The Power of Letters

On July 28 at 5pm I will be in front of the Strand Theater in Rockland, Maine, standing against the racism and Islamophobia that broke out in response to a local history museum inviting Al Jazeera's Washington bureau chief to speak at their annual fundraiser. (Thanks to Midcoast Peace and Justice for organizing.) Tickets for the evening with Abderrahim Foukara are $35, and I probably won't be attending his talk; I'll read about it in the press later. Isn't that what journalism is for?

The event has raised the hackles of hundreds who voted in a depressing Bangor Daily News poll that asked: Do you agree with the decision to have Al-Jazeera’s Washington, D.C., bureau chief speak at a fundraiser for the General Henry Knox Museum? After my vote the count stood at YES 468 (25%) versus NO 1,374 (75% of 1,842 total votes). This from a paper described by the more rabid posters as "liberal."

The event raises money for the General Henry Knox Museum. Henry was a class warrior who triumphed, a buddy of George Washington and land speculator, who died allegedly choking on a chicken bone.

From the museum's website emerge hints of a social history begging to be told:

"He dabbled in many of the emerging businesses in midcoast Maine: He shipped timber, quarried lime, made bricks, experimented with agriculture, built canals on the Georges River and got involved with land speculation. Most in Thomaston welcomed him, despite what was perceived as his wife's haughtiness and fondness for gambling, as well as his struggles with squatters."

Appropriately enough, earlier in the season the museum invited Dr. Konstantin Dierks, Associate Professor of American History at Indiana University (Bloomington) and Associate Editor of The Historical Review, to discuss his work on the cultural, social, economic, and political history of communications. Dierks: "The American Revolution and the War of American Independence were fought over paper and with paper, over letters and with letters."

Nowadays such struggle are fought over bytes, with bytes.

According the the BDS,

The annual gala fundraiser is one of the museum’s biggest events, (Executive Director Ellen) Dyer said, adding that tickets are still available. Foukara follows in the footsteps of philanthropist Doris Buffet, last year’s speaker, and CBS newsman Bob Schieffer, who headlined the event in 2009. “I anticipate that this will be a success as well,” she said of Foukara’s speech. “We’re trying to promote an open conversation about what’s going on in the world now. Free speech is very much in keeping with what the Founding Fathers were trying to fight for.”

         The comments on the BDS article about the controversy are a Rorschach ink blot test of 21st century U.S. racism and jingoism, managing to slur everything from European-style single payer health care to "libtards" who allegedly supported Sadaam Hussein. Only a couple of posters seemed to have awareness of where Al Jazeera is based (Qatar) and whether it can really be considered a non-biased news source for the Arab spring uprisings, especially those taking place in oil rich Libya. Posters included birthers and several who self-identified as Vietnam vets, while topics ranged from the role of journalism in the age of Rupert Murdoch and phone hacking, to 9/11 as a false flag operation, the tax exempt status of churches vs. their role as political advocates, and the bill of rights, specifically the 1st amendment right to free speech. A recurring theme was what language we would all be speaking if certain posters had not sacrificed (self-appointed to speak for those who made the ultimate sacrifice, by the way) e.g. I gave you four years on the ground so you aren't speaking Russian right now.  

Posters argued, often at length, over freedom of religion, federal control of food production, the intricacies of Islamic applied theology, U.S. immigration policy -- and its history, and several revolutions besides just the successful tax revolt by a powerful bunch of aspiring landowners back in 1776. Posters urged that Mecca be nuked, and wished for Harry Truman to come back (Truman's name came up several times, actually). They discussed how to recognize propaganda, and debated when and where it is properly deployed. In a thread arguing that no WMDs were ever found in Iraq, and that even the CIA and the Republican Party admit it, is found this typical post: maybe not but they sure do have al queda and train their babies to kill Americans. duh!

Others that attracted my attention out of the 700+ posts:
Al-Jazeera has an agenda -- that is world-wide Sharia. It's funny (that's ironic) how people will scream "free speech" when the enemies of our freedoms want to talk, but if anyone pro-Israel wants to talk, they get death threats and hate speech and canceled.  Yet we give platforms to the worst sort of hate-mongers in the world. 

