Wartime Dos 'n' Don'ts

Nekkid as a jaybird, The Superbrain delivered his St. Patrick's Day Sermon tonight. At least one of his "remarks" might be considered promising: "War crimes will be prosecuted, war criminals will be punished and it will be no defense to say, 'I was just following orders.'" We shall see.

Barring a deus ex machina (Pope John Paul, are you listening?), the slaughter will begin sooner than later. The Wobblies like to say, "Don't mourn, organise." Weldon Bello has said, "Empires are transient, resistance is permanent." In that spirit, some suggested comportment for the days and weeks ahead.

Do: Continue to dissent. There are protest actions planned in scores of communities. Send the message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. Be visible, be persistent. Remember, 90% of the world's population shares your abhorrence of the Bush Administration's martial policies.

Do not: Tie a fucking yellow ribbon onto your antenna.

Do: Stay informed. Antiwar.com, Cursor's Media Patrol, The Common Dreams News Center, Dack's Permanent Warlog, and The War In Context will bring the world's media to your fingertips; and Counterpunch and Z will bring swift and sure analysis of events. A shout-out is also in order for the merrily anachronistic Anderson Valley Advertiser -- only available in print, but maybe the finest publication in the English language.

Do not: Watch the teevee. Why give them the satisfaction? If they're going to obediently repeat the State Department's lies, then don't watch.

Do: Support the troops. Gulf War veteran Allen Gunderson recommends sending them books by Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. Sound advice.

Do Not: Support the cops. Do not let them rescind our right to dissent. The peace community (which is to say, the community) needs to stand together, and needs especially to stand in solidarity with the immigrant and non-white communities, which can be expected to take the brunt of the state's abuse -- unless we don't allow it.

Do: Utilise the ink-wells. Sit down and compose, in your own words, letters to the President, your representatives, and the editor of your local newspapers. Urge your friends to do the same.

Do not: Utilise the oil-wells. Park the car, and refuse to drive it until the war is called off. This point is a pet peeve of this blog, but it's absolutely essential. If we don't want massacres committed in our names, we've got to stop feeding the beast.

Do: Pay your local peace organisation. Grassroots organising takes money. The more they've got, the wider the circle of resistance will grow.

Do not: Pay the IRS. Another pet peeve. Just remember: you will not go to jail for engaging in War Tax Resistance. Think of it this way: if you would refuse to murder thousands upon thousands of innocent human beings in cold blood, you should refuse to pay for somebody else to murder thousands upon thousands of innocent human beings in cold blood.

Posted by Eddie Tews at March 17, 2003 08:04 PM