WORDS FROM DRONE SUMMIT

The Drone Summit: Proliferation & Resistance conference in Washington DC began this morning with more than 400 people packed into a hall at Georgetown University Law School.

After opening words from CodePink co-founder Media Benjamin we heard from keynote speaker Dr. Cornel West from Princeton University.  Here are a few of his words:

• The use of drones to kill people are imperial crimes
• We are creating a love movement, we love our brothers and sisters in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and around the world
• We are being pushed into an authoritarian soft fascist regime
• 43% of profits these days go to big banks
• We have privatization of public education and escalating levels of ignorance across the country
• Rich kids get taught and poor kids get tested
• I come from a tradition that says 'lift every voice'
• The only option for more and more of us is to hit the streets and go to jail
• If we connect with others and straighten our backs we might be able to turn our nation around
• You can't drop drones on children and not have it effect your soul
• We are so obsessed with our interests that we've forgot what our principles are
• W.E.B. Du Bois asked these four questions:

How does integrity face oppression?
What does honesty do in the face of deception?
What does decency do in the face of insult?
How does virtue meet brute force?

You can see Cornel West's full talk aired on C-SPAN here