Tom and I participated in some workshops that were offered while we were at Camp Casey. We couldn’t attend all of them, but here are some that we did:
Counter-Recruitment
We were interested in this because we are engaged in counter-recruitment here in Utah and want our campaign to become more active with the Desert Greens Green Party of Utah which has a section on its website with its position on military recruitment in schools, along with opt-out forms for parents to request exemption from the military recruitment clause in the No Child Left Behind Act.
This workshop was presented by Polly Miller, a teacher in the inner city of Syracuse, NY and David Ladesma of San Jose, CA who is with Gold Star Families for Peace and who lost a brother in Iraq.
We learned tips about tabling in schools in career fairs to explain the rights of enlistees in the military and also to provide the complete military contract and explain it fully to students. Recruiteres cannot be banned from schools by law, however schools can curb how often recruiteres visit schools. For example, schools can set it up that recruiters can visit only on certain days of the week at a specific time and by appointment only.
The question of how to address a student who claims that joining the military is the only choice they have was answered by encouraging us to “go to their heart”. Ask them, “What will happen to your family if something happens to you?” It is then important to follow up with presenting the options of how to get into college and trade schools and to give these students the tools they need to take advantage of the opportunities not widely advertised for low income families to be able to send their children to these post high school institutions.
Another problem that exisits is that familes of undocumented workers cannot fille out the FAFSA (FREE Application for Federal Student Aid) forms for their children. But there are ways to get around this and they need to be made aware of this and we need to help them with this.
Apparently the army has begun a new campaign: Boost Up. The U.S. Army and the Ad Council have partnered to develop a public service advertising campaign “to motivate kids and demonstrate the importance of staying in school and obtaining a high school diploma”. It is targeted at at-risk youth who are likely to drop out without interventions. We need to counter this with interventions that do not promote militarism.
The military is also starting to recruit gang members who are creating problems by engaging in criminal actions while in service and on active duty.
It is important to make use of our local ACLU to elp students know what their rights are as well.
Also of importance is to make students aware of abuses that occur by military recruiters. For example, here is a link to a story of over 100 women being abused:
Sexual Abuse By Military Recruiters Found.
Regarding the GI Bill: It’s not the same today as it was in the past. The same benefits are not affored to today’s GI’s.
Suggested Action Items:
“Shout Outs” – This is a tactic whereby students stand in front of the recruiter’s table and “converse” in the loudest possible voice (about homework, classes, etc.).
“Ask Stupid Questions at Career Fairs in Schools” – A tactic where students approach a recruiter’s table and ask one “stupid” question after another, to take up the recruiters time.
“Ask Stupid Questions by phone” – A tactic where a group of students and/or parents make phone call after phone call to the recruiting station and ask stupid questions, tying up all their time.
”
Here are some websites we learned about in this workshop:
Street Level, a documentary about the everyday, unaffected, decent rigors of daily life in America. While the stuffed shirts in Washington make headlines and ready the rest of the world for democracy, the common people on the American street deal with the more mundane tasks of feeding their families, paying their bills and trying to figure out how to hell to get their prescriptions filled.
Lake Affect Online Magazine – poetry issue. Perhaps with all this violence and upheaval it is time again for silence and solitude, the empty twin prerequisites for the singular poem. Sound and silence, where the wounded soul laughs and dies.
Not Your Soldier – gives youth the tools we need to stop the military invasion of our schools and our communities.
Project Yano – The Project on Youth and Non-Military Opportunities
Just Think First
War Resisters League
Campus Anti-War Network
American Friends Service Committee – Youth and Militarism resources
Freeway Blogging
Scarlet, founder of Freeway Blogger, gave a workshop in……you guessed it! “Freeway Blogging”.
On his way to Camp Casey, Scarlet put up his 3,000th sign!
One thing we have lost on the left is the power of the individual.
The problem with protesting is that no one sees it – rallies can be really lame!
It is our first amendment right to hang signs in freeways, which are public property.
Scarlet’s Points and Tips:
This can be done alone or with a few friends – no formal organizing needed!
Signs do NOT need to be “spectacular” – they won’t stay up for long so the simpler the better. Look for locations that reuqire an effort or detour/delay to remove them. Use cardboard against a fence with bunji cords behind the cardboard. It’s fast and easy.
If approached by the police, do everything they ask. (It’s not worth getting into trouble over this – legal actions can be taken later – document and take photos).
Fences in front of walls are good places to do sign drops. Trees above retaining walls near malls. Use cheap latex paint on cardboard – this will make it waterproof. You can also use wood if you think the sign will be up for a long time. You can use wood signs on decaying billboards (do this at night because you will need a ladder).
Harness people’s laziness and sloth (they won’t take the signs down, especially if they are hard to reach) – “Use the Sloth, Luke!” (Tom’s coined phrase).
Being sneaky is good for you. The only time you should be “exposed” is the time it takes to actually put up or drop the sign. Keep it folded as you proceed to your target area.
Advertisers say that seven words is the good number for a message. But do “whatever” – free speech!
On “fearlessness”: What most folks are really afraid of is looking foolish and being a freak.
Send photos of your signs to freewayblogger.com and freewayblogger@yahoo.com. Be sure to take the photo after they are made but before they are put up.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 