Nov 8, 2012
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I'm Giving These Back,2012,Sumi Ink on paper,9.5"x12"
DemocracyNow!'s video of the speeches of Iraq Veterans Against the War as they returned literally threw their medals at the NATO summit in Chicago last weekend. Incredibly moving, and Tim McIlrath singing "Hero of War" at the end of it just killed me. I will never be okay with war anywhere, especially not something named "Global War on Terror." Easy semantics makes anyone potential aggressor, potential victim of an organization beholden to none. That in itself alarms me like nothing else.
I may not live by the Western states, but my country is the pet of one and is her puppy. We sent soldiers to Iraq. We have had a decade-long "ceasefire" in the south of my country. War is never okay, never acceptable in any circumstance. Until there is no war anywhere, all we'll ever have is an unsteady peace. War anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere.
Thanks, IVAW.
I headed out to the NATO rally on Sunday a buddy of mine who is a filmmaker. After he had been threatened to have his camera smashed while he was out on Saturday, along with reading what other photographers had found on anarchist sites about best ways to cut camera straps and instructions on which door on the camera houses memory cards, we figured it would be a good idea to head out together. Nothing really came of those threats and once things really got going on Sunday it was every man for himself. But here's a short video he put together from two days on the street. Some of these scenes might look familiar from stills I've already posted.
If anybody here is interested in seeing the type of violence I experience at the NATO protests, watch this video.
Protestors on Michigan Ave.
Nato Protest, Chicago IL (sunday night)
photo by Jacob Fulton
Violent clashes between Chicago police and anti-NATO protesters on Sunday, May 20th
At least 12 people were injured and 60 arrested on Sunday in Chicago after protesters clashed with police when thousands of activists took part in anti-NATO demonstrations. The riots began when the protesters tried to force their way through a police line to the site of the meeting. Protesters allegedly threw plastic bottles and paint balloons at the police, who fought back against them with batons and riot gear.
Police estimated the crowd on Sunday to be 2,500 to 3,000, though it appears that many more turned out onto the streets of the city to voice their opposition to NATO's costly and deadly wars. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans also took part in the protests, throwing their medals towards the convention center where the delegates were meeting. They said the medals they were given do not represent the wars they were fighting.