Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Speaking of Stupid People
My wife and I participate in a vigil every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30pm in front of the recruiting station on 1317 NE Broadway, Portland, Oregon. My wife, Rhonda, the person who started it, has been doing it for over a year now.
Yesterday, she was talked to by an elderly black man who was in full support of the U.S. military. Like with Indians being in the military, I find it odd that a black man would support the military of the nation that ALLOWED the lynching of his fellow blacks into the 1960's. Where racism against his people is still rampant. Where blacks are frequently killed for minor crimes like failure to use a turn signal. My wife, of course, argued with him beautifully.
I hold a sign that says: "Killing is Wrong." A young white man with his wife and child stopped and informed me that I am painting all soldiers as killers.
"They are," I told him.
He was shocked and made a few comments.
"Complicity in killing is just like killing."
He, of course, didn't get it, and started in with those stupid stupid stupid statements of "Do you like living in the land of the free."
I informed him that his people in order to be "free" sluaghtered 98% of my people. Before we could have a real discussion beyond stupid jingoistic statements by yet another "stupid white man," he drove off.
No one tells me what freedom is. He must mean the freedom of this nation to have gotten away with the genocide of Indians. To have gotten away with raping, murdering, kidnapping, torturing, performing medical experiments on, imprisoning, etc., Indian children. He must mean the freedom for oil corporations to invade and oppress various nations to steal their wealth so stupid white men such as himself can fill his gas tank with dead Iraqi babies. He must mean the freedom of people to be homeless and on the streets. He must mean the freedom to have 120 channels and nothing to watch. He must mean the freedom for people to have medical experiments performed upon them. He must mean the freedom for the U.S. go get away with sterilizing Indian men and women, black men and women, Puertorican men and women, in order to protect the allegedly superior white race. Is that freedom? That must be the freedom this stupid white man of privilege must be talking about. Because aint none of those men gonna tell me what they believe freedom to be because they have no idea.
We had a good turn out, and you all are free to join in. Every Tuesday, at the above time and place.
This last one was a good turn out. There were lots of folks, and Rhonda and I were beginning to believe it would only be us.
Catholic Worker support was removed unilaterally by a man who is not a Catholic nor a Catholic Worker. He owns one of the local Catholic Worker houses however. Being an alleged man of peace, you'd think he'd be supportive of any non-violent actions attempting to bring about peace. But his little organization is exclusivist and elitist and chooses for the most part NOT to work with other peace organizations. Actual Catholic Workers have complained about the actions of this single person who is neither Catholic nor a Catholic Worker, but we have yet to see any Catholic Workers return to the vigil. Like pointed out earlier, however, we are still getting plenty of support, and Rhonda tells me that even if she is the only one, she will continue to do it on her own. I, of course, will be standing with her on that.
As we were leaving, the recruiters, being smart asses, waved good-bye to us. I placed my sign in front of their window, "Killing Is Wrong," and pointed profusely to the words. If they are Christians, I have to wonder what an idiot they think their god must be, having told that "thou shalt not kill," and all. Mighty arrogant of them.
This, again, brings me to the complicity issue of what soldiers do. In Haditha, soldiers brutally murdered 24 civilians as revenge killing. I'm supposed to support this. I'm supposed to feel "free" because of this.
Soldiers also raped a young Iraqi girl and murdered her whole family. I'm supposed to support this. This is supposed to make me feel more "free."
Suzanne Swift was coerced into having sex with her fellow military personell. For those of you that don't quite understand what coercion into sex means...RAPE!
These, and so many more attrocities, women's rights violations, human rights violations, etc., are what soldiers do, and those that don't are complicit in it because they KNOW it is done and do nothing about it. There are exceptions, Ehron Watada, Jeff Patterson, Suzanne Swift, Stephen Funk, etc.
Yesterday, she was talked to by an elderly black man who was in full support of the U.S. military. Like with Indians being in the military, I find it odd that a black man would support the military of the nation that ALLOWED the lynching of his fellow blacks into the 1960's. Where racism against his people is still rampant. Where blacks are frequently killed for minor crimes like failure to use a turn signal. My wife, of course, argued with him beautifully.
I hold a sign that says: "Killing is Wrong." A young white man with his wife and child stopped and informed me that I am painting all soldiers as killers.
"They are," I told him.
He was shocked and made a few comments.
"Complicity in killing is just like killing."
He, of course, didn't get it, and started in with those stupid stupid stupid statements of "Do you like living in the land of the free."
I informed him that his people in order to be "free" sluaghtered 98% of my people. Before we could have a real discussion beyond stupid jingoistic statements by yet another "stupid white man," he drove off.
No one tells me what freedom is. He must mean the freedom of this nation to have gotten away with the genocide of Indians. To have gotten away with raping, murdering, kidnapping, torturing, performing medical experiments on, imprisoning, etc., Indian children. He must mean the freedom for oil corporations to invade and oppress various nations to steal their wealth so stupid white men such as himself can fill his gas tank with dead Iraqi babies. He must mean the freedom of people to be homeless and on the streets. He must mean the freedom to have 120 channels and nothing to watch. He must mean the freedom for people to have medical experiments performed upon them. He must mean the freedom for the U.S. go get away with sterilizing Indian men and women, black men and women, Puertorican men and women, in order to protect the allegedly superior white race. Is that freedom? That must be the freedom this stupid white man of privilege must be talking about. Because aint none of those men gonna tell me what they believe freedom to be because they have no idea.
We had a good turn out, and you all are free to join in. Every Tuesday, at the above time and place.
This last one was a good turn out. There were lots of folks, and Rhonda and I were beginning to believe it would only be us.
Catholic Worker support was removed unilaterally by a man who is not a Catholic nor a Catholic Worker. He owns one of the local Catholic Worker houses however. Being an alleged man of peace, you'd think he'd be supportive of any non-violent actions attempting to bring about peace. But his little organization is exclusivist and elitist and chooses for the most part NOT to work with other peace organizations. Actual Catholic Workers have complained about the actions of this single person who is neither Catholic nor a Catholic Worker, but we have yet to see any Catholic Workers return to the vigil. Like pointed out earlier, however, we are still getting plenty of support, and Rhonda tells me that even if she is the only one, she will continue to do it on her own. I, of course, will be standing with her on that.
As we were leaving, the recruiters, being smart asses, waved good-bye to us. I placed my sign in front of their window, "Killing Is Wrong," and pointed profusely to the words. If they are Christians, I have to wonder what an idiot they think their god must be, having told that "thou shalt not kill," and all. Mighty arrogant of them.
This, again, brings me to the complicity issue of what soldiers do. In Haditha, soldiers brutally murdered 24 civilians as revenge killing. I'm supposed to support this. I'm supposed to feel "free" because of this.
Soldiers also raped a young Iraqi girl and murdered her whole family. I'm supposed to support this. This is supposed to make me feel more "free."
Suzanne Swift was coerced into having sex with her fellow military personell. For those of you that don't quite understand what coercion into sex means...RAPE!
These, and so many more attrocities, women's rights violations, human rights violations, etc., are what soldiers do, and those that don't are complicit in it because they KNOW it is done and do nothing about it. There are exceptions, Ehron Watada, Jeff Patterson, Suzanne Swift, Stephen Funk, etc.
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