Milwaukee 21 part of international resistance against U.S. imperialism

In a courageous act of resistance, youth and students from across the metro Milwaukee area took to the streets and confronted an Army recruiting station two blocks from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on March 19—the eve of the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion, occupation and criminal war on Iraq.

During the course of their demonstration a window happened to get broken, so cops issued municipal citations for “disorderly conduct” to 21 youth, and then told sensationalist fabrications to the corporate media of what was actually taking place.

The cops and media are still working in concert to portray the actions as those of “juvenile vandals,” thereby attempting to issue a chilling effect upon protest. Like some in the anti-war movement, they violence-baited the youth as well. But it’s clear that the youth were not violent and were consciously engaging in political acts of resistance against a key component of U.S. imperialism: the Army.

Despite the attacks, many across the U.S. came to the youths’ aid.

Within hours, letters to the editor came pouring in at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the biggest corporate newspaper in the state, as did statements of organizational support. The letters and statements steadfastly protested the negative and incorrect depictions of these youth and the publishing of all the names of the 21 in the newspaper.

In a March 21 letter to the Journal Sentinel, the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice wrote, “We urge the Wisconsin anti-war movement to stand united behind the arrested young people and to call for any and all charges to be dropped immediately, instead of demonizing them for their bold tactics which, as the media even admits, caused ‘no injuries.’ ... Stop the U.S. war on Iraq by any means necessary! Stop the war at home!”

John Catalinotto, an organizer with the American Servicemen’s Union from 1967 to 1971, wrote to the paper, “Like it or not, it was the threat of disintegration of the military, along with the loss of the youths’ support at home, that did more to contribute to Nixon’s decision to ‘Vietnamize’ the war than any of the peaceful gatherings or the blatherings of Congress. The Journal fears that a similar situation could occur today. Those of us serious about ending this catastrophe in the Middle East say, to paraphrase one of the president’s more ridiculous statements, ‘Bring it on.’”

Many youth and students nationwide support their sisters and brothers under siege in Milwaukee.

A March 23 statement reads: “The national youth group FIST—Fight Imperialism, Stand Together—unconditionally expresses our solidarity with the 21 youth arrested for protesting the war in Wisconsin. The U.S. imperialist government is carrying out two major wars: the illegal wars abroad, exemplified by the continued illegal occupation against the people of Iraq, and the war against people living in the United States, which includes the slashing of jobs and money for education and social services.”

The statement continues: “Military recruiting targets those most affected by the war at home—poor youth and youth of color—to be sent off to fight in wars throughout the world with the far-fetched hope that they will return without severe injuries and with prospects for ‘a better life’ through education and training. ... We demand that the charges against all 21 youth be dropped immediately, and urge the anti-war movement in Wisconsin and beyond to stand in support of these activists. The attack on these youth is a clear attempt to silence dissent, and it is necessary that we be bold and unwavering in our support of them.”

From a International Action Center Denver statement: “The recruiting office is two blocks from a campus with nearly 30,000 students, many of them working class, from a state where 70 of its youth have died in Iraq—ranging from 18 to 32 years of age. ... The U.S. imperialist government and the corporations and the super rich it does its bidding for are the real purveyors of violence.”

On March 23 the International Action Center Milwaukee issued a statement, which read in part: “To equate the U.S. government violence at home and its violence/genocide in Iraq to a broken window is sheer hypocrisy. There can never be an equal sign between the violence of the oppressor and the self-defense of the oppressed. Are not these youth engaging in the self-defense of their generation similar to the Iraqi resistance?”

The nationwide letters and statements were noticed and appreciated.

On the Milwaukee Indymedia website, “ARA kid” wrote about the IAC-Milwaukee statement: “This group knows what the word solidarity means. ... This group seems to realize that to win this fight we have to have each others’ backs.”

Another youth wrote to the IAC-Milwaukee and FIST: “I wanted to thank you for your statements of support. Those arrested have felt the amazing solidarity that comes from being part of a broad and diverse movement.”

Presently the Milwaukee 21 and their allies are discussing ways to fight back. They are not alone in their personal fight against the injustice inflicted on them or their decision to resist. From Tacoma to Pittsburgh to the “Encampment to Stop the War” March 12-19 in Washington, D.C., the die is cast. The tide is turning. Direct active resistance to criminal, racist U.S. imperialism in Iraq and worldwide is the order of the day.  

As the FIST statement declares: “When the will of the people of the United States—expressed in countless protests as well as the election last November—is consistently ignored by both Republican and Democratic parties, it is time to move from protest to resistance. The anti-war movement can and should use a variety of tactics. Our resistance will only increase until these wars are ended.”

Bryan G. Pfeifer is an International Action Center-Milwaukee organizer.