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Gotta laugh sometimes.....
Bruce Gagnon is coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. He offers his own reflections on organizing and the state of America's declining empire....
The collapsing US military & economic empire is making Washington & NATO even more dangerous. US could not beat the Taliban but thinks it can take on China-Russia-Iran...a sign of psychopathology for sure. @BruceKGagnon
I think we have to be much more analytical about the reasons for divergent strategies....
When one looks at the organizational infrastructure of Robert's group what you find is an inside the beltway group that likely gets funding to try to bring the grassroots energy into the lobbying scene in Washington. Sometimes these groups are funded by foundations with close ties to the Democrats.
Thus there is a tendency among many DC groups to try to work on issues that are "pragmatic" or even "acceptable" to those political institutions. Thus the staffers in these DC oriented organizations often feel upset when the great unwashed (and far too independent) grassroots folks abandon the DC strategy. Sometimes, as in this case with Robert, the grassroots gets called a bunch of do-nothings. The thinking often becomes "if you are not playing ball in my ball park then you don't matter".
So Robert is correct in saying that these divisions are real and they are important.
Some of us out here in the hustings think the two-party game in DC enables the whole war making process. Some of us have declined to use our limited energy and funds on the standard DC swirl - usually we have much less $$$ and paid staff than the DC groups have.
So I think this debate should continue - but we need to be much more open about how some groups are closer to the power structure and are willing to occasionally accommodate with politicians.
This question of "who speaks for the peace movement" will continue to rage on and it should. It's just nice to know who and what we are dealing with when we do it.
Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
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This taken from a violent video game made by a group of kids in Brunswick, Maine calling themselves USN Films - USN refers to US Navy |
Mr. Levesque,
I found it rather interesting to read your quote in the Times Record yesterday about the sad story of kids using Brunswick Landing (and other public places) to make their violent videos.Your quote in the paper was good where you said, "We have to deal with this...Guns were one thing, but we have an issue in our society where we are desensitizing our youth to violence such as this. That's a concern that I have personally."Where my confusion comes in is that you don't seem able (or willing) to connect the dots. Late last summer your authority had the Air Force Thunderbirds headline the air show at the former base. Included in that air show was a "spectacular" simulated bombing with napalm on the runway that made the front page of the Forecaster. My mind immediately flashed back to the Vietnam war and the little girl running down a road as her body was on fire from the napalm.Have you ever stopped to wonder if your promotion of war and violence at these air shows does in fact directly contribute to this "desensitizing our youth to violence"?We all have to take responsibility for helping to normalize this growing culture of violence and militarism in America. The fact that you are eagerly scheduling another air show for 2013 only makes my sadness more acute.In peace,Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
The parents of the kids see no problem with the videos. In fact the lead boy's father quite often participates. (Why not go on a long tiring nature hike with the kids?) But the most troubling was the news in the article that teachers at the school often play the videos for the students. The reporter noted one kid saying:Hi Bruce,Thanks for your note on this issue. I personally believe that there is a clear distinction between the promotion of youth gun violence for the sport of it and military activities to defend our country.For the record, Napalm was not used at the airshow.Steve LevesqueExecutive DirectorMidcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority
"Sometimes in class, when we have study halls or free periods at the end of the day, some of my teachers have actually played the videos on projectors."
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Beijing, China covered in pollution. "Progress and growth" are killing us. |