[Peace] Hope for Peace Workers

[Dawn L. Rubbert]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gene Bluestein" <geneb at csufresno.edu>
To: "WILPF News Service" <wilpf-news-us at igc.topica.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 07, 2002 7:15 AM
Subject: 4th of July in Greensboro


  > Lessons from The Fourth of July in Greensboro
  >
  > by Ed Whitfield
  > Greensboro, NC
  > July 5, 2002
  >
  > Folks who believe the official line that the support
  > for the current US policies in the war on terrorism
  > and the new domestic measures at home is nearly
  > unanimous need to know what happened in Greensboro
  > North Carolina on the 4th of July.
  >
  > The Greensboro Peace Coalition heeded a firm
  > suggestion by one of its leading younger members that
  > it should have an entry in the city's
  > annual 4th of July Parade. After some hesitation, we
  > decided to register an entry and spread the word
  > widely among our contacts that we were going to claim
  > our piece of the public space and utilize that day of
  > patriotism to spread our message of opposition to
  > Bush's "war on terrorism".
  >
  > To coincide with our entry into the parade, we bought
  > a half page ad in the local daily paper, the
  > Greensboro News and Record and had them
  > print the "Not In Our Name -- Statement of
  > Consciousness" along with names of over 100 prominent
  > national signers.
  >
  > We were never sure how many people would show up. Some
  > of our members and supporters were afraid that the
  > parade entry would be too agressive a tactic. They
  > feared that in the light of the patriotic outburst
  > since 911 an entry in the city's parade would be too
  > much in the face of those who would be waving the flag
  > that day. Some of the same folks who have stood weekly
  > on a busy street corner in a vigil for peace every
  > since October when the US started bombing Afghanistan,
  > felt that the parade entry would be a bit too much.
  >
  > Some of them changed their minds and came to the
  > parade anyway. The were all glad that they did because
  > those negative fears turned out
  > on this 4th of July in Greensboro North Carolina to be
  > wrong.
  >
  > We had over 50 people -- black and white, young and
  > old, professional and laboring and unemployed -- come
  > to march with us behind a large banner that said
  > "Greensboro Peace Coalition -- Not In
  > Our Name".
  > Along the route we passed out small flyers with the
  > "Not In Our Name" pledge of resistance on one side and
  > a statement from the Greensboro
  > Peace Coalition on the other. The theme of the Parade
  > was "American Heroes". Our delegation marched with
  > posters of Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Fredrick
  > Douglas, Martin Luther King, and other great Americans
  > who have stood for peace and against militarism and
  > agression.
  >
  > As we walked the mile and a half parade route, many of
  > the people along the street began to applaud. There
  > were a few hecklers, but only a few. There were far
  > more smiles, peace signs and applause. Two
  > city police on bicycles pulled into the parade to
  > follow our group.
  > We passed the reviewing stand where there was a live
  > broadcast on the local radio. The announcer seemed a
  > bit surprised as he announced "And here is ... the
  > Greensboro Peace Coalition." We let out a cheer
  > for ourselves that could be heard on the radio.
  >
  > After the parade, we set up a table among the groups
  > who participated in the day long "Fun Fourth"
  > activities. We were in between the table
  > of a businessman running for US Senate, and a young
  > man selling digital phone service for AT&T. Many
  > people came by our table to pick
  > up more literature and to talk. So many times that day
  > we heard how glad people were to see someone with the
  > courage to express concerns about the nation's
  > direction.
  >
  > A real surprise came when officials from the event's
  > organizing committee came to our table to give us the
  > award for "Best Interpretation of Theme" in the
  > Parade.
  >
  > After the day was over, I looked at the emails coming
  > to the Greensboro Peace Coalition. Some of them were
  > caustic and critical of us for having the nerve of
  > going against "mainstream America". One
  > said that what we were doing and saying was not "in
  > vogue" and that this wasn't the 60's. Many others
  > however expressed real joy that someone was standing
  > up for what was right and asking how to get more
  > involved.
  >
  > We are following up by getting people involved in our
  > regular meeting and inviting them to other special
  > events like the speaker from Colombia who will talk
  > about the US military involvememt there at a
  > covered dish dinner here in just over a week.
  >
  > There is a real lesson in this. If you scratch the
  > surface of the poll numbers about Bush's and
  > Ashcroft's overwhelming support, you
  > get down to a lot of people with a lot of questions, a
  > lot of concerns and a lot of fears. Some of them are
  > afraid that they are alone in what they are thinking.
  >
  > What it takes to get them excited and to get them
  > involved is for them to see someone standing up so
  > that they will know that they are not alone. We should
  > have been doing this in every city across the country
  > that had a 4th of July parade. If we had the forsight
  > and the courage, we could have turned this day of flag
  > waving into a day of introspection and dialogue and
  > building this important movement against repression
  > here at home and agression abroad.