As a Trotskyist who has been involved in hundreds of demonstrations over the past 27 years, I must say that I object very strongly to the tactic of disrupting religious services of any kind. This is a stupid and utterly indefensible form of protest, seemingly calculated to make the left look like a bunch of idiots, and to alienate people who might otherwise be sympathetic to criticism of the arch-reactionary Cardinal George.

I can't even think of a precedent for this kind of an action in the history of the left in the US. It's reprehensible to pull a stunt like this during a religious service. Leaflet the mass if you like - respectful of people's religious beliefs - very careful not to appear to be preventing anyone from attending religious services. Patiently discuss the issues - before and after the service. But a religious service is not analogous to a public meeting where Cardinal George is going to speak, in which case picketing might be appropriate and a dynamic intervention like this one might be necessary if there was an effort to prevent important issues from being discussed during the open mike portion of the meeting.

I just want every worker in Chicago to know that disrupting religious services is NOT an acceptable way to protest as far as Marxists are concerned. I'm very sorry to hear that these misguided activists decided that it was an acceptable tactic. They have much to learn. Their hearts may have been in the right place, but their heads were decidedly NOT. They clearly would have benefited from some guidance from members of the workers movement, who most assuredly would have attempted to dissuade them from bringing discredit on the entire workers movement and the anti-war movement through the use of such an insensitive, grandstanding, inappropriate form of protest.

Having said all that: I agree that all the charges should be dropped against these activists except that they should have to go clean up the beige carpet and the pews that they stained with the fake blood as a "penance" for their misguided youthful idiocy... and apologise to the parishoners at the same church before, during (ONLY if invited to do so!) and after services next Sunday for their well-intentioned, youthful stupidity.

Varlet