Berkeley protests completely justified
How is it that, in an opinion piece that seeks to draw a line between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” political action (“Protest against Marine recruitment hurts peace efforts, Feb. 20), columnist Adam de Jong fails to discuss the very high stakes facing humanity at this moment?
“Nobody really cares about the people actually affected by the Iraq War,” he smugly insists. Frankly, I think the 700 students from Berkeley High School who joined protests at City Hall the day of the pressured recall vote care a lot about the fate of those who suffer under the gun of the United States in the Middle East.
Those students are stuck in reality, and they are doing the only thing that stands a chance of changing the horrible political trajectory set by Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and company.
They refuse to be cowed by the murderous terms of politics in this country. Here, Obama and Clinton practically shout, “Vote for us and Bush is over!” while the United States holds out its nuclear arsenal as a threat to the people of Iran. Torture is exposed only to be legitimized, and spy powers worthy of the world’s greatest police state are built up. On top of all that, a woman’s right to control her own body hangs in the balance.
Kudos to the people of Berkeley in giving us hope that we can stop this regime.
Jared Thomas
UCLA alum, Class of 2004