War Control by Cindy Sheehan

Full disclosure: I hate guns; I always have—even before my oldest son was killed by a gun shot to the head in a foreign land that the US was/still is occupying. (By the way, Casey had a gun, armor, albeit inadequate, PLUS the First Cavalry, and he was still killed by a gun--interesting). However, with my increased knowledge of and dealings with the Empire of Death, my views have changed about the necessity of an armed citizenry. It frustrates me that anyone would think of giving up his/her human right to self defense to an entity that is mired in death and gore and has never exhibited any hesitation to commit murder on a massive scale. 

After the recent mass shooting in Roseburg, OR, (as Ray Light shared in Issue #92 of the ROL, USA newsletter, 31% of mass shootings worldwide happen here in the US) the predictable blather became the recycled, boring, and ultimately useless “debate” about “gun control.” However, as profoundly devastating is that incident, I think the discussion needs to be around “War Control.” Besides saving millions of  lives (the Pentagon receives billions of your tax dollars and needs to be shoved over the Fiscal Cliff), pushing War Control could also save OUR Social Safety Nets: nets that are filled with holes and that the austerity of the 1% are trying to destroy all together.

I am personally not opposed to quick back ground checks and short waiting periods for gun ownership, but why is that restriction only placed on citizens? Here in Police State, USA there is also an epidemic of Killer Cops and I believe that any new applicant to any police force needs to be first subjected to the most stringent background and psychiatric screening AND, then, the hopeful cop would have to pass the screening of a citizens' personnel review board that is comprised of a diverse cross-section of community members before he/she is allowed to openly carry a weapon in society. Why are our police forces becoming so militarized anyway? Obviously, to protect the lives and interests of the 1%, and not us.

Besides the emotionally charged issue of gun control, why are few people making this point as Martin Luther King, Jr. did so eloquently in his Beyond Vietnam Speech exactly one year before he was assassinated: “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.”

Why, President Barack Obama even has his very own Kill List and an entire bloated military establishment to do his filthy murdering for him. In the mass killings that are becoming too frequent in the US we rightfully mourn the deaths of innocents, but in Yemen (and elsewhere), the ones killed in Obama’s drone attacks are called, “bug splat” by the drone pilots pulling the trigger thousands of miles away. Similarly,  while the mentally ill murderer of students at Umpqua Community College is correctly vilified and pitied, the baby-killer by proxy Obama is enthusiastically welcomed and celebrated almost everywhere he goes (except, ironically, in Roseburg OR, where a large contingent of citizens opposed his visit). I don't get it.

Presidents of the US are inherently the CEO’s of a huge war machine that has momentum on its own, but why does putting ones hand on a bible and swearing an oath confer respectability upon mass murder? Here’s an even stickier question? Why, in the eyes of some, is mass murder by, say, someone named George Bush (R) more horrendous than the slaughter by a couple named Barack Obama (D) or Bill Clinton (D)? I obviously think any murderer is a low-life scum and wearing an expensive suit and tie and traveling with ones own squad of heavily armed goons does not give legitimacy to murdering the innocent.

After the mass murder in Roseburg, OR, it was proven that the US intentionally bombed a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan that killed dozens. The hospital was staffed by Doctors Without Borders and exposes the heartlessness of Empire ("oops, sorry") and not so coincidentally Obama also announced that troops were staying in Afghanistan indefinitely in that manifestation of the US policy of never-ending war. Then Obama took his blood-soaked hands to Roseburg to "comfort" (read, "politicize the tragedy") some of the families of the victims and survivors. 

Obama is paid very well to be the front-man for Murder INC, USA and making tragedies in places like Roseburg and Kunduz seem like aberrations and not an inevitable by-product of the deeply seeded violence that has infested the US since before it was the US is part of the job description. "Working together" to make sure tragedies like Roseburg "won't happen again," wouldn't be effective, even if Obama was serious about ending the epidemic of Killer Cops and mentally disturbed mass killers.

I used to live near Los Angeles where the LAPD regularly conducted gun "turn-ins." Private citizens bring in guns with no questions asked and then receive a grocery gift card depending on the value of the weapon. That's also a great strategy for War Control and I propose we pay the war machine NOT to produce implements of death and to go away and just leave the world alone.

In conclusion:

If owning a gun is wrong for Joe NRA or Ché Revolutionary, then it’s wrong for Officer Not-So-Friendly.

