Real Men Don’t Let Other Men Bomb Civilians
Press Action
Sunday, October 31, 2004
http://www.pressaction.com/news/weblog/full_article/jackowski10312004/
By Rosemarie Jackowski
The government of the United States has declared war on civilians. The Guardian (Oct. 29, 2004) reports that the number of civilian casualties in Iraq, since March 20, 2003, now exceeds 100,000...many of them women and children. Every one of those deaths represents a war crime.
It is now time to take to the streets. Free yourself from the chains of the culture and the government. Become all that you can be. Become the captain of your soul. How can any real man stand by silently while this slaughter continues? It is time for all of you to leave your computer monitors and do something. It is time for action. Words alone have never saved one human life. Peace activists have been asking Mr. Government Man to, “Please, stop the bombing,” for a very long time. Their requests have not saved one life. Anyone who still believes that words alone will work has not been paying attention.
And to my sisters, I say, “You are no better.” What is your problem? Where is your maternal instinct? Are you suffering from a deficiency in estrogen? Women are supposed to be the givers of life, the nurturers, the protectors of children. What action are you willing to take in order to protect some other mother’s child? If it was your child who was at risk of death from a cluster bomb, what action would you want someone else to take to protect your loved one? A dropped cluster bomb has no conscience. Do you? It is important that you do something...anything...NOW.
You are guilty. If you in any way support the economy of the U.S., you are now a war criminal. If you have ever paid one cent in taxes, if you have ever bought a pair of socks or a loaf of bread or in any other way have supported the war economy in the U.S., you are guilty. If you support a baseball or football team or if you have been to the movies, you are guilty. You and I, all of us, are implicated in the crimes. Without our support of this government and its economy, the slaughter could not continue. We all are war criminals.
Nuremberg Principle IV states, The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him. Nuremberg Principle VII states, Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law.
What will it take to move you into action ? Are the deaths of 100,000 in just 18 months, in just one country not enough? What number of deaths will it take to motivate you? What is your magic number, the number beyond which you will no longer support the government of the United States? It seems to me that even one civilian death is one too many. Look at the photographs of the dead children, victims of U.S. cluster bombs. If that does not convince you, look at the photographs of the babies born to mothers who were exposed to U.S. depleted uranium. The photos are easily available on the Internet. Ignorance is no longer an excuse.
If I seem a little more agitated than usual, there is a reason. As this news story about the 100,000 civilian deaths was breaking, six peace activists in Brattleboro, Vermont, were in court being tried for having protested the war. I was not involved in that protest but I attended the trial. All six defendants were allowed to speak. They spoke about their belief systems. They spoke about depleted uranium. They spoke about their hopes for a peaceful world. After some of the most gripping testimony ever heard in any court in the U.S., the jury rendered its verdict (in less than 20 minutes)...Guilty.
During breaks in the trial, some observers in the court room commented that several of the jurors never heard the testimony, because they appeared to be sleeping. I believe that sleeping jurors are symptomatic of what has been going on in this country for a long time. Our national conscience has been asleep for decades.
Because it has come to my attention that I could possibly be a person of special interest to the government, I will sometimes be adding this disclaimer to articles that I write, I never advocate violent or illegal acts. There are however, many legal things that can be done under the cloak of hard-core resistance. Think...be creative. I am sure that you can think of something.
How can we bring about change...in the words of Malcolm X, “BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.”
Rosemarie Jackowski is an advocacy journalist living in Vermont. A jury in Bennington, Vermont, found her “guilty” in September for participating in a peaceful anti-war demonstration on March 20, 2003. She can be reached at dissent@sover.net.