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As the war in Afghanistan enters its eighth year, more Canadians oppose the war than at any time since the country entered the conflict in 2002 (according to polls). Last Saturday, several hundred protesters gathered in Queen's Park to send Stephen Harper a message: bring the troops home. The protest was part of a pan-Canadian day of action organized by The Canadian Peace Alliance. Protests took place in sixteen cities across the country.
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Ah yes, the capitulationist-isolationist left. I'd like to hear one of the protesters explain why Afghanistan would be better off under Taliban rule than with the nascent democratic government that Canada is now defending. Do they not remember the 1990s when the Taliban actually ruled the country? Women murdered for trying to get an education, the country deliberately impoverished by medieval-minded rulers, priceless statues destroyed to satisfy religious fanaticism.
I'm especially touched by the man carrying the banner "Fund education not occupation." He must care little for the notion of universal human rights if he's willing to argue that Canadian children deserve education but Afghan children don't. And if he wants to argue that the NATO forces in Afghanistan are behaving imperfectly, well, does he expect things will be better for Afghans if they leave?
As to the protesters' seething isolationism (Spend money at home, not abroad!), I'd like to hear a coherent case for the idea that the world's problems would all disappear if only we kept to ourselves.
"Orwell turns in his grave": Yes, at the ignorance of the man carrying that sign. Try reading some Orwell before invoking his name next time.
Orwellian invocation of Orwell there...
Take a look at the Globe the last 2 days. Some poor journalism student barely escapes the death penalty (and instead gets 20 years) for blasphemy. Leaving aside the fact that the guy denies the charges in the first place, the very law Afghanistan operates under is indistinguishable from that the Taliban operated under.
The sole apparent difference between Karzai's regime and the Taliban is that he is *our* warlord.
Is that really worth fighting for?
Does that protester even know what country our troops are in?
I love how a protest like this has a propensity to bring out all the other trendy pet causes into the limelight. What does lowering tuition fees have to do with Afghanistan? If you paid attention to the signs and pins you might think they were somehow connected.
Pickletoes, it's true that protests often lose focus because of the number of slogans and causes that raise their heads, but in this case the connection claimed by the organising groups is that the money being spent on the war could be better spent on things like reducing fees, building sustainable housing, etc. The connection is stated there, even in these pictures, but obviously this is a photo post, you're not getting a comprehensive review of the rally, the proper context of these slogans, or the reasons behind it. If you, or any of the other commenters here, are genuinely interested in the thinking behind the protest, rather than just taking pot shots at some signs, then there is plenty of information available on the web, starting with the link given in the original post.
I know one of the connections: an overly politicized CFS that attempts to operate in areas that are in no way connected to its responsibilities.
@ Miles Storey: "If you, or any of the other commenters here, are genuinely interested in the thinking behind the protest, rather than just taking pot shots at some signs, then there is plenty of information available on the web, starting with the link given in the original post."
There is indeed plenty of information offering a rationale for the protest, most obviously Sid Lacombe's report on the CPA website. On reading the report, one realizes that the signs the protesters were holding up mirror exactly the argument that Mr. Lacombe presents, replete as it is with isolationist sentiment, vague conspiracy theories, straw men, casual anti-Americanism, and a cuddly faith that every problem in Afghanistan can be solved by negotiating with the Taliban.
So to say that those of us who have criticized the rally are "just taking pot shots at some signs" is wrong--because the signs encapsulate well the reasoning behind the protest and the CPA.
Am I the only person who is aggravated by people who wear the keffiyah as a fashion accessory? Or am I missing what the war in Afghanistan has to do with Israel/Palestine.
minou: That annoys me too. Support the Palestinians if you want, wear the keffiyah if your want, but when I see a 14 year old wearing one I have a hard time believing its anything more than a fashion accessory.
"So to say that those of us who have criticized the rally are 'just taking pot shots at some signs' is wrong--because the signs encapsulate well the reasoning behind the protest and the CPA."
I did not say that anyone criticising the protest was wrong. My comment was directed at someone who could not see a connection between the signs and the aim of the protest, and so obviously didn't understand, or try to, the point of the slogan, and anyone that would follow in that manner. There is an obvious difference between your comment, for example, and the statement made by Pickletoes.
The signs may encapsulate the reasoning of the protest—that is their purpose after all—but some understanding of that reasoning is still needed to make the connection. You may understand it but if someone doesn't, and criticises the protest without making an effort to, then I'd call that a pot shot. Making any attempt at a substantive argument against a slogan without understanding why that slogan is there seems rather redundant.
Personally I don't believe an immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is the answer, I think it would be a disaster for Afghans who have seen real, but now stalled, progress, new freedoms that did not exist under the Taliban regime. The original mission in Afghanistan was a good one, since then it has lost its way, and its momentum. The mission is underfunded and pushed aside by the wrong-headed invasion of Iraq. Progress needs to be made in Afghanistan but isn't and won't be until fundamental changes are made to the mission and the regime of warlords in the country is dismantled. Whether that's possible or not I have no idea, but it's something that centuries of conflicts in the area have failed to do. Still, now is not the time to give up.
minou, I assume that the people wearing the keffiyah are expressing solidarity with the Palestinians, and I assume they wear it whether they're riding their bikes or protesting a war in another part of the world. It's true that it has been used as a fashion accessory in the West, appearing even on the runway at fashion shows, but in this case I think it is far more likely that people are wearing it for the former purpose, the keffiyeh kinderlach if you will.
The Afghanistan government has Taliban members in Karzai's cabinet, the seats offered as part of a peace agreement, and regularly negotiates with the Taliban.
It just occurred to me I've never seen or heard of an undeniably right-wing protest that wasn't about abortion or homosexuals or people of the wrong race/religion/ethnicity/nation-of-origin.
Great photography, Miles.
rek: Replace "right-wing" with "social conservative" and your observation will make sense.
Nice try Pickletoes. A for effort, F for fail.
Well somebody has to challenge the demonizations.