Editorial: The Pathetic and Shameful UPFJ

For two years, United for Peace and Justice has done nothing to end the illegal war. If you like the faux radical fringe, you could find many of those in 'leadership' on various rag-tag Pacifica stations whoring themselves and the peace movement out as the booed and hissed at Hillary Clinton while insisting Barack Obama was a divine spread, perfect for a sacramental wafer. They all but smacked their lips into the microphones as they insisted "Heavenly delicious!"

So it was no surprise that United for Pathetic and Juvenile issued a purile statement on November 7th that was at once self-stroking and racially offensive. For the record, Barack Obama is bi-racial. We've covered that here. At the allegedly 'progressive' (no one loves that coded word moe than the multitude of political closet cases hiding out at UPFJ). For the record, Barack was never about ending the illegal war in Iraq. But UPFJ was so eager to spread like slutty cheerleaders (male and female) that they ignored that the same way they ignored their own alleged committment to ending the Afghanistan War. Yeah, Afghanistan, the war Barack campaigned on continuing.

So it was not surprising to discover United for Pathetic and Juvenile could sink even lower.

Eric Ruder and Ashley Smith (US Socialist Worker) provide a disturbing look at the recent 'strategy' sessions for UPFJ earlier this month where 'leaders' offered such 'insight' as Barack is 'our' "quarterback" and our role is to "block for him." That's so insulting on so many levels.

First of all, why is a peace movement utilizing a predominately male sport, an aggressive sport, for analogies? Strikes us as violent and sexist. Or possibly, this is part of the Let's Water Everything Down Until It Means Nothing and we'll get a few more (lukewarm) supporters 'strategy.'

Second, since when is it the responsibility of a peace movement to provide protection for any elected official? A movement is supposed to bring pressure on those holding the reigns of power.

It's all so embarrassing. But so were the speakers who all sounded like the most despearte odd ball in high school, praying, praying!, that today would be the day Barack said hello to them in the hall, pretending that they knew him -- not in the real sense of the word but "know" him in the, "We can see into his soul!!!!!"

You really need to read Ruder and Smith's article and you really need to laugh at almost every 'leader' quoted in it, you need to laugh at how stupid and, yes, slutty they all come off.

UPFJ is disgusting. And they have staged their little turf wars with A.N.S.W.E.R. and so many others as they've tired to control the peace movement. Time for Leslie and other gals and guys to retire. They can't stand up for peace, they've got no right to pose as 'leaders' of the peace movement.

Debra Sweet (World Can't Wait) noted of UPFJ's recent session:

Not to directly challenge Obama's escalation of the war in Afghanistan is shameful. On the anniversary of "Shock & Awe," and under a new president, the anti-war movement needs to be in Washington. And many of us WILL be there.
World Can't Wait wrote a letter to the anti-war movement. We posed:

"We in this country, and those of us in this movement, have a choice. We can side with our government, with the "good war" fought in our names, and act like American lives are more important than anyone else's lives.Or we can show the people living in the Middle East, and the world, that in the U.S. there is a difference between the people and their government, and that the people are taking responsibility to end an unjust war and the war crimes that have been carried out in our name. We can act like we care about the whole planet."


That's really what it's about. Are you going to work end the illegal war or are you going to rush to cheer on the 'quarterback' in the White House?

UPFJ did their part to set back the peace movement. It's not just the brakes they slammed on the peace movement for the last two damn years. Now they're trying to throw the movement into reverse.

That's not leadership, that's shameful, craven behavior.