If it’s wrong to kill children in the US, then it’s wrong to kill children (and others) EVERYWHERE else.

If killing is wrong for me, then it’s wrong for Obama and the Empire.

I dream of (and work really hard for) the day when War Control is a reality and our priorities honor the beating of every living heart while we watch the deadly tools of war rust, breakdown, and return to the soil.

Clinton is NOT the Answer to the NeoCons by Anthony Freda

She is one!

·Don't let war criminals rewrite history and tell you how wonderful their crimes against humanity are.    Libya is a festering pit of radicalism, anarchy and death, epitomizing everything that can go wrong when Western intervention has no clear long-term purpose.  And a woman who believes she should be president of the United States maintains that what's going on in Libya is a success. The Republicans foolishly just gave Hillary an opportunity to do what she does best, rewriting history to present a self-serving narrative that conceals her responsibility for atrocities committed on her watch. By giving her hours of free air time during her campaign and attacking her they also did the seemingly impossible and turned her into someone people could feel sympathetic towards. Helluva job guys. https://reason.com/archives/2015/10/23/hillary-clinton-owns-the-war-in-libya http://theantimedia.org/3-questions-they-should-actually-be-asking-hillary-about-benghazi-but-wont/ Anthony Freda www.AnthonyFreda.com It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. Jiddu Krishnamurti

 

Shut Down Rikers Island Action (SOAPBOX PODCAST 10/18/15)

CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX

OCTOBER 18, 2015

GUESTS: Sunsara Taylor and Rev. Jerome McCorry

TOPIC: Shutting Down Rikers Island Action

SUNSARA TAYLOR

 

REV. MCCORRY

 BACKGROUND:

 Why I want to Shut Down Rikers Prison by Cindy Sheehan 

MORE INFO ON #SHUTDOWNRIKERS

Why I Want to Shut Down Rikers by Cindy Sheehan

 

“Your honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

Eugene V. Debs at his trial for sedition: September 14, 1918

Before my son was killed in Iraq, I wouldn’t say that I “respected” or “feared” authority—that’s never been in my nature. However, looking back, I think I was terrified of crossing the proverbial line. Relating my rude awakening and experiences since then, I know that the line is drawn by the violent empire and arbitrarily re-drawn whenever it suits the needs of the Police State.

Since my son Casey was killed in another US imperial war based on lies and waged for profit and I have become an anti-Empire activist, I have now been arrested too many times to keep track: I stopped counting at 20.

Besides the frustration of being “popped” for exercising my so-called constitutional rights, the many, many hours I have spent in jail have been ultra eye opening to me.

I have been in holding cells with fellow activists (of course), accused sex-workers, drug addicts, petty thieves, embezzlers, drug dealers, and once with a woman who had stabbed her common law husband (after years of abuse). 100% of the others arrested have been “crimes” of economic deprivation. I have NEVER once been in jail with a War or Wall Street Criminal.

As uncomfortable or abusive as my arrests and incarcerations have been, I always knew that there was someone “out” there who was working to get me sprung as quickly as possible. I have often been in tears leaving my fellow inmates because I knew that most of them wouldn’t be so fortunate.

One of my worst stays in jail (in the top three) was in the legendary Tombs of NYC after the class traitors in blue had brutally arrested me (concussion and dislocated shoulder).  

The four of us activists who were arrested in front of the US mission to the UN were stuck in a large filthy cell for the night with about 20 other women. As bad as that place is, there is the “Abu Ghraib” of the US sitting on an island right off of Manhattan: Rikers.

“Rikers Island is the second largest jail system in the country. It is located on an island in the East River, right next to Manhattan, a mere 300 yards from the runways at LaGuardia Airport. It consists of 10 jails which house an average of 14,000 inmates per night. Since 1990, six class action suits have been filed by the Department of Justice against Rikers due to rampant brutality and gross violations prisoners’ rights. The most recent (2015) class action suit found a culture of "deep-seated violence," resulting in a "staggering" number of injuries, where "adolescents are at a constant risk of physical harm."

In combination with #RiseUpOctober against police murder and brutality, a call has been issued for non-violent civil disobedience to shut down Rikers Island.  Why am I participating?

