It Isn't Nice To Block The Doorway, It Isn't Nice To Speak The Truth

Corrrection: The photo on the left is not a picture of me, nor was I charged with disorderly conduct on April 27.

Pop music probably influenced me a lot more than I'd like to admit. All those songs about romance appealed to a girl growing up in an alcoholic household, wondering if there was something better beyond the horizon I could see at the time. I still vividly remember hearing Otis Redding's "Try a Little Tenderness" when I was 11 or 12 riding in the family car,  glimpsing a whole world out there waiting for me.



As a teenager, I was exposed to protest songs that lodged in my psyche. "Universal Soldier" by Buffy Sainte-Marie was a favorite that still gets stuck in my head from time to time.

"It Isn't Nice" by Malvina Reynolds is another seminal text in my life. Whenever I hear white people tone policing Natives or people of color, I think of this song.

I think that the edict to be "nice" has upheld white supremacy in our society by making criticism of that unfair system unwelcome. Not rocking the boat only favors those already in the boat, not those struggling in turbulent waters outside the boat. 

Artist Natasha Mayers' Love Boat (her photo). From an excellent article in The Lincoln County News reporting on the BIW civil resistance April 27.

I'm thinking about all this today as I contemplate someone publicly sharing some really nasty commentary aimed at myself and my sister that I shared privately. It was a comment to this blog that I did not publish because it contained threats toward me, ugly misogynistic language aimed at someone I love, and contributed no ideas to the ongoing discussion about Native mascots for school sports. 

The nasty comment came on the heels of someone named Ken Shurak sharing a doctored photograph of me. Here's the original photo, taken on Congress Street in Portland two years ago:

Sorry, I can no longer remember who took this photo of me in April, 2017. Feel free to leave this info in a comment if you do know.

The photo was clumsily altered so that instead of holding a sign that said "Defund the Penatagon! Biggest polluter on the planet!" it said "Honk for the Indians." The altered picture is less than convincing because the hands holding the S_P sign are still visible. My legal advisers have told me this is a form of defamation, which is against the law.  For some reason, my civil resistance at General Dynamics last weekend seemed to inflame the emotions of S_P members who already resented my role in helping to get the Skowhegan Area High School mascot retired.

Most of the LBJ 25, arrested and charged with obstructing a public way at the launch of a carbon belching war ship named after Vietnam-era war criminal President Lyndon B. Johnson. Photo credit: Peter Robbins

This is a long-winded way of saying that I'm not particularly concerned about being perceived as nice. I would rather be compassionate, just, open-minded, and a lot of other things that are more powerful than nice.

Maybe it is just semantics, but the line I hold myself to is no name calling ever, because it dehumanizes -- and that is always the first step in bias-motivated violence.
I do use unflattering adjectives at times to describe people's actions, and sometimes people, if I think it is warranted i.e. can be supported with evidence. I have noticed that many mascot keepers in Skowhegan __ Pride could not make this distinction.

For instance, they would complain that I was calling them a racist if I described the mascot as racist. Part of the slide into fascism presently in the U.S. involves the willful misuse of language, including grammar, and pretending that it does not matter.

But it does! Because if language is used to obscure ideas rather than clarify them, that will render substantive discussions impossible. Do we want to live in a society like that? I know I don't. It is why I happily pay taxes to support education available to all.
As far as it not being nice to block the doorway or to go to jail (thanks, Malvina) the most compassionate people I've met in this life are willing to do just that.

Lots of people find meaningful ways to resist without risking arrest. At left is Rosie Paul, our wonderful song leader for the day. I don't know the young woman on the right, but I love her thinking! Photo credit: Regis Tremblay

Calling attention to the fact that the building and using of weapons is hastening climate change is difficult. The corporate media usually won't allow any such messages to leak through (the Portland Press Herald actually censored itself in its coverage of the Bath Iron Works protests of a war ship "christening" last weekend).

Proud to engage in civil resistance with my lovely husband Mark Roman and our wonderful hostess, retired educator Mary Donnelly. photo credit: Regis Tremblay

Acts of civil resistance that risk arrest is a way to call attention to the catastrophe we're barreling toward with over half of discretionary funding going to the Pentagon, year after year after year.

So, when a man online tells me not to be so angry, I recognize the tone police and also the wisdom of therapists advising that feelings are not to be denied. The expression of how I feel is a choice, but how to feel? That's in the capable hands of the goddess.

I'll end with this compassionate text I saw and shared on social media this morning. People are people and I don't hate any of them. Ideas? That's another story.

Source: @HigherPerspective

Climate Crisis Is Here, So We Must Be Out In The Streets

My guest post today is from the adorable Connie Jenkins. We were arrested together last Saturday at General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works shipyard to call attention to climate catastrophe fueled by building weapons instead of sustainable energy solutions. Connie made these remarks in Bath prior to her arrest, and they were subsequently printed in Common Dreams. Thanks, Connie and all of the LBJ 25.

