To the editor:

In response to “Anti-anarchy,” (Public Forum, April 4): With all due respect, King and Gandhi never stopped a war. Locking oneself in the closet would be as effective as submitting to a fruitless arrest. History shows that regardless of how many are arrested, and of public opinion, the wars will not stop.

Instead of listening to paltry speeches, suppose the 500,000 people in Washington in February had chosen to occupy government buildings, or target war-profiteer corporations; we might see a much different situation today.

Peace will not be achieved through the rule of law. The rule of law is the very construct by which rulers force their subjects to murder the people of another land in order to seize control of more power for themselves and wealth for their backers. Indeed, nearly every president since 1900 has started a war. Without rulers to force people to kill, war on the scale seen in the past centuries would be impossible.

The true enemy of the peace movement is the fear and lack of conviction in the hearts of most of its members. If their goal was to parade, sing and be recorded for posterity, they have succeeded; if their goal was to stop this war, and all war, they have again failed miserably.

Eric Matney,

Lawrence