As an antiwar “criminal” I have always realized my privilege, but I don’t need any commandments, constitutions, or declarations to dictate my behavior: Every last person on this planet has the same right to dignity. Along with the vast majority of the Prison Industrial Complex of the US, dignity is a human right in very short supply at Rikers Island. The system and its lackeys regularly dehumanize those illegally incarcerated (some without any charges for the past six years) with rampant physical and sexual abuse and torture. 

Millions of people in the surrounding area live, work, play, and exist in very close proximity to the scourge of Riker’s Island, and I am confident that most don’t give it, or their fellow humans trapped in indefinite detention there, one thought during the day. We who signed this call do and we are willing to put our bodies on the line for change.

I hope that if it’s at all possible, any one reading this will join us in this very important action on Friday, October 23rd at 9am at the Queens side of Rikers Island. 
(Meet at 19th Ave and Hazen Street)

Facebookevent

Go to:
#RiseUpOctober for more information about this protest and more in the three days of action in NYC.

Obama, Hillary, and All-Important 2076 Election | Mickey Z.

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust

Oct. 15, 2015

Before we talk about the gradual, measured build-up to that all-important 2076 election, first things first: Hail Obama, our brilliant, articulate, and eloquent savior!

All right, so maybe St. Barack has been a tad less progressive than we initially imagined but you can’t say he’s not brilliant, articulate, and eloquent! Right? Plus, c’mon, folks, he’s not even out of office yet. Give the poor guy a chance. You think it’s easy standing up to those nasty Republicans day-in and day-out? Incremental, remember? In-cre-men-tal.

This final year, let’s really hold his feet to the fire and make some serious progressive progress. We’ll get permits to hold weekend protests and give voice to the voiceless (in our designated free speech zones, of course). President Obama will hear us, I’m certain of it. He’ll prove there’s a HUGE difference between the two parties! We just have to be more patient!

For example, I’m willing to go out on a limb right now and boldly predict that by the time Obama is done, the number of U.S. Troops (Our Brave Men and Women™) in Iraq and Afghanistan (and a few other sandy places I may be forgetting) will possibly have decreased by at least .05 percent. 

Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!

To those who demand more, I ask: Do you expect our leader to simply withdraw our brave, heroic, gallant, valiant, superhuman men and women all in one shot? Not unless you want the terrorists to win, that is. There’s no cut and run for the good ol’ USA. (And never forget: we wouldn’t be in this mess if that damn egotistical Ralph Nader hadn’t ruined everything in 2000. He shouldn’t be allowed to run ever again. Make it illegal, I say.)

Looking ahead, yes, we’ll face some minor bumps in the road (e.g. economic, social, and environmental collapse) but I’m totally confident we’ll soon have America’s first female president -- Hillary Clinton -- and she’ll be in office until 2024. Hooray!!!!! What a proud moment for the world’s greatest nation. Equality is ours!!! Patriarchy is history!!!

The stoic, step-by-step march towards 2076 continues… 

Sure, those mean Republicans will steal an election or two. They may even stage one of their infamous false flag operations (something a Democrat would never participate in). But fear not, liberal colleagues, we will prevail. Progressive values will never die and no slimy Republican or more-radical-than-thou nihilist can tell me different. 

I have faith. I have hope. I believe. I read HuffPo. I watch The Daily Show. I regularly tweet at Rachel Maddow. I’m part of the solution, pal. Are you? If you’re not with me, you’re against me!!! This is change I can believe in!!! And how!

As this revolutionary century inches forward, we’re bound to see the first Hispanic-American president, the first Asian-American president, the first indigenous-disabled-transgender-atheist-undocumented president and who knows what other proud breakthroughs lie ahead for the Land of the Free™ and Home of the Brave™? 

Maybe we’ll rescue the planet by cutting emissions by 2 or 3 percent, eradicate poverty by raising the minimum wage by at least 25 cents an hour, and make it so much easier to be a loyal American consumer by making sure the national ID card becomes mandatory! Shopping = freedom!!!

What’s that you say? In the United States, there is a reported rape every 6.2 minutes (key word: reported); one in five women will be raped in her lifetime; and 99.8 percent of those convicted for rape are men? Ten thousand gallons of gasoline are burned in the United States every second? We’re losing 200,000 acres of rain forest every 24 hours? 2.2 billion pounds of pesticides are used by Americans each year? At least 150 to 200 plant and animal species go extinct each day? Eighty-one tons of mercury are emitted into the atmosphere each year as a result of electric power generation? The breast milk of every mother on Earth contains dioxins? Every square mile of ocean hosts 46,000 pieces of floating plastic? Thirteen million tons of toxic chemicals released across the globe each and every day? Seventy thousand new chemical compounds have been invented and dispersed into our environment since 1950? There will be no glaciers left in Glacier National Park by 2030? The Arctic region expected to have its first completely ice-free summer in 2040? Coastal glaciers in Greenland thinning by three feet per year? Roughly 93 percent of the large fish in the ocean are already gone? About 78 percent of the world’s old-growth are already gone? Every two seconds, a human being starves to death while 29,158 children under the age of five die from preventable causes every single day? 

Whooooaaaaa… slow down, Mr. Negative. Take a breath, Debbie Downer.

Don’t bum me out with your pessimistic stats and un-constructive attitude. You’re full of bad news but I notice you haven’t offered a solution. You have no plan. We do! Remember, it’s always best to focus on the positive and not dwell on gloom and doom. That’s how we pulled together to end racism back in the 1960s and abolish homophobia, um, a couple of months ago or so! 

Stay positive! How else can we maintain the hope we need to keep making a difference? How else can we each become the change we wish to see in the world? How else can we justify our faith in the two-party system?

Sure, some things are a little messed up here and there but I deeply sense in my heart of hearts that change will come. It will come slowly, but it will come!!! By the time we finally get to that all-important 2076 election, true radicals will finally be able to vote their conscious. No more lesser evil. No more hold your nose and pull the lever. At long last, we’ll have a presidential hologram that the people (well, whatever humans who are still alive) can support without compromise. 

Stay tuned for 2076, folks. Democracy, peace, justice, and solidarity will be ours -- just in time for America’s 300th birthday!

Mickey Z. is the author of 13 books, most recently Occupy these Photos: NYC Activism Through a Radical Lens. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on the Web here and here. Anyone wishing to support his activist efforts can do so by making a donation here.

"Obama, Hillary, and All-Important 2076 Election" by Mickey Z. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://worldnewstrust.com/obama-hillary-and-all-important-2076-election-mickey-z.

If Americans Knew (About Israel) with Alison Weir (SOAPBOX PODCAST 10/11/15)

CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX

OCTOBER 11, 2015

GUEST: Alison Weir

TOPIC: Being against the policies Israel is not being anti-Semitic 

Alison Weir

 As a long time Palestinian rights advocate, Alison Weir was getting accustomed to being tarred with the slander of 

"anti-Semitic."

However, when prominent Palestinian solidarity groups also began to slander and libel Alison, she struck back!

Please listen to this interesting conversation!

If Americans Knew  

Against Our Better Judgment: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel by Alison Weir

Shut Down Rikers! Oct 23, Non-Violent Direct Action as Part of #RiseUpOctober

-->

Shut Down Rikers!

Oct 23, Non-Violent Direct Action as part of #RiseUpOctober

Just 300 yards from the runways at LaGuardia airport, just a few miles from a glistening city, an island sits dedicated to confinement, brutality, and torture of our youth and others.  Human beings languish for weeks, months, sometimes years awaiting trial. Many simply for lack of money for bail.  Many locked down for weeks and months in solitary confinement.  Guards inflict a culture of violence – fractured jaws, broken bones, denial of medical care, cover-ups and retaliation against those who report, and rampant sexual violence against the women and LGBT people as well as the men.  Rikers typifies and concentrates the immorality and illegitimacy of mass incarceration in the U.S.

It is difficult to say which is a greater shock to the conscience: that this torture and brutality goes on day in and day out, or that millions go about their daily lives accepting this as normal just miles away.

The violence against inmates at Rikers has been studied.  It has been exposed.  Guards have been sued.  Settlements have been paid.  The deaths inflicted through brutality and negligence have been documented. The life-long trauma and disfunction imposed on inmates has been proven.  Yet the brutality continues day in and day out.  All this is plain for the whole world to see. 

The time for wringing our hands is over.  The time for cosmetic but essentially meaningless reforms is over.  A line must be drawn.  People of conscience must put our bodies on the line to stop this depravity and barbarity, else we ourselves are complicit.

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?