Published on

Sunday, April 28, 2019

by

Common Dreams

Another Shameful "Christening" at Bath Iron Works

We Must Be Out in the Streets

by

Connie Jenkins

 5 Comments

Police arrested 25 protesters who they say were blocking roads outside Bath Iron Works on Saturday morning, April 27, 2019 during the christening ceremony for the Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson. They face charges of obstructing a public way, a Class E misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The protesters were primarily members of Maine Veterans for Peace, CODEPINK and the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. Protesters issued a statement last week that said the Navy and BIW should focus their efforts on the national and global threats posed by climate change and not on building vessels that exacerbate climate change. They said the Pentagon has the largest carbon footprint on the planet. The following were arrested:  Natasha Mayers, 72, of Whitefield,  Virginia Schneider, 60, of South Portland, Lisa Savage, 62, of Solon, James Freeman, 70, of Verona Island, Mark Roman 77, of Solon, Constance Jenkins, 71, of East Blue Hill, Meredith Bruskin, 71, of Swanville, Suzanne Hedrick, 88, of Nobleboro, Roy Pingel, 71, of Queens, N.Y., Dixie Searway, 81, of Parsonsfield, Sophia Ridgely Fuller, 72, of Belfast, Donald Cunning, 72, of Old Brudge, N.J., Dudley Hendrick, 77, of Deer Isle, Daniel Ellis, 71 of Brunswick, Julius Orkin, 80, of Bergenfield, N.J., Carolyn Coe, 52, of Orland, Mary Honan, 71, of Freeport, Ethan Hughes, 48, of Belfast, Russell Wray, 64, of Hancock, Judith Robbins, 70, of Sedgwick, Ellen Barfield, 62, of Baltimore, Md., Robert Shetterly, 72, of Brooksville, Jason Rawn, 45, of Lincolnville, Michael Donnelly, 82, of Brunswick, and Mary Garvey-Donnelly, 80, of Brunswick. (AP)

Three years ago, I was arrested along with 11 others for blocking Washington Street in an act of civil resistance against the “christening” of the USS Michael Mansour, the second Zumwalt destroyer built at Bath Iron Works.  Today the same shameful ceremony will be repeated.

My reasons for taking part in the demonstration in 2016 and risking arrest are the same now as they were then:

• I’m a Christian peace activist, a member of Pax Christi Maine, and have taken a vow of nonviolence.
• I’m a mother, grandmother and great grandmother who would take every nonviolent measure to keep those I love from being sacrificed to the horrors of War.
• I’m a retired nurse practitioner who took an oath to protect life and do no harm.
• And I’m an American citizen who grieves for her country, for I believe we have truly lost our way.  

I was as sickened in 2016 as I am now by the deception and evil carried out in the name of “democracy” and “freedom” and “security”.  

What’s different for me this time around is a deepened focus on “connecting the dots” of permanent warfare, systemic violence and catastrophic climate change as symptoms of a disease, natural consequences of the unrestrained greed that’s part and parcel of our economic system.  

You may have seen an “Earth Day” message from Public Citizen that says it all about where things stand in Washington these days.  But in case you didn’t, here’s the scorecard:

• A coal lobbyist runs the Environmental Protection Agency
• An oil lobbyist runs the Department of the Interior
• A Monsanto executive runs US Fish & Wildlife
• A BP oil attorney is the nation’s top environmental lawyer
• A fossil fuel lobbyist is the EPA’s air pollution chief
• A big energy insider regulates our power grid

If that isn’t awful enough, the climate crisis is also being directly fueled by U.S. foreign policy.  Even the Pentagon says that climate change poses “immediate risks” to national security, that it’s a “threat multiplier.”  But the Pentagon serves the War Profiteers. And General Dynamics, owner of Bath Iron Works, is right at the top of the heap in raking in profits from our War Economy.

It helps that they have “friends” in Congress.  If you take a look at the website of the Center for Responsive Politics, you’ll see that PACs and individuals associated with General Dynamics contributed close to $2 million to federal candidates last year.  It was pretty disappointing to see Angus King’s name at the top of the list, receiving $62,000. But Angus wasn’t the only one to benefit:  Chellie Pingree got $11,000, Susan Collins, $9000, and Jared Golden $615. This might help explain why I haven’t received a response to the letter I sent each of them on April 8th.  I’d like to share the last 2 paragraphs of that letter with you:

I’m writing to ask you not to honor the naming of another weapon of mass destruction with your presence.  How ironic and yet appropriate that the USS LBJ bears the name of the president responsible for so much death and devastation in Viet Nam.  Unfortunately, we seem to have learned nothing since that time. For we are now living with the consequences of George W. Bush’s global “War on Terror,” another debacle based on lies, poor judgment, and hubris.

I find it impossible to believe you truly think the wreckage caused by the notion of “American Exceptionalism” can ever be justified.  Please reconsider your attendance at this shameful event. I appreciate your attention to my concerns.

It seems we are long past the point where it’s enough just to write letters to our representatives, send emails, and visit congressional offices for scheduled appointments.  Those things are important to do, but we don’t have time for business as usual because climate change is the existential threat to most life on the planet, including humanity.  

I believe we need to follow the lead of the climate youth activists and movements who’ve put world leaders to shame:

• If we are mothers or fathers who want to save our children, we must be out in the streets.
• If we are grandparents who want our grandchildren to have a future, we must be out in the streets.
• If we are people of faith who believe we are called to be peacemakers and stewards of the gift of Creation, we must be out in the streets
• If we are environmentalists who cherish and have vowed to protect Mother Earth, we must be out in the streets
• And if we are activists working to end systemic violence in any of its forms, we must be out in the streets.

I’d like to end with part of a prayer from one of my guides on the path to peace and nonviolence, Fr. John Dear.  This is from his book Radical Prayers on Peace, Love, & Nonviolence:

Dear God,

Give us a new will,
a new spirit,
a new heart,
a new grassroots movement to protect creation,
that we might respect and protect creation
and create a new culture of nonviolence for Mother Earth.

We love you for the gift of your creation
For the beauty of Mother Earth.
Thank you for such a gift.
Do not let us destroy it.

Do not let the nations of the world burn it down.,
wage permanent war,
and kill millions of sisters and brothers
along the way.

Give us the wisdom and way forward,
that we might become who you created us to be—
your loving stewards of your beautiful paradise.

Amen

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