CRACKING CODE PINK

Why Does the Peace Movement Have to Act Like An Irritating Children’s Birthday Party?

This piece originally appeared on salon.com in 2008. 

(Note to my beloved subscribers:  I thoroughly apologize for the inconsistency of these posts lately - I am careening through work 50-60 hours a week — but I pledge you, this Substack ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE and you’ll still get it once a week, hell or high water. Love!) 

Saturday, June 28, was a swampy 92 degrees in Washington; the sidewalks on Pennsylvania Avenue were frying. Flamboyant activist group Code Pink was scheduled to kick off a tent-city vigil for peace and democracy in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. "Let's bring this world-changing form of protest back to our nation's Capitol!" shouted the Code Pink Web Site.

Code Pink welcomes anybody "willing to be outrageous for peace." But despite its emphasis on "joy and humor," its ruckus-raising techniques often cause me and my liberal communi…