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Edited on Sat Aug-13-05 07:50 AM by GliderGuider
This is a repost of an article I wrote for another web board. That one has its share of right wingnuts, which accounts for some of the tone.
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For all who think that the Sheehan story is a flash in the pan, the product of a twisted conjunction of a single mother's deranged grief and a slow news month, let's take a look back into history.
On a Thursday in April 1977 at five o'clock in the afternoon, fourteen women, between 40 and 70 years of age, defied the ban on public gatherings promulgated by the all-powerful military junta and marched into the Plaza de Mayo to make known their pain and their resolve not to accept having their questions go unanswered. The generals lost their first battle.
Remember them?
And there of course there's that other lone woman:
Most historians date the beginning of the modern civil rights movement in the United States to December 1, 1955. That was the day when an unknown seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. This brave woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested and fined for violating a city ordinance, but her lonely act of defiance began a movement that ended legal segregation in America, and made her an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere.
Remember that these women are the historical antecedents of Cindy Sheehan's stand in Crawford, Texas today. Individual women, acting out of grief and outrage, challenging the power structure. The lesson of such women is that these protests don't always fade away in the next news cycle.
It's been a week now, and the Crawford protest is still gaining momentum, support and visibility. The attempts to discredit the participants are being universally recognized as the spin of a frightened administration and their loyal supporters. In short, they are failing. With the memories of Las Madres and Rosa looming like spectres of the popular will, it's no wonder they are working so hard to neutralize her.
By the way, last night Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks both called Mrs. Sheehan expressing their support. For me, though, it's the memory of those Buenos Aires Madres that resonates the most. Never underestimate the power of a grieving mother - especially once her moral cause gains popular support. It's no wonder Bush and his minions are feeling the cold fingers of dread at the moment.
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