything happening nearby to mark the second anniversary of the Iraq war.

There isn't much to hear about. The antiwar movement's failure to take root in the suburbs is one reason the movement is struggling to redefine itself and gain political power 2 1/2 years after hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to city streets in the run-up to the U.S. invasion.

Antiwar leaders point to a number of reasons for the movement's lack of buzz outside politically "blue" communities. They get little support from the Democratic Party, which is far from unified on whether the United States should pull out of Iraq. Activists wish they had more online backing from MoveOn.org, the Internet hub that galvanized antiwar support in 2003 but has since taken up other issues.

And the White House has blunted criticism by pointing to recent democratic uprisings in the Middle East as evidence that the underpinnings for the U.S. invasion were on the mark.

more...
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/18/MNGSSBRF7N1.DTL

When their own kids start coming home in body bags, or without all their parts, it will start to take root in the burbs.

:kick::kick::kick: