Milwaukee Army Recruiting Center Vandalism Dismissed

Monday night, anti-war protesters turned violent in Milwaukee.

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, an article basically dismisses the report. It attempts to excuse some of the protesters as if they were innocent bystanders. It claims that aspects of the account of vandalism are false. It points out that the violence was spawned by frustration.

In other words, don't blame the protesters. Blame the war. Blame Bush.

One day after 21 people were arrested during a demonstration that vandalized a U.S. Army recruiting office on Milwaukee's east side, Wisconsin peace activist groups on Tuesday said some protesters might increasingly turn to destruction as their frustrations mount.

Monday night's violence was an anomaly, said Judy Miner of Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, who noted protesters were peaceful at dozens of demonstrations, marches, rallies and vigils held Monday throughout the state.

"That's what impressed me," said Miner. "People have been very respectful of the fact that violence doesn't get us anywhere."

Who cares if the violence was an anomaly?

That makes it no less despicable.

...[Derek W. Johnson, 17,] of West Bend, denied participating in any vandalism.

"I wanted to protest military recruiting in our schools and the war itself," Johnson said. "A recruiting office seemed, symbolically, like an important place" to protest, he added.

Johnson said that he regularly attends Thursday afternoon meetings of a "radical discussion group" at the West Bend library and that Monday's protest was discussed at last week's meeting.

"We were under the impression going there that it would be a peaceful protest," Johnson said. "We knew it would be loud and boisterous, but we didn't know there would be vandalism."

Regarding a police report that human excrement was smeared on the recruiting center, Johnson said he wasn't aware of such vandalism.

Kazik, of Milwaukee, said she expected a peaceful march and didn't support those who damaged the recruiting center.

"I think the only people out of the group who even knew there was going to be violence were those who were involved in it. It did absolutely nothing for the cause we were marching for," Kazik said.

Translation: "We didn't know that we were part of a group of violent loons. Honest."

That doesn't fly.

Willfully participating in a march behind a banner reading "No war but class war" isn't exactly aligning with a peace-loving bunch.

Peace Action Wisconsin does not condone violence, said the group's project organizer Julie Enslow, but some anti-war protesters might feel the need to be violent to get their point across.

"We do not use those tactics ourselves, but the movement is very broad, and as this war continues, the anti-war movement is going to take many forms - not all of which everyone feels comfortable with," Enslow said.

WHAT?

"Some anti-war protesters might feel the need to be violent to get their point across"?

That need is illegal. It's inexcusable.

Violence by some anti-war protesters reflects extremely poorly on the entire movement.

If Enslow doesn't like the violent tactics, perhaps she should consider staging a protest to protest that sort of protest.

An anti-war rally at O'Donnell Park on Saturday drew a large crowd that listened to several speakers, including U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee), before marching to the Reuss Federal Plaza, Enslow said. The peaceful gathering contrasted sharply with the arrests Monday night at the Army recruiting center near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, where protesters broke a window and threw smoke bombs, paint and human excrement, police said.

The sharp contrast that I find most striking is the one between protester Johnson's account of what happened at the Army Recruiting Center and the police account.

The reader must go deep into The JS article to get the official, police description of the vandalism.

Fair and balanced reporting?

Not in my opinion. There's a definite slant and attempt to brush aside the violence, as well as run damage control for the anti-war moonbats.

Donna Brooks acknowledged that her daughter was a member of the West Bend library discussion group and was arrested at the protest. Her daughter's group did not plan for the vandalism, she said.

Translation: "Leave my little angel alone. She's part of a 'discussion group' that didn't plan to become violent."

So Brooks' kid is supposed to be considered a victim. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Poor baby.

Instead of making excuses for her daughter, she should be condemning her for being involved with a radical group and getting arrested.

She was arrested because she was part of a protest that did significant property damage, not because she is against the war.

And violence was definitely on the agenda. Do law-abiding Americans carry around smoke bombs and paint and human excrement to throw at U.S. Army recruiting centers?

I know I don't.
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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board has chimed in with another lame opinion.

Like the article, it minimizes the behavior of the violent protesters and prefers to focus on opposition to the war.

If the goals were to mobilize popular vocal opposition to the war and to find a reasonable way to end U.S. military involvement there, this group might have just set back the effort considerably in this region.

There are several words for that. Counterproductive comes to mind. Cross purposes is another. But just not very smart might sum it all up.

It's easy to understand the frustration. It's plain that most Americans are weary from the manipulation and bungling that have been part and parcel of this administration's war efforts. Ultimately, they want what these protesters want. The debate now is only how to extricate ourselves from Iraq.

Good grief.

When I consider the incident, CRIMINAL is among the several words that come to my mind. It's way beyond "counterproductive" and "just not very smart."

Acting out violently to protest a war congers up memories of Robert Fassnacht.

Who is Robert Fassnacht?

He was a researcher at UW-Madison, husband and father of three, who was killed by Vietnam anti-war protesters when they bombed Sterling Hall, the site of the Army Mathematics Research Center.

For me, it's not easy to understand frustration that manifests itself in violence.

Protesting the violence of war by violent means makes no sense.

I think such protesters can rightly be labeled war criminals.

The Editorial Board does admonish the recruiting center protesters for being juvenile and selecting the wrong target. While it does condemn their violence, it still empathizes with them.

That's inappropriate.

These violent protesters should be condemned without qualification.