June 2008Tracy Novick takes us on a tour of Worcester’s Cascading Waters, a project of the Greater Worcester Land Trust.
Wild turkey at Cascading Waters
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On 19 June, a plaque commemorating the Oxfordshire martyrs of the Reformation, both Catholic and Protestant, was unveiled in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, by the Chancellor of the University, Lord Patten of Barnes. The names were researched by Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch.
That evening was the launch of the Oxford Council of Faiths. I did not attend, because it clashed with the monthly business meeting of the Oxfordshire Green Party.
I find this article from the Cleveland Catholic Worker to be deeply stupid: Nonviolence As Racism.
It jumps from a mild claim–that sometimes people promote nonviolence in a racist way–to extreme conclusions.
“. . . the system that white people have built to benefit us and only us — our courts, our laws, our whole political system . . . .”
Isn’t it racist (or perhaps just ignorant) to claim “the system” in this country is exclusively white? Haven’t people of all races and genders contributed, albeit to a lesser extent than white men, for both good and ill?
“As white radicals, we need to stand in solidarity with all liberation movements –regardless of the tactics they chooses.”
Really? If some ethnic group in the Balkans decides to use mass rape to liberate what they see as their homeland, should I support that? As someone whose ethics are based on my understanding of the teaching of Christ, I would find that hard to do.
“Criticizing ‘insurgents’ in Iraq who use any means necessary to combat the occupation and the white colonization of their land is racist.”
Can I criticize the methods they use to combat colonization by non-whites? What about that chunk of insurgency that’s about international smuggling and other crime rather than human freedom? Can I criticize their violence? What if I’m not close enough to the insurgency to tell the difference?
“Promotion the nonviolent struggles of King and Gandhi as if they were our own, commending these movements while criticizing other struggles for choosing other tactics is racist.”
I don’t want to dismiss the corrosive effects of white privilege, but are King and Gandhi on the other side of some absolute wall from me? Can’t I promote King’s philosophy as that of a fellow Christian American, while keeping in mind that he was to some extent struggling against my grandparents? Can’t I promote Gandhi’s struggle as that of a fellow inheritor of British imperial culture and a fellow human being? Isn’t linking my effort to theirs, despite their non-whiteness, in the spirit of them linking their efforts to Thoreau and Tolstoy?
“because this structure and the systems it creates are the real source of violence in this world.”
Why not claim the source of all violence is based in gender rather than race, or in Original Sin, or in power imbalances that predate “whiteness,” or in class, or in the fundamental orneriness of people? Why not acknowledge that the roots of violence are complex, and explore that complexity, rather than indulging in this breathtaking reductionism?
Personally, I think we should encourage everyone to practice nonviolence. We shouldn’t be racist about it, but we shouldn’t let our fears of promoting it imperfectly keep us from promoting it. We should keep struggling to love while helping others to do the same.
Another Michael True work posted online this week: PDFs from his book Justice Seekers, Peace Makers. Don’t be surprised if some of these chapters show up as future posts on Pie and Coffee.
Here’s a talk on “The American Tradition of Nonviolence” given by Michael True in 2006.
Here’s a talk on “The American Tradition of Nonviolence” given by Michael True in 2006.
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This is the text of a document submitted today to Judge Timothy S. Hillman by Ken Hannaford-Ricardi. Emphases added.
Dear Judge Hillman,
At our June 16, 2008 pre-trial conference, Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin M. Bell’s written reply to our motion for the right to present evidence in support of a defense of necessity stated that the defense should be excluded as a matter of law because: “the defendants in this case had a very specific legal alternative they could have pursued. They could have requested a permit to enter the courthouse to perform a short prayer in protest of the war in Iraq. Indeed, the defendants were provided with this information by the U.S. Marshall upon entering the courthouse to pray.”
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508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s conversation is one of the best ever, but due to sound problems is almost unintelligible. Panelists are Brendan Melican, Jeff Barnard, Cha-Cha Connor, Kevin Ksen, and Dave Maciewski.
Topics include bears, Billy Breault, Barbara Haller, Counselor Palpatine, NebuAd, Tim Heard’s final blog post, “Q”, the Q, Mike’s pre-trial hearing, and lots of talk about hot dog vendors.
Pictured: The Commons is torn up again for a new ice skating rink.
Adin Ballou is a truly revolutionary figure, deserving of serious public and scholarly attention. I want to focus on his achievement as a theorist of nonviolence: how his life and writings contributed to a clarification of language and thought in the long effort to find the most suitable name for the concept often called nonviolence.
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Worcester Telegram & Gazette: Judge to decide on ‘necessity’ of prayer: Group says other anti-war tactics failed
(This isn’t on their website . . . it is now.)
Today was originally supposed to be our trial, and since we mailed out many announcements some of us went to morning mass and the federal building in case some supporters hadn’t heard about the change. Two folks did show up.
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