[Air-l] peace

[david silver]

i attach a few preemptive apologies to this post: apologies if the topic
strays from what some believe to be appropriate discussion areas for the
list, apologies for leaping to a soapbox to exclaim a personal position.

i am writing to inquire why there is so much silence regarding a topic
that deserves a bit more than silence.  the historian in me wonders what
future historians will think when they look back into the archives of
lists like air-l and notice that while the world is on fire, there were
only a handful of posts about it.  why is this?

i run a resource center which puts me in communication with a ton of
international scholars, most of whom like us focus their academic
interests on the internet and digital culture.  over the last few weeks,
i've received a few dozen emails asking me about americans' positions
about the impending war with iraq.  i'm very nervous about being some kind
of spokesperson for a country as large and diverse as the US but i'm
equally nervous about some of the ideas they are getting from the press.
(example: today's washington post reports a poll saying 7 out of 10
americans support a war with iraq, with or without UN support.)  i think
it's important to say that i live and thrive in seattle, a particularly
progressive (in some ways) city that has a history of political action --
in the last few years along: the anti-WTO protests; indymedia.org, which
started in part (please: if i'm wrong here someone correct me) in seattle;
curbside recycling, which has spread to much of the country -- and
cultural creation: jimi hendrix; grunge bands like nirvana and pearl jam;
and in nearby olympia, the riot grrl movement.  so perhaps my reality is
tweaked (*always* a possibility, i freely and proudly admit), but here in
seattle there is a massive anti-war movement: seen in the streets, on
campuses, on storefronts and homes, and with furious and earnest INTERNET
USE to organize, education, mobilize, and give counsel.  while the
mainstream media may portray americans as standing firmly behind their
president select, there are massive numbers that think this war (and the
series of wars that many of us fear will follow), the way in which it has
been developing unilaterally, and the global disarray it will produce are
insane, dangerous, undemocratic, and, well, suicidal.  through talking
with friends and colleagues -- via interpersonally, through the phone and
letters, and especially OVER THE INTERNET -- i have come to believe that
it is not only in seattle.  such beliefs can be found throughout the
country, as well as of course throughout the world.  with HELP FROM THE
INTERNET i have learned that many global protestors understand this:
recent protests seem to me to be more anti-bush than anti-american but i
could be wrong.  i would love to hear more about this from anyone who
cares to post.

if some believe this has little to do with internet research, i offer,
again, my preemptive apologies.  but i think we are missing a massively
important topic here: as my friend jay babcock has taught me, this war --
if and when it happens -- will be the first (or one of the first, that can
certainly be debated) INTERNET WAR.  by the phrase, jay means and i agree
the first major war that will be conducted since a critical mass has gone
online.  what are the repercussions?  it's possible -- i say possible;
please save the "you technological determinist!" flames -- that the net's
distributive nature and massive user base will allow a more free flow of
information from the front lines.  if and when the war begins, will we see
gifs and jpegs of killed civilians, bombed out cities and villages, and
general horror that will not be shown on CNN and fox news?  will we read
-- in the form of emails, list postings, and blogs, to name a few -- first
hand accounts of what's going down rather than the canned press releases
being fed to american (and others?) media outlets?  perhaps an early
example of this -- one that i, as a jew who has grave reservations about
israeli imperialism, am a bit nervous to post in fear of fostering
misguided anti-semitism -- can be found here:
<http://www.palsolidarity.org/rachel.htm>.  any interest in discussing
this?

peace,

david