Plowshares Reflection: We See Nuclear Weapons As A Cocked Gun Needed To Maintain White Supremacy

Official seal covered in blood at Kings Bay Naval Base, the biggest nuclear submarine base in the world.

I sent off postcards earlier this week to the seven Kings Bay Plowshares activists who protested at a nuclear weapons naval base in Georgia on April 5.

Information on how to do that yourself:

Camden County Detention Facility, P.O. Box 699, Woodbine, GA 31569

Clare Grady 65197
Patrick O’Neill 65205
Elizabeth McAlister 65198
Stephen Kelly 65201
Martha Hennessy 65206
Mark Colville 65200
Carmen Trotta 65203

“Inmates may only receive plain white pre-paid postcards. Postcards may not have any pictures nor backgrounds on them. Plain white postcards may be purchased at any Post Office. All postcards are subject to search and /or screening. Postcards should have a return address in situations where the post card must be returned. Inmates cannot receive letters or e-mail.”

Photo credit: Alice Bach

Several of the activists are sleeping on mattresses on the floor of an overcrowded prison as Chief Magistrate Jennifer E. Lewis denied bail for the two felony charges --  possession of tools for the commission of a crime and interference with government property -- and set it at $50,000 for the misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass. These state charges may be replaced by federal charges according to the legal team, but in the meantime they are appealing the bond decision.

How do these charges stack up against the war crimes of the U.S. military? is a question that the judge who made sure the seven would stay in jail should consider.

But in these Kafka-esque times, the real crime is challenging the mighty U.S. military and its right to consume resources and life at will.

Clare Grady has written the following reflection that is being shared by Catholic Worker friends and family:

We say, 'the ultimate logic of Trident is omnicide', and yet, the explosive power of this weapon is only part of what we want to make visible. We see that nuclear weapons kill every day by their mere existence. Their production requires mining, refining, testing, and dumping of radioactive material, which poisons sacred Earth and Water, all on Indigenous land. 

We see the billions of dollars it takes to build and maintain the Trident system as stolen resources, which are desperately needed for human needs. 

We see nuclear weapons as a cocked gun, the biggest gun, used 24/7 to ENFORCE the many layers of state-sponsored violence and deadly force required to maintain white supremacy, global capitalism, and global domination. 

We invite others who have been privileged by these systems to join us in withdrawing consent from their deadly function and purpose.

We live with hope for a nuclear-free, decolonized world.

According to Nuclear Resister, "This is the latest of 100 similar actions around the world beginning in 1980 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.".

For more information you can see my previous post of their statement at the time of the action. To follow this case, you can go to the Kings Bay Plowshares Facebook page.