Man on the Street: A Few War Questions

What’s your average man, woman and child on the street think about the war? We talked to a few of them today on 42nd Street just off Times Square. (Sadly, only one had a good war joke. Maybe we should have used the “Survivor” question about Cheney, Saddam, Chirac, Bush and Blitzer.) Pictures by Jim Lowney and text by Amy Langfield.

Name: Sarah.

Where are you from? Colorado.

How long will the war last? A couple weeks.

Do you think Saddam will use weapons of mass destruction? Yes, I think he’ll try.

What do you think of the anti-war protesters? They have a right to their own opinions.

Where are you getting your news about the war? ABC.

Do you think the media is doing a good job covering the war?Yes, I do.

Have you heard any good war jokes lately? No.

Name: Paul Beaton

Where are you from? Glasgow, Scotland

How long will the war last? A couple months.

Do you think Saddam will use weapons of mass destruction? Yes.

What do you think of the anti-war protesters? I agree with them.

Where are you getting your news about the war? BBC, generally.

Do you think the media is doing a good job covering the war? Yes.

Have you heard any good war jokes lately? No.

Name: Tim.

Where are you from? New York.

How long will the war last? I haven’t been keeping up with the blow-by-blow.

Do you think Saddam will use weapons of mass destruction? It’s a fear. Which way would I bet? I think it’s a last resort – if he’s even alive.

What do you think of the anti-war protesters? Lamest bunch I’ve ever seen in my life. I mean they walk around on their cell phones: “Oh yeah, I’ll meet you at the candlelight vigil.” It was all a big social thing. They make me sick.

Where are you getting your news about the war? I scan the first few (newspaper) pages – of whatever I find. I scan the Internet, MSNBC. I don’t watch TV.

Do you think the media is doing a good job covering the war?Yeah, I mean, they’re right there if you want to see anything.

Have you heard any good war jokes lately? I heard one on the radio: They’re changing all the Wal-Marts and Kmarts in Iraq to Targets.

Name: Jose

Where are you from? Manhattan

How long will the war last? I haven’t got the foggiest idea. Though I hope it’s not like the Vietnam War.

Do you think Saddam will use weapons of mass destruction? Probably, if they get close enough to push him to it.

What do you think of the anti-war protesters? Frankly everyone’s entitled to their point of view. I don’t agree with them.

Where are you getting your news about the war? Mostly from newspapers and TV – FOX 5 and the New York Post.

Do you think the media is doing a good job covering the war? I think they’re doing too good a job covering the war. Some things should be left unsaid.

Have you heard any good war jokes lately? No, not really.

Name: Jose Fernandez

Where are you from? New York City

How long will the war last? Judging by what’s going on now, I have no idea.

Do you think Saddam will use weapons of mass destruction? That’s most definite.

What do you think of the anti-war protesters? Well, their voice should be heard. But on the other hand, (it makes us conscious) … we’ll be thinking about what’s going on at home and we won’t do our job and that’s what gets the soldiers killed sometimes.

Where are you getting your news about the war? CNN

Do you think the media is doing a good job covering the war? They’re doing a good job. But they should be doing a better job of letting people know what’s going on with our troops.

Have you heard any good war jokes lately? (smiles) Not really. We haven’t been on the funny track lately. (Because of the soldiers killed) we haven’t been joking that much lately.

Name: Sam Hart (age 11)

Where are you from? Maryland

How long will the war last? I don’t know.

Do you think Saddam will use weapons of mass destruction? Not against us, but against others.

What do you think of the anti-war protesters? They’re good. (Makes thumbs up sign.)

Where are you getting your news about the war? CNN and the Washington Post.

Do you think the media is doing a good job covering the war? I don’t know. I don’t have anything to compare it to.

Have you heard any good war jokes lately? No.

Name: Doreen Diaz

Where are you from? Queens

How long will the war last? I have no idea.

Do you think Saddam will use weapons of mass destruction? Yes, I think so.

What do you think of the anti-war protesters? I don’t know.

Where are you getting your news about the war? The Internet – The Phillipine Star

Do you think the media is doing a good job covering the war? Yeah.

Have you heard any good war jokes lately? No.

Name: Rochelle.

Where are you from? Brooklyn.

How long will the war last? No idea. I hope it’s over fast.

Do you think Saddam will use weapons of mass destruction? I think if he had ‘em, he’ll use ‘em – gas, poison.

What do you think of the anti-war protesters? I went to Washington, but now that it’s started, I’m not going to protest. (I agree with some of them, but) I think they’re misinformed on some points. I don’t want the war. I didn’t vote for this president. … I think now that the war started, they need to choose different avenues.

Where are you getting your news about the war? Everywhere. You can’t get away from it now. I listen to it on the radio in the morning on 1010 WINS. In the middle of my programs, it comes on. Before, I used to seek it out, but now it won’t let me go.

Do you think the media is doing a good job covering the war? Yeah, considering it’s a play-by-play. I guess they are.

Have you heard any good war jokes lately? No. My friends and I try not to talk about the war.

Posted by Jim at March 25, 2003 10:49 PM