(click on image for details.)
The weekend anti-war events began today with an anti-recruitment protest in front of a Salt Lake City military recruitment center. People held signs, played instruments, and the Radical Cheerleaders performed(I am a member! We performed right in front of the store front window where the recruiters were working at their desks. We really “shook it up” and by the end of the cheer, despite their not looking at us, we had the dudes smiling with this cheer:
“War and Occupation
Is wrong for any nation!
The U.S. needs to fix and see
the holes in our democracy!
Bring the troops home NOW! (three times)
During the last sentence, Shea, one of the cheerleaders leaps into the air while gonging a gong. She was literally flying across the store front window, getting laughs out of the recruiters….
This weekend’s forcast isn’t exactly rally-going weather…just bring your warm clothes, umbrellas, raincoats and VOICES!! Here is a schedule of events beginning tomorrow and going through Monday:
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I have been party of the planning committee to organize a series of events this weekend marking the third anniversary of the illegal war in Iraq.
I will be posting more detailed information here in a day or two. Meantime, viewers can see the events listing at: THREE YEARS TOO MANY.
Yeseterday, a rally was held in protest of the plight of Tibetans and the rememberance of the 47th anniversary of Uprising Day at the Federal Building Plaza in downtown Salt Lake.
The Utah Tibetan Association holds this protest every year to educate the public on the near extinction of Tibetan people since being held under Chines Occupation.
Chuck Tripp, a Desert Greens Green Party of Utah member and political science professor at Westminster College participates in the event every year.
“This issue hasn’t gone away,” said Westminster College professor Chuck Tripp, who was joined at the protest by some of his political science students.
Protests and bumper stickers reading “Free Tibet” have been met with cynicism over the years, according to Tripp. “It became something of a joke,” he said.
But times have changed, Tripp added, and people are more “sophisticated” and less “misty-eyed” about Tibet’s ongoing struggles.
Tripp said he wanted to expose his students to Tibet’s culture of nonviolence and its brand of Buddhism. He praised Tibetans’ courage and staying power after decades of exile and “brutal” attacks by the Chinese government.
Image
Keith Johnson, Deseret Morning News
Dawa Bhuti prays during the Salt Lake demonstration Friday. About 50 people gathered to protest China’s occupation of Tibet.
“I think that’s a great lesson for all of us,” Tripp said.
One of his students, Joey Caputo, 24, held signs that called for a free Tibet. His reasons for protesting every year for the past four years run deeper than a distant quest for independent Tibetans.
“China as a whole I kind of have a problem with,” Caputo said. “China needs to open up and become more transparent.”
Caputo would like to see consumers make decisions that don’t finance a communist China — his shoes, for example, are union-made, and he buys used clothing.
Photos of yesterday’s event, taken by Tom King:
I am involved with represenatives of several organizations in planning a mass rally and march on March 18th, the weekend of the 3rd anniversary of the Iraq War. It will be a day of protest against that illegal war of agression that continues.
There will be other “celebrations” on that day.
I found this in today’s Deseret News – an announcement about an event being held blocks from my house:
Public invited to attend Thank A Soldier event
WEST JORDAN — The public is invited to attend the second annual Thank A Soldier event on Saturday, March 18, at Veterans’ Memorial Park, 7800 S. 1985 West.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be music, entertainment, camouflage face-painting for children, a rock climbing wall and more. There is no charge for admission.
I am not necessarily opposed to an event whereby citizens want to honor soldiers for their work, depending on the “work” such as disaster relief. I am opposed to honoring soldiers for the work in illegal wars and wars of agression and I am also opposed to glorifying the military with our children (or anyone else for that matter) by holding activities such as “camouflage face-painting”.
Is the concept of camouflage also going to be explained to the children? Will it be explained to them about the original concept verses camouflage in modern warfare as is explained in How Military Camouflage Works?
Will the concepts of concealment and deception in war via the use of camouflage be explained to children?
I am highlighting the camouflage concept of this event to point out that war is being glorified, not soldiers, even though events like this are framed as the latter. War should not be glorified, no matter what the justification in peoples’ minds. War is ugly and devastating. To celebrate war is to celebrate violence.
