This counter recruitment action was organized by the Youth and Countermilitarism Program of the War Resisters' League. The design of their web site makes it obvious, with its graffiti style fonts and graphics, that they want to influence people below the legal drinking age. Not only did nobody under 30 show up, none of the young people milling around the Park on Saturday afternoon showed the slightest interest in those silly old lefties.

Finally, the cardboard coffins arrived, and were lovingly assembled. Some of the marchers donned bibs, which were decorated with the faces of American soldiers or Iraqi children and mock blood, to promote their sophistry about America's guilt. The marchers then set out, with the obligatory dull thud drummers, on their walk.

The guy with the white flag and the Veterans for Peace cap, with his silly grin, and his hand paralyzed into a permanent Peace sign, brought to mind how topsy turvy the world is for pacifists. The V for Victory sign was popularized by Winston Churchill as a symbol he could flash to the public in the darkest days of WWII. It was a time when many, many people believed there was no way Hitler was not going to prevail. Churchill himself was uncertain. He knew he was the leader of democracy's last chance. Either prevail or be snuffed out by totalitarianism. In the Vietnam War era, this symbol was later
perverted to symbolize surrender in the face of the worst forms of totalitarianism, perhaps due to a combination of an appalling lack of historical insight, leftist wackology, and psychedelics.

On the twenty minute march up 6th Ave, pedestrians did not react. In Greenwich Village one would expect a modicum of support for this anti-war stunt. The exception was one man who got right in one of our PW's face, screaming "You're facists. Bush and every one of those Republicans should be put up against the wall and shot." Although this man was well groomed and well dresed, he went on to rant that America is the worst country in the world, and that anything that happens to this country is well deserved, including nuclear annihilation. The chaperoning NYPD officer observed this from the side for about a block, but finally had to warn the man to stand back from the Protest Warriors, so he went on his way.

Two of us were waiting in front of the Army recruiting office on 22nd Street, the destination of the march. We were ready with a large banner reading "Complete the Mission First...THEN Bring Them Home," and a huge flagpole with Support Our Troops, U.S. and Iraqi flags. When the moonbat parade rounded the corner, they were completely disheartened. Their proud stand in front of the recruiting office turned into a confusing hodgepodge, with our large banner and signs getting most of the attention. We were all mixed in together. One of the old hippies kindly offered to help hold up our heavy banner.

One dedicated moonbat retained her focus, shouting up at the Army office, "Imagine Peace! Imagine Peace" but the rest of the group was too addled to join in or to start any other chants. Within 15 minutes, they abandoned their plans, and left. The soldiers came down from their office, gave us a bag full of ARMY goodies (cool hologram magnets, water bottles, etc.)

The street theatre coffin walk was a tragi-comedy: tragic for them, pretty funny for us.

Rona is on the left. The young man on the right is on his way to Officer Training School after graduating from Columbia University. Another sign: