This was a good account of the way large anti-war institutions tend to operate, and although I commend you for bringing it up, your article is a bit of a downer.

Are we to be left with the impression that the last hope for resistance is just an institutional cop-out? I'm sure you didn't mean that we should give up, but where's the alternatives?

So maybe UFPJ is full of bossy-pants. They tell you what you should protest, and when.

Guess what? They're not the boss of us. We can protest whatever we want, whenever we want to, HOWEVER we want, and UFPJ can't say a thing about it. They've got some money, yes, but last time I checked, most of the really worthwhile activism in this country is done with almost none of the green stuff. Plus, everyone knows that if you get a significant people's movement going, UFPJ will eventually join in with their dollars and busses too.

Roll with UFPJ when it's convenient. Use their contacts, their resources...support them when they're doing something genuinely awesome.

And when they try to tell you what to do or what to think, just ignore them. Simple as that. March in their parade with a sign they don't allow. Keep talking - loudly - when the chairman of the meeting tries to interrupt you.

What are they gonna do?