He said replacing our current economic system with one based on people's
needs instead of profit would "get rid of the antagonism which lies at
the heart of the war."
A paper mache skull the size of a big screen TV wearing a cardboard top-hat with long white hair and a white goatee was the carnivalesque
rendering of Uncle Sam that one protester, Juan Hernandez, held high in
the air with a long pole.
"The United States is an evil, murderous, cowardly country. We're no
different than the Nazis," Hernandez said. Like some of the other
protesters against the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hernandez
advocated revolution, but he said "there's not going to be one until our
dumb brothers are educated. I shouldn't say 'dumb' because they are
brainwashed."
According to Hernandez, proponents of a socialist revolution in the
United States would not be the ones causing violence. "The violence is
going to come from the capitalist pigs. But today, the people that want
to make socialism, they don't need violence anymore. If you look at
South America, they're being voted in. Why are they being voted in ?
Because the people are being educated first, as to what's going on."
Hernandez gave Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Uruguay as
examples of countries where non-violent socialist revolution is taking
place. "They just voted in an ex-guerrilla. That's the new path. But of
course there's going to be violence from the capitalist pigs...But we
don't need that anymore. All we have to do is educate our fellow
citizens."
Hernandez, a US citizen who lives in Harlem, described himself as
homeless and said he will soon return to his job as an electrician after
being unemployed for two years.
Another protester, Brandon Collins, from Charlottesville, Virginia, did
not use the word, "revolution," but favors intensifying protests against
the wars.
"I think we need to present a real threat. Dealing with things like
permits is a bad move," Collins said. "I think we need to go outside of the comfort
zone. They like to say free speech and democracy is working. But,
obviously, democracy is not working. So, we need to find ways free
speech can be made without being told where and when to protest, and
present an actual threat to the ruling class.
"Some of those things are occupying our workplaces, a general strike.
Things like that... Just being told that democracy's somehow working
when we all show up here and demand an end to the wars -- and we've been
doing this for a long time and nothing's changed. It's gotten
worse. So we got to find a better way to deal with this."
Collins said activists fighting against the wars should not walk on
eggshells out of fearing a backlash from governments or the corporations
that heavily influence them. According to Collins, our country and the
world will be worse off if people don't engage in a mass movement of
resistance to reign in militarism and imperialism.
"We need to rock the boat," he said. "That's the plan. That's what needs to happen
or nothing's going to happen. We need to present a real threat to the
ruling class, so they'll take us seriously and be scared and make some
changes."
needs instead of profit would "get rid of the antagonism which lies at
the heart of the war."
A paper mache skull the size of a big screen TV wearing a cardboard top-hat with long white hair and a white goatee was the carnivalesque
rendering of Uncle Sam that one protester, Juan Hernandez, held high in
the air with a long pole.
"The United States is an evil, murderous, cowardly country. We're no
different than the Nazis," Hernandez said. Like some of the other
protesters against the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Hernandez
advocated revolution, but he said "there's not going to be one until our
dumb brothers are educated. I shouldn't say 'dumb' because they are
brainwashed."
According to Hernandez, proponents of a socialist revolution in the
United States would not be the ones causing violence. "The violence is
going to come from the capitalist pigs. But today, the people that want
to make socialism, they don't need violence anymore. If you look at
South America, they're being voted in. Why are they being voted in ?
Because the people are being educated first, as to what's going on."
Hernandez gave Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Uruguay as
examples of countries where non-violent socialist revolution is taking
place. "They just voted in an ex-guerrilla. That's the new path. But of
course there's going to be violence from the capitalist pigs...But we
don't need that anymore. All we have to do is educate our fellow
citizens."
Hernandez, a US citizen who lives in Harlem, described himself as
homeless and said he will soon return to his job as an electrician after
being unemployed for two years.
Another protester, Brandon Collins, from Charlottesville, Virginia, did
not use the word, "revolution," but favors intensifying protests against
the wars.
"I think we need to present a real threat. Dealing with things like
permits is a bad move," Collins said. "I think we need to go outside of the comfort
zone. They like to say free speech and democracy is working. But,
obviously, democracy is not working. So, we need to find ways free
speech can be made without being told where and when to protest, and
present an actual threat to the ruling class.
"Some of those things are occupying our workplaces, a general strike.
Things like that... Just being told that democracy's somehow working
when we all show up here and demand an end to the wars -- and we've been
doing this for a long time and nothing's changed. It's gotten
worse. So we got to find a better way to deal with this."
Collins said activists fighting against the wars should not walk on
eggshells out of fearing a backlash from governments or the corporations
that heavily influence them. According to Collins, our country and the
world will be worse off if people don't engage in a mass movement of
resistance to reign in militarism and imperialism.
"We need to rock the boat," he said. "That's the plan. That's what needs to happen
or nothing's going to happen. We need to present a real threat to the
ruling class, so they'll take us seriously and be scared and make some
changes."
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