freakpowertix

I know the guy who's engaged in this ongoing antiwar protest, Steve Pearcy.  Knew him, actually.  He's about the same age as my older brother.  He's from the same neighborhood where I grew up, in Sacramento, CA.  This effigy of a hanging soldier at his suburban home there is a pretty bold demonstration of anger and frustration over the US's illegal occupation of Iraq.  A lot of the articles about the controversy over this protest (his home has been repeatedly vandalized) neglect to mention how the image of a hanging soldier hearkens to the Blackwater USA mercenaries -- what's the euphemism for them?  "Civilian contractors?"  "Private security?" -- who were killed, burned, and hung in effigy some months ago in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.  Reports indicate that Blackwater has been working with the US military in an extralegal fashion, and are guilty of significant levels of abuse and even atrocities inflicted upon the civilians of that country and region.  These Americans' treatment at the hands of Iraqis, I've heard, was in retaliation for Blackwater's role in terrorizing the citizenry of Fallujah.

This image above comes from the Los Angeles Times.  I found it yesterday (Monday, October 24, 2005) posted at www.commondreams.org.  The article, "War Protest Has Captive Audience," is by Eric Bailey.  The photo is by Robert Durell.

Here's one of the photos taken in Fallujah that I think this is meant to echo.




However blunt and jarring Steve's demonstration might seem, I think he and his wife, both attorneys, are struggling to confront people in their manicured, sterile neighborhood with the desanitized, distant reality of our country's criminal, reckless foreign policy.  However unpleasant all of that might end up seeming in quiet Sacramento, CA, nothing can compare with the brutality of the war Bush, his neocon puppetmasters, our spineless congress, Tony Blair, and the so-called "Coalition" have unleashed upon the country of Iraq.