Posted by CODEPINK Staff
Four years ago, at the Democratic and Republican Conventions, CODEPINK broke through the "national security state" by making our way onto the convention floors with our anti-war message. After four more years of perfecting this national security state, the security measures are as hollow as ever. On the third day of the Republican convention, when Sarah Palin was speaking, Jodie Evans and I made our way towards the podium--so close that we stood right next to the woman who was doing the signing for the hearing impaired. We stripped down to our "Palin: Not a Women's Choice" pink slips and called out "We need a Peace Vice President" before being hauled off.
The word was out that because of our interruption, there would be a much tighter security set-up for the following night when John McCain would be giving his acceptance speech. But CODEPINK members Nancy Mancias and Liz Hourican, plus Iraq veteran Adam Kokesh, were able to slip in easily. Adam stood boldly with his sign that said "You can't win an occupation" on one side and "McCain votes against Vets" on the other. Nancy and Liz ran up the aisle with their McCain=More War banners and pink slips, creating such a scene that McCain was forced to stop and tell the audience to ignore the "ground noise and static." So much for the national security state. If they can't even secure a convention with millions and millions of taxdollars, how can they secure our nation?
At CODEPINK we believe in bringing the peace message to all venues, and we did quite a job of that at the conventions. In Denver, we upset quite a few Democratic women when we interrupted Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking why she didn't stop funding the war and why she didn't support impeaching George Bush. In St. Paul we upset quite a lot of Republican women when we jumped on the stage during a "Pro-Life" rally sponsored by Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly to hand Schlafly a poster saying "Be Pro-Life, Stop War."
After over 5 years of war, with thousands and thousands of dead, we are beyond politeness. In fact, our motto has moved from "Silence is complicity" to "Politeness is Complicity." We're sorry if we make some people uncomfortable, but tell that to the mothers--here, in Iraq, in Afghanistan--who have lost their children. We'll stop interrupting this message once the message has changed from one of war and hate to peace and love...
Medea