We have killed million around the world just because they wouldn't let American corporations screw them and steal their resources...all sold to the American public as 'protecting American interests' b.s. Don't post on things of which you clearly know nothing about...another proud product of our public indoctrination system.

As usual these days, public education took several hits. One poster contemptuously asked of someone who attributed the attack on Pearl Harbor to the U.S. denying oil to imperial Japan, did you learn that in public school?

Everything I need to know about Islam I learned on 11 September 2001.
End of discussion.  

Fact:  Muslims have started far fewer wars in the past 1000 years than Christians have.
Also:  It was a christian who led the holocaust.  

...although he (Hitler) made public statements which seemed to affirm religion, it was purely for political purposes. 

How much do you people hate America? Are you for real, inviting our enemy to speak. I can only hope enough protesters will show up and drown out his speech. Oh I forgot that's a liberal tactic.


There was some reasonable dialogue:

 

How exactly is a journalist from a multi-national news organization our enemy? 

it's like a house of cards.  if this speaker makes any sense, is human and in front of us, we might not hate him.  if we don't hate *him* then all Muslims aren't terrorists and that would blow our collective minds. 

HeartofSky  commented A nation afraid of...a journalist. Interesting. And also added this to the discussion: DirecTV satellite in Bangor carries Al Jazeera now. 

And some funnies:
Not every organization named Al ______ is a terrorist organization. If that is the criteria for a terrorist organization than Mr. Yankovic better run for the hills before the lynch mob comes to get him.

If there were two sides to the posting "debate" they might be characterized as:

I couldn't care less about Arabs or Al Jazeera or Isreal for that matter.  I care about America.  Islam, Sharia, Arabs and Al Jazeera should stay on their side of the planet! 

versus:

If we continue to play the ostrich and hide our heads, the world will eat us alive. We need to be more open and listen. If we just keep killing everyone we do not agree with, people will realize we are the problem and get us... just a thought.

Trumped by: They are desecrating our historical heritage - don't they know there is a war going on?

'Nuff said. See you in Rockland on July 28, or wherever else Islamophobia rears its ugly, un-American head. 

April 9, 2011 New York City rally of thousands against wars & racism

 

Rise of Right Wing "Populism" -- Coalition Building Ahead?

Drove home from the United National Peace Conference in Albany in a hopeful mood. Marching with 100+ folks on the last day was uplifting to our spirits, despite the distressing news of special prisons just for Muslims subject to "preemptive prosecution" by our government. The Muslim Solidarity Committee & Project SALAM had invited us to Masjid As-Salam where we were warmly welcomed and heard remarks from family members who are not able to visit or communicate with their fathers, sons, uncles and brothers who are whisked away in the night for crimes they "might" commit. A 12 year old girl has not seen her father in a year. The mother of a mentally challenged teenager recently learned his trial has been postponed for a year.

Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK said, since our host stated the belief that the mosque is under surveillance by the FBI, she had a message for her government: if you want to make me safer, stop bombing civilians abroad and violating civil rights here at home.

On the way out the door Mark and I were lucky enough to run into Nellie Bailey of the Harlem Tenants Council. We walked a ways with her and then her brother was nice enough to give us all a ride back to the conference hotel. Nellie wanted to know more about the last workshop, "The Rise of Right Wing Populism and the Tea Party: Do We Need a Right-Left Coalition?" which I had moderated. Nellie's Black Agenda radio co-host Glen Ford had been a speaker and she was curious about how the discussion went after the panelists spoke.

I told her about 100 people had attended, and that the overwhelming majority of those who came to the podium during discussion period agreed with Glen: if you invite tea party type groups to join an antiwar coalition, you will drive away people of color, indigenous people, LGBT people who are frightened by racist, anti-gay rhetoric. The history of right wing movements with white supremacist beliefs is a violent one. A white woman with an African American husband aptly summed up the consensus view: “Are you out of your minds?”

Medea was a panelist and shared that she was not interested in forming a coalition, but she had gone into the field at a tea party rally in Washington DC to find out more about what participants were thinking. She and other PINKs were spat on and called “code stink” while conducting their April 15 survey. Drawing tea partiers out about their antiwar sentiments exposes the hypocrisy of tea party leaders who focus on lowering taxes and reducing the deficit without addressing out of control spending on wars and occupations. Also, 80% of those surveyed favored continuing aid to Israel, the 5th richest country in the world, which receives a $3 billion credit for weapons each year at the U.S. taxpayer's expense.

Coalition building was on everyone's minds at the conference (videos here). Blanca Misse, graduate student and activist from UC Berkeley, called for grassroots organizers and activists in workers rights, peace, immigration, and other movements to come together. Dr. Margaret Flowers of Physicians for a National Health Program and Baucus 13 fame was there with her family. Veteran Ethan McCord came to share “facts on the ground” from the now infamous Collateral Murder video. His statement at the press conference stays with me. An 18 year old asked what happened in basic training to make soldiers capable of acting as those in the video did, laughing while mowing down civilians and even children. McCord: “First, let me just say that nobody who is in the military in Iraq wants to be there. Nobody.”

On the way back into Maine we drove by a trailer with a lot of signs on the lawn facing the highway, including a 6ft high cartoon of President Obama smoking a cigar labeled “Constitution” and lighting it from a burning paper labeled “Bill of Rights.” While photographing this display we were greeted by Patrick, the creator. He had a lot of other signs on his lawn as well: praising Arizona's SB1070 law, pleading for jobs, and suggesting all racists be deported (white racists to South Africa, etc.).

Patrick said he was unemployed, and his wife was no longer a teacher because she didn't get along with the administration. He seemed to assume we were socialists for some reason, though we had had said nothing about our beliefs. “If you're a socialist you want to help people. I used to be a car mechanic. Lost my job and can't find a job and don't have no car. If you believe in socialism, then you should give me your car.”

He also had painted a sign of a black man about to strike a white infant with a long stick. This was about the “new Black Panther party which will kill all the crackers” according to Patrick.

Here's an exchange we had about his big cartoon:

Me: What has Obama done against the constitution that you're mad about – is it renewing the Patriot Act? (He acted unsure what that was.) Is it about the 2nd amendment? (“You all gotta be liberals.") Your sign here shows Obama burning the Bill of Rights. What's that about?

Patrick: That's what he's done, he's shredded the constitution. It's as good as gone. He's put all his eggs in energy basket. When you go out there those windmills -- half of them don't work. They don't tell you that.

I asked how he felt about U.S. aid to Israel.

Patrick: Israel is a great ally. They're our best friend. But it's like that friend that every time you go to a bar together, they get in a fight.

After we drove away my husband said Patrick was parroting a lot of incoherent stuff from right wing hate radio. I rode home thinking of Chomsky saying we ignore the authentic distress of the non-working poor at our peril (because the fascists will organize them instead of our doing it). Also wondering what Patrick's isolation without a car way out in the sticks would lead to. In my fantasy world I have the funds to buy a decent used car, and I leave it in his driveway with a note, “You're right, Patrick, I have socialist tendencies.”

And I'm with Nellie and Glen. Right wing populism scares the crap out of me.

CLOSED June, 2010

The connection between the economy and out of control military spending was a theme of this year's National Peace Conference in Albany July 23-25. Several speakers mentioned it, and the very words Bring Our War $ Home were heard from the podium both at the news conference and the opening plenary. Our banner hung in the large ballroom throughout the conference, and was carried in the rally and march that ended the conference.

About 36 people attended a workshop on BOW$H, offered by Mark Roman along with representatives of the Northampton, Mass. BOW$H campaign, the 25% campaign in Massachusetts, and the National Priorities Project. The audience was highly engaged and curious to know more, with many sharing similar efforts they are making in their own communities: a Binghamton, NY group raised money to have a cost of war sign that shared a different fact each day about war spending displayed on city hall; a socialist candidate for state legislature in Connecticut is using campaign materials listing the things that their state's contribution to war costs could have bought instead.

The workshop flyer (pasted in below) was also shared at a potluck supper for about 60 people, sponsored by the local group Women Against War. CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin had been invited to speak about becoming more active at the local level, and she asked me to talk about our campaign in Maine. The flyers CODEPINK used at the conference said “Rebuild America, or Bomb Afghanistan?” and on the back: "Bring our War $$$ Home CODEPINK chapters are making noise about the cost of war and impacts in their own communities. Taking leadership from our rockin’ Maine local group, tools, tips and action ideas posted soon!" They are linking our flyer to their national website. So word is getting around.

