The TRUTH about the so-called "anti-war" protests

Martus

[Martus]

The media is reporting that "millions of people" were protesting a war in Iraq.

I'll bring it more local....there were about 100,000 people protesting in New York.

New York is a city of about 8 million people. There were about 100,000 protestors. Many of them don't even live in New York, but we'll use 100,000 as the number.

I did the math, and out of 8 million people, 1.25 percent of the people were there.

This is the same all around the rest of the world....only a SMALL PERCENTAGE of the world protested.

That means only a small percentage support Sodom Hussein.

[cryptical]

Like I told the wife of a friend who was at the local protest, "Over 6.2 billion people worldwide stayed at
home in support of the war" :)

(I saw it in a headline here, loved the sentiment).

[Quick1]

So? The fact that there were still at least a couple million people around the world protesting doesn't say something? Not everyone knew about it, had the time to participate, etc.

Just because people weren't there doesn't mean they don't oppose the war.

[Slyfox]

100,000 is the total number of listeners Al Frankenfuhrer will be able to get to listen to his radio show.

[WellsFargo94]

Yeah, the media just loves to blow out of porportion anything that meets their agenda. Thanks for putting this in perspective.

[PoisedWoman]

6.2 billion people stayed home....wonderful! I'll remind everyone I know.

[JennysCool]

Err...Want some fromage with your whine?

[Quick1]

Where was I whining? It's simply not logical to say that everyone who stayed home supports the war.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Overwhelming isn't it? At my favorite neighborhood pub last Friday night I spoke personally to all 12 people there and everyone felt we need to go now. So I guess I could say that in a recent poll all Americans and 1 Mexican support the war on Iraq. No need to define the poll as being 12 people in a redneck beer joint. If the jukebox was any indication, Toby Keith is for it too.

[ResistorSister]

Go to the following links to find out about Saddam's supporters and the organizers of the anti-war movement.

http://sp-usa.org/
http://www.cpusa.org/
http://www.internationalanswer.org/
http://www.workers.org/
http://www.internationalsocialist.org/
http://socialistworker.org/
http://www.communist-party.ca/
http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/antiwar.htm

[Uncle Miltie]

Quick1 signed up 2003-02-11.

[kesg]

Not necessarily. Some of Saddam's supporters and enablers may have decided not to attend the protest.

The opinion polls provide a much more accurate picture of the level of public support or opposition. I have no reason to doubt that a majority of the public supports the war here and opposes it (to varying degrees) in Europe and elsewhere.

However, let's don't fall into the Clintonista trap of judging the truth of an idea, or the rightness of a course of action, by seeing if a majority of people agree with it. After all, 50 million Frenchmen can be wrong -- and often are.

[JennysCool]

That's true. The weather probably kept some Saddam fans inside.

[finnman69]

Quick1 signed up 2003-02-11.

No, there opinion does not mean anything because it is no different than the propaganda coming out of Baghdad. 100,000 useful idiots in NYC made Saddam smile Saturday.

How does it feel to be in bed with Saddam?

[Chunga]

The sentiment expressed is wry and humorous. Lighten up.

[Quick1]

1. What does my signup date have to do with the price of wheat in Kentucky?

2. Where did I state that I supported these people? A specific example please. Because I like to shoot down illogical arguments does not mean I am against the war.

[dfwgator]

Millions of "America Firsters" were wrong before WW II.

[Quick1]

And your proof of course is...?

Oh right, they don't agree with us, so they must be communists!

[VRWC_minion]

Quite correct. A more accurate way of determing the depth of support for the war is to look at national polls which all indicate a strong support for military action.

The only real value in a body count would be to measure the level of commitment of the protestors as compared to other protests. I don't believe that 100k protest in NY sets any records but it is significant especially in light of the weather. As for it having any effect on current policy at home ? Neglible. It would take at least an election cycle to change the current posistion and by then this will be over.

Does it change the political front abroad ? Yes, it makes it far more dangerous for us in the short run by embolding Saddam to stay longer and by keeping potential allies from giving a clear unambiguous message to Saddam to disarm. Both of which increase the liklihood of war and the potential of deaths. Exactly the opposite effect wanted by the protesters. The doctrine of unanticpated consquences is often overlooked by liberals because they rarely consider what the effect of their actions are.