Letters: Protesters do not represent anti-war movement

After explaining to a fellow student on an East-West bus the reasons behind the traffic jam at the traffic circle on Thursday afternoon, he pinned the action on Peace at Duke, a prominent anti-war group on campus. I am a member of the Peace at Duke group. I do not condone this form of protest. Please allow me to explain to you, as I did to this fellow student, who the people are who so rudely and selfishly stage these protests to ruin the schedules of innocent students, faculty and visitors and prevent the realization of the agenda of Duke Student Government, an organization not affiliated with international politics.

Because I attend Peace at Duke meetings, and I receive information about events and the organization through the group's listserv, I am certain that the people leading these radical forms of protest do not represent the ideas of the entire Peace at Duke organization, but rather a splinter group called Civil Disobedience. These people who forcibly push their ideas on others neither represent the anti-war movement on campus, nor do they make up a majority of those affiliated with Peace at Duke.

So before you arbitrarily label me or anyone else affiliated with Peace at Duke a radical leftist who opposes this war without class or respect for the well-being of the entire Duke community, take my words into consideration. I hope that the actions of these select few do not translate into a biased view of anti-war Duke students. Conversely, I hope that the information desk that I and some fellow members of Peace at Duke will begin on Monday does not translate into a biased view of anti-war students. Before lumping us all into one category, please realize that there is a difference between a liberal moderate who considers this war unjust and a radical leftist who considers this war unjust.