Utah’s legislative session passed a hate crimes and anti-bullying law this year. I think it sends mixed messages to our children to educate them on character in these areas while at the same time glorifying violence in the form of war.
Today’s Deseret News has an article on Deb Sawyer, a local peace activist in Salt Lake.
Deb is the director for The Gandhi Alliance for Peace, which has the mission of bringing the teachings of Gandhi to schools and providing assistance to citizens in countries ravaged by war and disaster. Projects of the Gandhi Alliance for Peace include Landmines (through its Adop-A-Minefield Program–providing support to remove landmines in Afghanistan) and Tsunami Relief.
“Our kids aren’t being taught non-violence,” she says. “Their images of bravery are of people standing up to violence with more violence. We want to teach them that there’s another way.”
Currently, Deb and her friends are raising funds to help villagers in Afghanistan, a country littered with millions of land mines and unexploded ordnance. Through the “Adopt-a-Minefield” program, land is being cleared so war refugees can find a safe place to resettle.
Deb has provided speeches and stories at local peace rallies in the past:
March 15, 2003
September 11, 2003
Every year the The Gandhi Alliance for Peace holds “Night of a Thousand Dinners” to raise money for its Adopt-A-Minefield Program. My vocal students from school are always invited by Deb to perform at this event, which is enjoyed by many and a great experience for my students.
Deb Sawyer is truly a model for peace activists in our community. I have always admired her and was happy today to see her and the work she is doing highlighted in a major Utah newspaper.
Have a heart: Be kind to your Valentine…..and humanity.
For the chocolate lovers out there, here are places you can purchase fair trade chocolate:
Utah
Ten Thousand Villages (They have Fair Trade goods here–I’m assuming they would have chocolate….)
Online
Global Exchange
Divine Heavenly Chocolate
Dubble
Lutheran World Relief
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged environment, fair trade, gift giving, peace, valentine's day
Just when you think you have heard it all……
Published on Friday, January 27, 2006 by the Progressive
Teacher Awaits Day in Court
by Matthew Rothschild
Deb Mayer was a teacher of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at Clear Creek Elementary School in Bloomington, Indiana, during the 2002-2003 school year. On January 10, 2003, she was leading a class discussion on an issue of “Time for Kids”—Time magazine’s school-age version, which the class usually discussed on Fridays and which is part of Clear Creek’s approved curriculum.
There were several articles in the magazine that discussed topics relating to the imminent war againstIraq, and one that mentioned a peace march.
According to Mayer, a student asked her if she would ever participate in such a march.
And Mayer said, “When I drive past the courthouse square and the demonstrators are picketing, I honk my horn for peace because their signs say, ‘Honk for peace.’ ” She added that she thought “it was
important for people to seek out peaceful solutions to problems before going to war and that we train kids to be mediators on the playground so that they can seek out peaceful solutions to their own problems.”
Mayer claims in a pending federal lawsuit that the school chilled her First Amendment rights because of this one conversation in class, which she says took all of about five minutes, and that the school district refused to renew her contract because of it. (The quotes above are taken from court documents.)
I spoke with Mayer on January 24—more than three years after this incident took place.
“It didn’t dawn on me that people would object to me saying peace was an option to war,” she says. “I didn’t even think it was controversial.”But it sure turned out to be.
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A man for whom I have very high respect is leaving Utah. Dan Webster, Communications Director of the Episocpal Diocese of Utah, is headed for New York City. He will become the media-relations director for the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.
I found out from friend who called me today and then found the article in today’s Salt Lake Tribune.
Dan has been a stalwart presence in the peace community here. He has participated in many peace rallies in Salt Lake at which he has been a featured speaker. Recently Father Dan flattered me by telling me, as he lovingly pointed his finger to me, that I am one of the reasons things happen in our peace community here. (Of course I blushed and denined that I singlely do this – what happens here is a concerted effort by many people in our community. I just facilitate getting the word out).
I will miss Father Dan immensely. I am glad to see him take such a position, though. Now his influence will be felt at a higher level. His shoes will be hard to fill, for sure.
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 