Medea Benjamin
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Medea Benjamin (born September 10, 1952) is a well-known U.S. political activist. The Los Angeles Times has described her as "one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement," and in 1999, San Francisco Magazine included her on their "power list" of the "60 Players Who Rule the Bay Area."
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[edit] Organizations
Benjamin is Founding Director of the San Francisco-based NGO Global Exchange, which advocates "fair trade" alternatives to corporate globalization. She is a cofounder of feminist anti-military, anti-war group Code Pink: Women for Peace, which advocates an end to the Iraq War, the prevention of future wars, and social justice. Benjamin has also been involved with the anti-war organization United for Peace and Justice.
In 2000, Benjamin ran for the United States Senate on the Green Party ticket from California, basing her campaign on such issues as a living wage, education, and universal healthcare. Since then she has become involved with Progressive Democrats of America.[1] [2]
[edit] Protest actions
- In 2002, Benjamin interrupted the testimony of Donald Rumsfeld in a Congressional committee room. She and another woman chanted "Inspections, not war" and were removed quickly by security officials. After the incident, Rumsfeld emphasized that Iraq had expelled the weapons inspectors and he hailed the concept of free speech, remarking that in Saddam's Iraq there was no free expression.
- On August 23, 2002, Benjamin interrupted President George W. Bush's speech in Stockton, California by shouting from the Memorial Civic Auditorium balcony and revealing a white shirt with "No war on Iraq" written in red. President Bush paused and the attendees chanted "USA" while she was removed by security.
- At the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, Benjamin was removed from the convention floor and thrown out of the Fleet Center by police after unfurling a banner which read "End the Occupation! Bring the Troops Home Now!" She subsequently stood with other activists in the "free speech zone" set up at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, dressed as the Statue of Liberty with duct tape over her mouth to express her disapproval at the supression of protests at the convention.
- At the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, Benjamin was removed from the convention floor and escorted from Madison Square Garden by police after unfurling a banner which read "Pro-Life: Stop the killing in Iraq" during a speech by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- In 2005, Benjamin and other members of Code Pink managed to obtain VIP access to George W. Bush's second inauguration. During Bush's speech, they managed to unfurl banners that read "No War" and "Bush Mandate: Bring the Troops Home" before being arrested.
- On May 27, 2005, Benjamin and three others interrupted a speech by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall that was hosted by the San Francisco Commonwealth Club. The four recreated an image of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, in which a hooded prisoner stood with his arms outstretched attached to electric wires. Rice initially continued her speech on American foreign policy under President Bush, but paused when the protesters shouted "Stop the torture. Stop the killing. U.S. out of Iraq," as police led them out of the auditorium.
- On July 26, 2006, Benjamin interrupted Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during his speech to a joint session of the United States Congress by repeatedly shouting from the balcony "Iraqis want the troops to leave. Bring them home now."[3]
[edit] Controversy
Benjamin has been criticized from both the left and the right.
[edit] Criticism of leftist views
Benjamin is unpopular among right-wingers for her perceived anti-American views, especially her attacks on the U.S. embargo of Fidel Castro's Cuba. David Horowitz's FrontPageMag has attacked her as "a long-time Castro acolyte," and written: {{cquote|Many of the causes that Ms. Benjamin espouses are Communist in nature. The Washington "peace" rally at which she spoke last month, for instance, was organized by the Workers World Party, a Communist organization... In years past, she staunchly opposed US military aid to those fighting against Communist forces in Central America... She favors the creation of a government-sponsored universal health care system funded by taxpayer dollars. She exhorts the US government to lift its trade embargo against Cuba – a nation she notably lauds as a place where people have managed to "thrive despite the odds" against them.[4][5]
[edit] WTO protest violence
Benjamin is unpopular among some in the anti-globalization movement due to remarks during 1999's anti-WTO demonstrations in Seattle which seemed to suggest that "anarchists" who engaged in property destruction should have been arrested by the police. Benjamin herself denies that this is the correct interpretation:
| "There has been some controversy about a quote from me that... implied that I was calling for the arrest of those people who destroyed property in downtown Seattle during the WTO protest. I want to make it clear that the quote was distorted, taken out of context, and not reflective my true feelings. I did not call for the arrest of anyone... Do I approve of the tactics that this particular group of self-described anarchists used in Seattle Nov. 30? Definitely not." [6] |
[edit] Anybody But Bush
Benjamin has been criticized by some Greens for her support for "Anybody But Bush" in 2004. Explaining why she supported this movement, she said in regard to her support for Ralph Nader in the 2000 presidential election:
| ...maybe it's time for the people who voted for Bush in 2000, the people who didn¹t vote at all in 2000, and yes, people like myself who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000, to admit our mistakes. I'll say mine -- I had no idea that George Bush would be such a disastrous president. Had I known then what I know now, and had I lived in a swing state, I would have voted for Gore instead of Ralph Nader."[7] |
Todd Chretien, a leading member of the International Socialist Organization, wrote, in "A Reply to Norman Soloman and Medea Benjamin" on Counterpunch:
| Medea Benjamin... and many other liberal and progressive leaders tell us that a Kerry regime "would be less dangerous" than Bush. This may or may not be true... But, even IF Kerry is "less dangerous," he will be MORE capable of wreaking havoc on Iraq, Palestine, Venezuela, abortion, gay rights, civil rights and unions IF we sacrifice our political movement to getting behind him.... Tragically, rather than building on the great start we made in 2000... many of the very same people who helped that effort are trying to wreck it this time around [by] condoning, if not actually leading, a campaign to vilify [Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo] as "Republican dupes"... any movement that ever aims to win, must learn to stand up for itself precisely when it is darkest.[8] |
[edit] Marla Ruzicka
Benjamin had a falling out with her former close friend, SF Bay Area activist Marla Ruzicka, later killed in Iraq in a widely-publiced suicide bombing, over Ruzicka's decision to work with the U.S. military to secure compensation for war victims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Benjamin has said:
| "It was very painful for me because of the way she sort of rejected the things we stood for... I resented the way she worked with the military. Kevin always talks about getting to the root of the problem, and Marla chose to go with the Band-Aid... We never quite reconciled over it." [9] |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Medea Benjamin, Peter Coyote, John Eder, Daniel Ellsberg et al. (July 23, 2004). An Open Letter to Progressives: Vote Kerry and Cobb. CommonDreams.
- ^ Medea Benjamin to Speak at Summit 2005. Progressive Democrats of America. Retrieved on Sep 1, 2006.
- ^ VIDEO: Maliki Speech Interrupted By War Protestor. Think Progress Blog (July 26, 2006).
- ^ Ben Johnson (July 28, 2003). America's Fifth Column Goes to Iraq. FrontPage Magazine.
- ^ John Perazzo (November 15, 2002). The Anti-American: Medea Benjamin. FrontPage Magazine.
- ^ Medea Benjamin. Window-Smashing Hurt Our Cause. Zmag. Retrieved on Sept 1, 2006.
- ^ Medea Benjamin (October 11, 2004). Bush Can't Admit Mistakes, But We Can. CommonDreams.
- ^ Todd Chretien (July 26, 2004). Believing in a Green Resistance: A Reply to Norman Solomon & Medea Benjamin. Counterpunch.
- ^ Traci Hukill (September 2005). House Divided, House United: Five Bay Area activists talk about kids, work, and the tricky business of parenting while saving the world. Common Ground.
