ACTIVISM

Hitting Bush where his heart is

By Noah Bruce

TAKING IT ON THE ROAD: protesters, seen here at BIW, will descend on the Bush compound November 17.

November 17, the Maine Global Action Network (MEGAN) will lead a march on the Bush compound in Kennebunkport to protest the bombing of Afghanistan. “But it’s not just an anti-war march,” says Matthew Schlobohm, MEGAN state coordinator, “but a global solidarity march addressing social and economic issues.” These issues include the progressive left’s usual suspects — US foreign policy, globalization, and corporatization.

Protesters will march from Saint Anne’s Church on Ocean Avenue to the Bush digs, where they will chant and speak out against the war and political and economic injustice. “There are going to be soundbites for Mr. Bush that will be videotaped and sent to him,” says David Kubiak, protest organizer for the Kennebunk area.

From there, protesters will move to the Unitarian/Universalist Church on Maine Street in Kennebunk where teach-ins will be held. Topics will include the War on Terrorism; US policy in the Middle East, including the sanctions in Iraq; and global corporate structures.

According to Kubiak, the protest and teach-ins are an “attempt to reclaim patriotism from corporate America . . . which has wrapped its interests in the flag.” At the same time, Kubiak hopes it lends support and a sense of context to people who feel they are against the war, but, due to coverage of the events surrounding September 11 by the “the same four channels” of the mainstream media, lack knowledge and understanding.

Schlobohm’s explanation of the protest’s goals is simpler. “Our most immediate task is the bombing. If that doesn’t stop immediately, hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions, of Afghanis will starve. And that is not my statistic, it’s from Mary Robinson, UN Commissioner for Refugees.”