Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday Night non-Fights
Rhonda and I participated in the weekly vigil in front of the recruiting center by Lloyd Center on Broadway. We were on time, and everyone else was late. It made us kind of nervous because we thought we'd be the only ones there. Final turn out was about seven.
When we first got there, I pointed my sign at them, the "Killing is Wrong" sign. I had the "Abeer Qassim al-Janabi" sign pointed at them as well. They started by laughing at us, and I tapped my "Killing is Wrong" sign and smiled big at them. They didn't laugh at us for long, they disappeared into the building.
Later I handed a copy of my poem "Complicity in the Form of Silence" to the African American recruiter. I really like talking with that guy. I seem to be able to get a toe hold on his conscience, but not much more. A little may be enough, who knows. He glanced at the poem and I assume it has been thrown away or is currently being attached bo my FBI file. Gotta protect the wealthy and the status quo from people like us who challenge that false belief.
Rhonda came up to me later and mentioned that we didn't get as many honks and signs of support until I showed up there holding my signs and flipping peace signs with a big grin on my face to all the passers by. I don't know if I believe that, but we are getting a lot of signs of support from people.
Another factor that may play into the signs of support is that "Mr. Peace" is no longer coming. He, to my understanding, was quite confrontational to the recruiters and sometimes yelled at them...peacefully, of course.
I look at it like this: Many of my friends have been vets, many of them Vietnam Vets. All of my friends, at least, had a change of heart about this war bullshit. Many have even educated themselves about what the fuck is going on in the field of death making. These guys just might be my future friends and may turn their backs on this bullshit militarism and speak out against it. Some of the most effective anti-recruiters are those who have been there. They know what it is like and they know the lifetime consequences.
During the vigil, I screamed at a few passers-by who flipped us off and gave us the thumbs down to "SIGN UP!" I did this once in front of the Black recruiter. Afterward, Rhonda joked with him, telling him that I'm trying to get them more recruits in those who flip us off. "Never support a war you're not willing to take up arms for and fight yourself," I told him a buddy of mine told me. He certainly agreed with that.
As we were packing up, I told the recruiter who had told me that, and completed the saying with "...because you are asking others to do your killing for you." I told him the man was a Vietnam Vet and killed a lot of people. "They come to him every night, he told me. That is why he only gets about 3 hours sleep a night." He had a recruit hanging out with him. I didn't even realize what I had said until afterwards. If that doesn't make him or any recruit a little nervous about killing, I'm not sure what will.
Maybe we'll see you next Tuesday, eh?
When we first got there, I pointed my sign at them, the "Killing is Wrong" sign. I had the "Abeer Qassim al-Janabi" sign pointed at them as well. They started by laughing at us, and I tapped my "Killing is Wrong" sign and smiled big at them. They didn't laugh at us for long, they disappeared into the building.
Later I handed a copy of my poem "Complicity in the Form of Silence" to the African American recruiter. I really like talking with that guy. I seem to be able to get a toe hold on his conscience, but not much more. A little may be enough, who knows. He glanced at the poem and I assume it has been thrown away or is currently being attached bo my FBI file. Gotta protect the wealthy and the status quo from people like us who challenge that false belief.
Rhonda came up to me later and mentioned that we didn't get as many honks and signs of support until I showed up there holding my signs and flipping peace signs with a big grin on my face to all the passers by. I don't know if I believe that, but we are getting a lot of signs of support from people.
Another factor that may play into the signs of support is that "Mr. Peace" is no longer coming. He, to my understanding, was quite confrontational to the recruiters and sometimes yelled at them...peacefully, of course.
I look at it like this: Many of my friends have been vets, many of them Vietnam Vets. All of my friends, at least, had a change of heart about this war bullshit. Many have even educated themselves about what the fuck is going on in the field of death making. These guys just might be my future friends and may turn their backs on this bullshit militarism and speak out against it. Some of the most effective anti-recruiters are those who have been there. They know what it is like and they know the lifetime consequences.
During the vigil, I screamed at a few passers-by who flipped us off and gave us the thumbs down to "SIGN UP!" I did this once in front of the Black recruiter. Afterward, Rhonda joked with him, telling him that I'm trying to get them more recruits in those who flip us off. "Never support a war you're not willing to take up arms for and fight yourself," I told him a buddy of mine told me. He certainly agreed with that.
As we were packing up, I told the recruiter who had told me that, and completed the saying with "...because you are asking others to do your killing for you." I told him the man was a Vietnam Vet and killed a lot of people. "They come to him every night, he told me. That is why he only gets about 3 hours sleep a night." He had a recruit hanging out with him. I didn't even realize what I had said until afterwards. If that doesn't make him or any recruit a little nervous about killing, I'm not sure what will.
Maybe we'll see you next Tuesday, eh?
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