4 years of walking for peace at Lake Merritt

While I think it’s a nice symbolic act and I support all those who want peace. I can not think of a bigger waste of time.

We need direct action on a massive and sustained level to stop the war. And that action needs to be focused on the enemy.
And ending the war (which war) is just the start if you don't want to live to see another one. We need to completely change the system. And it can not be changed by reform or appeal to power. We must bring down the system to achieve peace and social justice. Why? because the system is based on war and racism.

If you what peace, you need to strike at the root causes of war: capitalism, imperialism, ultra-nationalism and racism

"Ultra-nationalism" is not the problem. Nationalism is the problem.

I'm always leery of anonymous posts that call for an end to demonstrations, demanding real action, etc., nearly always in vague terms. And, such posts most commonly appear in response to peaceful, responsible actions that are effective at building grass roots support in a community.

Note that the poster is extremely vague. "direct action on a massive and sustained level" could mean almost anything.

Who are those posters who keep calling for "action"? Are they: Armchair revolutionaries? Self-marginalizing ultra-leftists? Harmless nuts? Or could it be some other source?

Radical actions surrounding the big antiwar protests actually seem to be on the decline. I think a lot of this has to do with who carried out the breakaway marchs vs who is effected by the war. Back in 2002 and 2003 there was still a strong sense of dread hanging over the US public and that made people feel like they had less to lose, thus more people were willing to risk arrest. Now for most people in leberal and radical communities the war is abstract. In conservatiev communities which send more people into the military things are far less abstract so one should probably expect any more radical actions to be comming from that community (familys of soliders, exsoldiers...)

In the short-term, the war will end when the President feels like he can pull troops out while claiming "victory" and having at least have his base believe him. It could also end if the conservative base that supports the war give up on Iraq due to much higher casualty numbers combined with no real vision as to how things could ever be resolved. Protests do a little to pressure the government to end things since it does hurt Bush's poll ratings to have the public attention focues on the war. Radical actions against a war can actually polarize things and perhopas prolong wars if the radical actions make the right feel more steadfast in its support of a war.Radical actions can also help to force things to the point where peple are tired of unrest and want stability. Since it doesnt look like we are at the point where any radical group can cause enough unrest to cause fear in the government and the desire for stability in the public the best bet is to convince the right, not to tire it out.

Its easy to complain about touchy feely walks for peace or other such things but ultimately it really depends on what ones goal is and radical actions dont always have the desired effect.

I'm always leery of anonymous posts that call for an end to demonstrations, demanding real action, etc., nearly always in vague terms. And, such posts most commonly appear in response to peaceful, responsible actions that are effective at building grass roots support in a community.

Note that the poster is extremely vague. "direct action on a massive and sustained level" could mean almost anything.

Who are those posters who keep calling for "action"? Are they: Armchair revolutionaries? Self-marginalizing ultra-leftists? Harmless nuts? Or could it be some other source?
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You mean like....Provocators?

Every morning I go down to the mall before the shops open and walk for world peace and justice,
After that I stop a a popular Coffe shop, which I won't name, and have a large double light skinny double skinny single grande mocatocchio for peace.
Today, I will be more active, and have some lunch for peace.

Lee is seeing Provocators in his cornflakes, now. Time to get a bigger bowl.

Lake Merritt is encircled by heavily traveled streets. The lakeshore is popular with joggers, walkers, and bicyclists. A lot of the people who live in the area probably don't go to the marches, but they see the weekly peace walk and give an enthusiastic response.

Similar walks and vigils are held in cities and towns across the USA, from California to Vermont. These weekly demonstrations are a low-key, long-term activity which have become part of the local scenery in many communities. They help to set a political tone in their vicinity.

But there are some anonymous posters who don't seem to like this. Who might they be?