Mike Watt, founder of the Minutemen, drew angry protests on the Georgetown campus yesterday when– hang on. What?…I’m sorry, my producers have informed me that it was actually Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, and not the founder of the seminal southern California punk band. They also have informed me that I’m fired.

Once we got past the understandable confusion caused by Fox5’s headline we learned that Simcox drew a large crowd of protesters at his appearance, prompted by similar protests, such as the one at Columbia University earlier this month and publicized online by the grassroots journalists at DCIndymedia. The perceived racism at the core of the organization’s focus on armed citizen patrols and border fences brought out a group of about 100 students and like-minded protesters, but the Georgetown demonstration was far less incendiary than the mêlée that ensued in New York. Which just goes to show that in D.C. we really know how to respectfully protest. Or that New Yorkers could totally beat us up.

While Simcox lectured for an hour inside Copley Formal Lounge, his opponents marched and chanted within a cordoned-off area designated for the event. Simcox’s talk did include one point on which he and the collected naysayers were probably in complete agreement on: voicing a strong opposition to the war in Iraq.

Simcox faced stiff opposition before even arriving on campus, though. Hoya columnist Moises Mendoza, in an editorial, voiced the concerns of many Georgetown students who felt that Simcox should never have been invited to speak at all, claiming that giving them a forum such as this increases their foothold on mainstream acceptance. Looking at the protesters, though, it seems pretty clear that most were disagreeing with Simcox’s positions, moreso than simply his presence on campus. A lot of those at the demonstration are more mobilized and more knowledgeable as a result of Simcox’s visit, and their opportunity to voice their opposition to what he stands for. Hopefully some of those who opposed giving the Minutemen a platform now realize that healthy debate is a whole lot more constructive than no debate at all.

Photo courtesy Indymedia.