With sadness I add the postscript that our Congress, which does not make even a pretense of representing the will of the people, vote another $33 billion to escalate the war in Afghanistan in the coming year. Another “emergency” supplemental bill has been maneuvered through the system, for more blood stained corporate profits. Both Rep. Michaud and Pingree voted “no” but overall there were more than twice as many yes votes as no, even while more than half the public is now opposed to continuing the war.

We are looking for more locales in Maine to bring resolutions / hold public forums on the war spending issue. Please think about doing this in your town.

BOW$H FLYER:

Bring Our War $$ Home

Maine's campaign to generate conversations in our communities
that connect the dots between military spending and
economic crisis in the U.S.A.

RESOLUTIONS
Towns, cities, and school districts facing budget cuts
call on their representatives in the House
to redirect spending from military
to solve funding shortfalls faced by
schools, health services, infrastructure, etc.

BOW$H CAMPAIGN COALITION:
Americans Who Tell the Truth, CODEPINK Maine, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, The Kennebunks Peace Department, Maine Green Independent Party, Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center, Maine Veterans for Peace, Midcoast Peace & Justice, Military Families Speak Out - Maine Chapter, Pax Christi Maine, Peace Action Maine, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, PeaceWorks, Peninsula Peace and Justice (Blue Hill), Rockland P&J, ROSC (Resources for Organizing and Social Change), Union of Maine Visual Artists, Waterville Area Bridges for Peace & Justice.

HOW TO BRING A RESOLUTION TO YOUR COMMUNITY:

• Download and edit a BOW$H resolution that fits your audience.
• Contact your town office or school board district office to find out when their next public meeting is, and how to get an item on the agenda.
• Dowload and print out a flyer with key points about the effects of military spending on your local budget. Use the National Priorities Project website to find data for your state, which can be used with population data to get a rough estimate of the cost of wars to individual towns and cities. Make copies of the flyer.
• Go to the meeting, and pass out flyers to others in the audience while you wait for it to begin. Keep any conversations light at this point – you are just raising the issue for now.
• Wait until the citizen's delegation part of the agenda (get a copy of the agenda when you come in so you will know where in the line up this occurs).
• When you are recognized by the person chairing the meeting, stand up and hand the clerk or each of the selectmen, councilors or school board directors a copy of the resolution.
• Speak briefly, calmly and clearly asking them to consider adopting a resolution calling on the House reps from the area to reallocate funds from military to other areas that are struggling to find adequate funding.
• Very likely they will respond by saying they will put your request on the agenda for a subsequent meeting. In that case, thank them and sit down.
• Go to the meeting where you are formally on the agenda with another, more detailed handout for the audience and the decision makers.
• Speak on behalf of the resolution (see resources for a sample of what you might say).
• Organize some other community members to also speak in favor of adopting the resolution.
• Remain calm if criticized or rebuked. Repeat the BOW$H mantra silently: “I am opening a space for this discussion to occur. Good for me!!!”
• In some cases, it may be best to contact potentially friendly decision makers in advance and invite their input into both the wording of the resolution and the process for trying to get it adopted.
• In some cases, it may be a good idea to notify the press that the matter will come before the decision making body.
• No matter what the outcome – the resolution passes, is tabled to a later date, fails, or they vote to “pass over” and not consider it – congratulate yourself on your effort and repeat the BOW$H mantra: “I am opening a space for this discussion to occur. That is the goal.”

ASKING STATE LEGISLATORS TO SIGN A LETTER VERSION:

• Download and edit a BOW$H resolution, then craft it into a letter from your state representatives and senators to your representative in the House.
• Contact your state rep and state senator and ask them to sign on to the letter.
• Ask your friends to do the same with their state reps and senators.
• Collect all the original signatures, then make a photocopy and send it to your rep in the House.
• Follow up with a phone call to find out if they received it, and what they plan to do about it.

