Portland rallies to redefine Memorial Day

Portland, OR – On Memorial Day Monday, May 26, Portland anti-war activists gathered to rally against U.S. imperialism and the glorification of war. The event was organized by Portland for Palestine, in collaboration with Veterans for Peace Chapter 72.

The focus of the rally was on redefining Memorial Day, denouncing its current glorification of the U.S. military and instead advocating that it honors all victims of imperialism, at home and abroad.

Dan Shea, President of Veterans for Peace Chapter 72, declared, “We must win the hearts and minds of the people with a message for peace and social justice over the narrative of hate and violence.” Shea added, “To honor the fallen, we must pledge to end the brutality of war, of imperialism, of deportations, and of genocide.”

“We will not allow Memorial Day to be used as a smokescreen for the empire. We will not let mourning be manipulated into militarism.” Said Kacey DeSantis, an organizer with Portland for Palestine, “We shall not let the billionaire-owned media outlets peddle their propaganda telling us the only way forward is to fuel the war machine and line the pockets of the ultrarich.”

Portland, OR – On Memorial Day Monday, May 26, Portland anti-war activists gathered to rally against U.S. imperialism and the glorification of war. The event was organized by Portland for Palestine, in collaboration with Veterans for Peace Chapter 72.

The focus of the rally was on redefining Memorial Day, denouncing its current glorification of the U.S. military and instead advocating that it honors all victims of imperialism, at home and abroad.

Dan Shea, President of Veterans for Peace Chapter 72, declared, “We must win the hearts and minds of the people with a message for peace and social justice over the narrative of hate and violence.” Shea added, “To honor the fallen, we must pledge to end the brutality of war, of imperialism, of deportations, and of genocide.”

“We will not allow Memorial Day to be used as a smokescreen for the empire. We will not let mourning be manipulated into militarism.” Said Kacey DeSantis, an organizer with Portland for Palestine, “We shall not let the billionaire-owned media outlets peddle their propaganda telling us the only way forward is to fuel the war machine and line the pockets of the ultrarich.”

The rally was held near the Portland Rose Festival CityFair, which has a history of collaborating with and promoting the U.S. military. The Army was showing off a “mechanical dog” on Memorial Day weekend, the Marines have a booth the following weekend, and Fleet Week, the showcasing of Navy ships, is happening during the third and final weekend of the festival.

Kacey DeSantis explained, “These are PR stunts directed at the many children that attend the fair every year, and are only one example of the U.S. military’s long history of predatory recruitment tactics. We can’t let this continue!”

In the days after the rally, all mentions of the Army and Marines have been removed from the Portland Rose Festival website.

There were attempts by a small group of Zionist counter-protesters to disrupt the rally, but they were ineffective. Powerful chants of “Free free Palestine!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” drowned out all attempts by the Zionists to spread their bigoted messages, and their presence only invigorated the crowd more.

This event marked the second year Portland for Palestine has organized a rally for Memorial Day, and the organization is intent on continuing to make it an annual event going forward.

#PortlandOR #OR #AntiWarMovement #VFP #MemorialDay

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/portland-rallies-to-redefine-memorial-day?pk_campaign=rss-feed