By Hank Huber

With the war in Iraq at the forefront of American’s minds, the country is divided into those who favor military action by the United States and those who oppose it. Although the people who support an invasion of Iraq outnumber the dissenters three to one, according to a March 23 CNN poll, the anti-war demonstrators have been much more visible.

Millions of people in cities around the world have come out in the last few months to
publicly show their opposition to the war. According to a March 23 article in the Buffalo News, some counts for March 22 were:

• London, England—200,000. Down from 750,000 in February.
• Montreal, Canada—200,000.
• Barcelona, Spain—150,000.
• Paris, France—90,000.
• Bern, Switzerland—30,000.
• Berlin, Germany—40,000.

The City of Buffalo is no different, although with a much smaller turnout. The corner of Elmwood Avenue and Bidwell Parkway became the focal point for the demonstrators.

On March 22, roughly 100 people voiced their objection to the war on the corner shouting “one, two, three, four, we don’t want your racist war!” and carrying signs such as “ ‘A war of aggression is a crime for which individuals must be convicted and punished’—Justice Robert H. Jackson, Nuremburg War Trials, Sept, 9, 1945”

At the same moment, Paul Iannuzzelli, an electrical engineer, stood alone on the opposite corner with his own signs. His read, “Support Bush” and “OIL: Reason good enough for me.” His “Bush” sign turned around to say on the other side, “I see French People.”

“I definitely think we should look into alternative energy sources, but right now we need oil,” he said. “We need to keep that region stable.”

When asked why he singled out the French, when Germany and Russia have the same anti-war stance, he said. “They owe us. I’ve got 56,000 reasons. There’s 56,000 American soldiers buried under Normandy. They owe us for the rest of their.., as long as they’re France.”

The Unitarian Universalist Church at 695 Elmwood was also used as a public forum for anti-war expression on March 21.

Heron Simmons, a political philosophy professor at Canisius College, spoke about the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil through the possible use of windmills as personal household generators. He also talked about how diplomacy efforts in Iraq should have been given more time.

“Winning by submission creates a relationship that’s not really a relationship,” Simmons said.

The demonstrations began after September 11, 2001 when the “Women in Black,” began meeting every Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. on Elmwood Avenue at Bidwell Parkway to protest the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. The group of local women, dressed in black, holds silent vigil at the busy intersection. Their goal is to be a visible presence opposed to military action. Their message was that violence is not the answer to violence.

“It's called Women in Black because it was begun by women in Israel in the '80's, when Israel occupied the Gaza strip. Women wearing black appeared and stood in silence, as a public presence to demonstrate for nonviolent alternatives to conflict in the face of war and terrorism,” according to buffaloreport.com

Women in Black still meets at the corner every Saturday, and the more vocal protests follow at 1 p.m.