[Peace] Needed: visions for alternative responses

[James Buell]

I'm in favor of the call for bringing bin Laden and the Taliban before
international tribunals for their alleged roles in crimes against
humanity, both the 9/11 tragedy and and earlier embassy bombings, and the
incredibly harsh repression within Afghanistan. I also like Robert's
suggestion of bringing in a RAWA speaker
- www.rawa.org is doing an amazing job of documenting atrocities committed
by the Taliban against Afghanis in the name of purity. (By the way, CNN
ran an excellent piece on Taliban repression over the weekend, that was
based on RAWA sources and I think produced by England's ITN.)

Another possibility
is to support calls for carpet-bombing Afghan cities and villages with
food parcels -
something Martin Amis suggested in a piece last week in the Guardian (UK)
and that was also proposed by a British general in a letter to the
Telegraph (UK) over the weekend. With the sealing of the borders and the
withdrawal of UN food aid, the stage is set for a million or more
Afghanis to starve to death this winter, with or without the sustained
bombing attacks we fear the US will initiate against Afghan cities as soon
as the military forces are in place. Besides being the right thing to do -
alleviating suffering rather than exacerbating it - bombing with food
would send a message to Afghanis, Muslims and the world as a whole that
the US is ready to answer hate with love. I very much doubt it would
strenghen the Taliban's hand, either, since famine itself is an
instrument of their repression. Trite as it sounds, I can't
shake the feeling that if humanity is to see its way beyond this crisis
(my born-again Baptist brother's getting ready for the second coming, you
see), we need to somehow replace the rhetoric of good vs. evil, with that
of love vs. hate. Bombing with food may be simplistic, but it's a lot
better than slinging missiles.

More broadly, I'd like to suggest that we steer toward efforts that will
help us win as much sympathy and support as possible from the community as
a whole. While I don't think it would be appropriate to refrain from
commenting on why it is that terrorist groups in the mideast find
supporters from among the ranks hurt by US policies in the region
(primarily the greed for oil), I also tend to pull back a bit from ever
leaving the impression that the US somehow deserved, in any sense, the
ghastly episodes in NYC, DC and PA. I'm hoping that as we develop the
kinds of actions and organizations that can promote peaceful, just
solutions to the problems that face the world in the wake of 9/11, we can
help those who come into contact with us to see things somewhat
as we do, rather than provoking the kinds of jingoistic, yahoo responses
that we've seen in the Gazoo letters page this past week. (Not that I
think there was anything in Sarah K's original letter to deserve such
absurd, hate-filled responses.) Keeping the debate civil is a tall order,
I know.

On that note, I'm also wondering what kinds of symbols we may want to
employ in getting our messages out. Like many, I'm appalled at the uses to
which the US flag is being put by war-mongers (USA! USA!). It's also
evident, though, that the flag symbolizes to many the ideals of civil
liberties, "one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,"
etc., that the people of this country too uncritically proclaim we uphold.
I've been all but ready to order a hippie peace flag off the web this week
(a design that replaces the US flag's stars with a peace symbol) but
decided not to since I'd rather win people over than antagonize them. I
generally put on one of the yellow ribbons that UI student government
handed out at its events on 9/13 (Krannert) and 9/14 (quad), out of
respect for their efforts to build community around Gandhian non-violence
and promotion of social diversity. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd
refrain from carrying a US flag in a pro-peace demonstration at some point
- it's a powerful symbol and one I don't want to give up to the other
side, though I'm not about to put one in front of my house unless it's
alongside a peace flag.

pardon the random ramblings,
Jim



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|In light of the Sept. 11 tragedy, I invite you to consider:            |
|Alternative perspectives - http://www.commondreams.org                 |
|A personal response - http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~jbuell/911         |
|Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but of justice lived -Gandhi|
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