I saw the demonstrations. And it is dumb. The time to demonstrate was before all this started. It is not going to stop the war. This kind of thing was (maybe) appropriate in the Vietnam era, when a war was dragging on, and the idea was to press the government to withdraw. The government is not going to withdraw from Iraq, and the reasonable thing is to hope they get it over with fast and with minimal damage anc loss of life. And even during the Vietnam war, I saw no particular point in blocking intersections (or smashing windows, which also happened).

People are "paying attention." People have their eyes glued to televisions. They know there is a war on. You do not have to tell them that. And they will make up their own minds whether they like it. Blocking intersections does not convey a message. It does not persuade. It does not make a coherent point. It only annoys people. Occasionally, as when the vehicle which gets blocked is an ambulance, it hurts people. It costs the City money better spend on schools and medical services. It puts one's cause in a negative light. It makes the anti-war cause look bad. It creates pro-war sentiment. It accomplishes nothing whatsoever. I suppose it is "peaceful," but it is right on the borderline. And finally, it is not particularly heroic; kids do it because it is their idea of a lark.

The time to be heard was before the war started.