MORE WAYS TO GET CONVERSATIONS STARTED IN YOUR COMMUNITY:
ONLINE COMMENTS 5 minute action:

• Find an article or letter to the editor about budget cuts, funding shortfalls, lack of essential services in your community.
• Write a comment or response letter pointing out that there is a solution: bring our war $$ home.
• Connect the dots for readers by estimating how many minutes of war in Afghanistan (at around $48,000 per minute) would solve this particular funding crisis.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY 10 minute action:

• Download and print out a BOW$H message that fits your audience (see example above and longer list below).
• Take the message to a location where a school or business has closed, or a budget cut meeting is being held.
• Create a photo or video of the message in the location.
• Upload your images to flickr or YouTube and share, share, share.

CALL-A-THON 1 hour action:

• Download and print out a BOW$H message that fits your audience (see example above and longer list below).
• Download and print out flyer with key points about how military spending affects federal, state, local and school budgets.
• Take the message to a nearby public space such as the sidewalk in front of your local post office or grocery store.
• Ask passersby how they feel about defunding wars in order to fund education, bridge repairs, or another hot button issue for your community.
• If they agree that this is a workable solution, ask them if they would be willing to phone their congress critter using your cell phone. Provide them with a brief description of what will happen (e.g. “An operator will answer, you ask for Rep. George Martin, and a staffer will answer and take your message.”)
• You can also have printed out simple talking points to support them in making the call.

PUBLIC CONTACT 2 hour action:

• Download and print out a BOW$H message that fits your audience (see example above and longer list below).
• Crash your congress member's fundraiser or other public appearance.
• Display your message, hand out flyers, and engage the critter in discussion if possible.

CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE VISIT 3 hour action:

• Download and print out a BOW$H message that fits your audience (see example above and longer list below).
• Take the message to your congress member's nearest district office.
• Ask the highest ranking staff member you can talk to to explain their boss's position on defunding wars in order to fund education, bridge repairs, or another hot button issue for your community.
• Create a video of the question and the answer.
• Upload your video to YouTube and share, share, share.

DRAW-A-THON 2 month action (this one is extra fun):

• Contact some artists and invite them to a Draw-a-thon to create images envisioning how the ____ billion your state has contributed to the wars so far could have been spent.
• Organize a venue and refreshments for the artists to work together for a day, if possible.
• Organize a pot luck supper for the public to view their work and celebrate their accomplishments. Invite poets and musicians to participate also.
• Contact the clerk's office of your state capitol building and reserve the space kept for delegations from the public.
• Organize a press conference with testimony from diverse groups – health care workers, social workers, educators, labor, students, indigenous groups, veterans, immigrants and other advocacy groups – about the effect of military spending on cuts to essential programs.
• Send a press release two weeks in advance of the conference, then remind them a couple of times before the date.
• Display the work of the artists in the state capitol building public space.
  
• Ask a few artists to hold a Draw-in to create images based on requests of passersby (“What would you spend $2.5 billion on instead of war?”), especially kids if any are around, because kids have very cool ideas like hot air balloon rides.
• If possible, create a 'zine or brochure using some of the images and calling on state legislators to contact Congress about the need to cut military spending to fund other programs.
• Deliver the publication to the legislators. Let the press know you are going to do this, too.

CRAFTING A MESSAGE THAT'S EFFECTIVE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY:
These taglines can be customized to be effective with target audiences in your community. The fear of appearing (or being) unpatriotic may be a concern for your audience, for example.

Bring Our War $$ Home
How's the war economy working for you?

Bring Our War $$ Home
for real national security

Bring Our War $$ Home
invest in U.S.A.

Bring Our War $$ Home
to make America strong

Bring Our War $$ Home
to strengthen America

Bring Our War $$ Home
balance the budgets

Bring Our War $$ Home
budget cuts? problem solved!

Bring Our War $$ Home
balance your town budget today

Bring Our War $$ Home
spend for peace

Bring Our War $$ Home
fund human needs, not corporate greed

Bring Our War $$ Home
No more debt for military spending.
Bring our troops home now!

Bring Our War $$ Home
so there's a future for the U.S.A.

Bring Our War $$ Home
fund green jobs and other needs

Bring Our War $$ Home
military spending is bankrupting U.S.

Bring Our War $$ Home
U.S. military budget not sustainable


SOURCES:
Data to compute the price tag of war spending for your community: nationalpriorities.org

To see more images from Maine artists envisioning what our war $$ could have bought:
flickr.com/photos/mainedrawathon

bringourwardollarshome.org