This should be something of great importance to those who want to oppose the intensified war against Iraq. Learning from the past, not replicating it, is vital if we really want to stop the mass murder of more 100,000’s people, rather than feel “good” about our “moral opposition” (i.e. hand wringing, observation of genocide).


This is a First hand account of a very early anti-Vietnam War demo.

“It was at this time in Berkley, that the first large scale anti-Vietnam War protest took place…

Thousands of us streamed along…heading for the Oakland Army depot the aim was to proceed…all the way to the base, and then interfere with its operations. Most of the supplies fuelling the war were being shipped from that particular arms depot.

We drew up to…the…intersection…were hundreds of Oakland cops, a large phalanx of pigs in riot gear, bar[red] our way.

Various speakers discussed this impasse, stressing the need to move forward anyway. The mood of the crowd grew stronger in response to the challenge we faced. Grew equal to the fear we felt, and then some.

But at this crucial point, Ken Kesey got to the makeshift podium and began playing ‘Home on the Range’ on a harmonica. Slow and plaintive, the tune served to deflate the resolve of the thousands of protestors. And the march was simply called off…The main thrust of the ensuing commentary was that cooler and wiser heads had prevailed. No one was hurt; common sense and non-violence had overcome temporary passion.

And within a few months, the U.S. government had decided on all-out war in Vietnam. An escalating campaign killed upwards of four million Asians over the ensuing ten years.

It didn’t dawn on me until much later that there was very likely a connection between what happened on that night in Berkeley early in 1965 and the course of genocidal war in Southeast Asia. Foreign policy may have hinged on the protest that didn’t happen. Public response to war is generally a key factor to be reckoned with, and what occurred in Berkeley was token resistance, at best. Since no real opposition was expected, the authorities had no political reason to hold back.

If we had gone forward people, people would have been hurt, almost certainly. Some might even have been killed. But the government might well have decided that serious resistance could be expected if it moved forward with a greatly intensified war.

In other words, we failed that night, and millions died. All the ritual peacenik demos of the ‘60s and ‘70s failed. The war ended in 1975 because Vietnamese kept fighting and because American troops began refusing to fight. The route of serious resistance was ruled out very early on”. (taken from “Running on Emptiness”, p.173-174, by John Zerzan)