War & Peace: February 2008 Archives

Everybody else in the universe (or at least the country) has already weighed in about my hometown's latest escapade. You know, the one where the Berkeley City Council decided to give Code Pink's anti-Marine-recruiting-station protest a boost by giving them a free parking space in front and passing a resolution calling the recruiters "unwelcome intruders." So I don't need to jump into the fray and talk about how awful the war is, nor do I really need to point out that if a conservative city somewhere took the same approach towards pro-life demonstrators at an abortion clinic and offered them free parking, nobody here would think that was so cool...

but I couldn't help but flag this quote from Country Joe MacDonald, he of the "Fixing-To-Die Rag."

The issue has very little to do with the Marines and a lot to do with political grandstanding and NIMBYism, McDonald said.

"The council said the Marines can't recruit here, they should recruit somewhere else," he said. "And if there's a problem, we still want you to help us. It's astounding. It allows everyone to make fun of Berkeley again."

He said protesters on both sides are driven by "civilian guilt."

"Most people yell and scream about this issue because they're trying to show how patriotic they are," he said. "At this rate, Berkeley's going to be a damn noisy place."