Pro-War Rally

There was a rally/demonstration for war here near the University of Chicago on Thursday. Oh, the organizers didn’t call it that — they called it a “Rally for Peace and Justice.” But since they were calling for something to be done about Darfur, an end to the genocide, they were clearly calling for more war. There need to be warning labels or something on such demonstrations.

They were also linking some UofC development project here on to the UofC’s stance on Darfur, claiming both are examples of the university’s racism. And Congresscrittur Bobby Rush’s indifference to his constituents. One speaker said the UofC does not take race “seriously,” and has done nothing about Darfur. I’m not sure what seriously would mean to a group of people attending a “rally for peace and justice,” but likely it means more state power, more force and coercion. And more war.

I was under the impression from having covered the petroleum business that Americans and American firms couldn’t invest in companies doing business in Sudan and that companies doing business in Sudan could not get listed on American stock exchanges (or had to create a legal mechanism whereby their Sudanese holdings were not included, such as CNOOC). I’m all for campaigns of divestment — people can invest or not invest where they want for whatever reason they want and they are free to try and convince others, including corporations and institutions. But I’m not sure exactly what the UofC could do or not do in the case of Sudan. I’m certainly not for compelling the UofC to do anything.

I’ve known many Muslim Sudanese in my days, the very people the demonstrators want war made on (whether they know it or not). Does it bother war advocates, those who believe that America is ignoring Darfur because of “race,” that those Muslim Sudanese are as African, and as black, as the people of Darfur? Does it even occur to them? I’m guessing, in their self-righteous moral outrage, it does not.

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7:33 am on June 1, 2007