By Joe Winter
Catholic Herald correspondent
River Falls group marches against Iraq war
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Caleb, the son of organizer Jackie Brux, takes a photograph of a vehicle on Main Street during the first march that supported the anti-war cause. He was on his bicycle looking to join the group, but said that his mother tries too hard "to save the world." (Photo by Joe Winter) |
RIVER FALLS --Everyone from an elderly grandmother in a wheelchair to babies being pushed in strollers was among the 60 people who took part in the first of a series of weekly peach marches organized by a St. Bridget's parishioner.
Several weeks ago, Jackie Brux wrote a letter to the UW-River Falls Student Voice newspaper, asking if anyone was interested in mobilizing to oppose the proposed war against Iraq.
Two students in her international studies class responded. They are members of the student UW-RF Amnesty International group and indicated that their group would like to join her. Brux said they arranged a meeting on campus, publicized it a bit, and a protest was planned.
As a result, there will be marches each Thursday at 4 p.m, except for Thanksgiving. There have been two such vigils at this point.
Marchers start outside the student center on the campus and walk north on Main Street, turning around at the side street on the other end of the downtown and walking back. People have been told they are welcome to carry posters if they wish, and all are welcome to join, including out-of-towners.
"We have had old, including one very elderly woman in a wheelchair and some older people with canes, and young, such as a baby in a stroller, children, students, veterans, faculty and community members and leaders," Brux said, adding they had marchers from Hudson, Hammond and the surrounding area.
"Additional people joined us as we walked up Main Street. That part was most exciting to me, and I hope that others join us as they see us walking by," Brux said.
They are protesting war with Iraq for many reasons, Bruz said, "but I think the main reason is the loss of life of innocent Iraqi civilians. All human life is precious." She added, "The lives of at-risk Iraqi residents are just as precious as the American lives lost on 9/11. I am strongly pro-life in all aspects. It is important to be consistent in this. I especially oppose war prompted by greed and ignorance."
Brux said her concerns are triggered by two aspects of her life. "The first is my faith. I strongly believe in the social Gospel of Jesus and I seek social justice," she said. "To miss the connection is to not be reading the Gospel very carefully."
The second is her profession as a development economist at UW-RF. "I've worked and researched in many countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, and I've seen enormous poverty in a world of plenty," she said. "I believe that this war is based on U.S. economic interests and will only worsen the disparity between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' in the world. Beyond this, the resources being diverted to war could go a long way in reducing poverty, hunger and lack of health care."
Lee Kisling in Hudson is also working with the River Falls group and planning activities in his community. He has scheduled a Hudson demonstration that is a peace vigil from 4-5:30 on Wednesday, Dec. 11. A forum at First Presbyterian Church that is connected with the vigil was scheduled for Nov. 24.
The group's second march featured some new faces, and Brux said that there were plenty of honks and waves of support, and only one person yelling something about being a "bleeding heart liberal." Brux added that on the UW-RF campus there recently was a forum where one teacher took the pro-war side, and another the stance for peace. A local member of Amnesty International moderated.
Brux was recently in Atlanta for a conference and joined in an anti-war protest at the Martin Luther King Center. She said. "This was such a good location for a peaceful peace march. Which reminds me, we have struggled to keep ours very peaceful and low-key.
"We had 'in your face' demonstrators in River Falls a month or so ago who upset a lot of people in River Falls and probably hurt their cause," she said. "We're trying to avoid that, being very respectful with respectful posters, and avoiding obstructing businesses, pedestrians and vehicles."
Brux noted that their group has leaflets that are passed out to people, but as was requested by the River Falls Police Department, not to drivers or passengers in vehicles. The group also has the approval to march from the police and the UW security.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002