This call was initiated by:

Nellie Baily, Harlem activist

Rev. Stephen Phelps, Member, Presbytery of New York City*

Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan, killed in unjust U.S. war on Iraq, 2004

Sunsara Taylor, writer for Revolution Newspaper, initiator of StopPatriarchy.org

Mia Thornton, NYU Student Activist

Jame Vrettos, Professor John Jay College of Criminal Justice*

* for identification purposes only

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON #RISEUPOCTOBER

(Vegan) Food for (Healthy) Thought? | Mickey Z.

Photo credit: Mickey Z.

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust

Oct. 7, 2015

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.” (Neil deGrasse Tyson)

What we call “science” is more typically male-dominated phallo-technocracy. All those definitive (sic) studies we cite in posts, memes, blogs, and articles are typically funded by someone and that someone typically has an agenda -- or else that study typically doesn’t happen. 

Not all agendas are nefarious, of course, but living within the constricting confines of a corporate culture makes it virtually impossible to discern intent when there’s a profit to be made or an ideology to be advanced.

All this brings me to a study that allegedly found: “Vegetarians displayed elevated prevalence rates for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders.”

When “research” like this is brought to the attention of vegans, some will respond by sharing a study that allegedly found a plant-based diet to be beneficial to one’s mental health. Spend a little quality time with your search engine and you too will discover that “research” often “proves” the veracity of diametrically opposed theories. 

So… what is the truth? The only “truth” I can recognize here is that “the truth” is often different under different conditions and those conditions rarely remain static. In other words, I’m declaring something that is anathema to the vast majority of vegan outreach/activism: Healthy plant-based eating is a major challenge (nutritionally and financially) and thus, not remotely as “easy” as you say. 

I know you don’t like to hear stuff like this. I know this because I see your responses to something like a study linking vegetarianism/veganism to depression and anxiety. One common reaction is for vegans to simply ignore it, claiming they won’t even dignify such nonsense. 

Another frequent retort involves a far more insidious form of confirmation bias: “Yes,” some vegans say, “we are indeed more prone to anxiety and depression precisely because we’re so aware of the cruelty in this world. We’re depressed because we care so deeply.”

This is where the self-sabotaging and somewhat cult-like nature of veganism rears its ugly head. We found the truth. We live by the truth. Even if it costs us our mental health, we’ll embrace the truth. We’re that dedicated. The rest of you? Not so much.

Of course, such delusions of grandeur do nothing to explain why so many non-vegans get depressed or anxious. However, this all-too-common moral self-righteousness, does go a long in highlighting why vegans are among the most mocked and marginalized of activists. 

Human beings do things like volunteer at rape crisis centers, homeless shelters, and suicide hotlines but we’re being told that vegans have cornered the market on empathy? 

Medical professionals willingly put themselves at the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak but somehow they still won’t demonstrate true compassion until they stop eating meat? 

Are we to believe that none of these folks (and so, so many others like them) have valid, urgent reasons to experience depression and/or anxiety? 

I could go on (and on) but I won’t. I’d rather return to the points I began with: Research can’t always be trusted and going vegan in a truly healthy manner is not easy. 

If we accept these two premises -- at least for now -- the only logical and (dare I say?) compassionate choice is stop insulating ourselves within perceived parameters of perceived purity. 

“If discovering we can live without benefiting from so many of the ways the other species are oppressed is transformative, then why aren’t we acting as transformed people?” asks Carol J. Adams. 

“What’s our model for activism based on but male-defined criteria: left-brained, argumentative, scoring points? Where’s incubation, and silence, and trusting interactions, and creativity? Why are we accepting such a limited model?”

Life becomes far more livable and activism far more active once we accept that going vegan is merely one step in a far bigger journey -- a step not everyone can or will take in order to contribute to the manifestation of drastic and sustainable social change. 

(Side note: When one of your top nutritional experts details how your dietary choice requires this many adjustments, you have no right to judge anyone who is unable or even unwilling to jump through such hoops.)

More from Carol Adams: “Learning how much suffering and death is inflicted on the other animals is painful. With this knowledge, what do we do? I believe the world is a very fragile place and I am seeking ways of creating change that doesn’t require traumatizing of others. What would activism look like if it had care at the heart of its insights and tactics?”

On that note, I’d like to end with an expanded version of something I recently wrote: 

The basic goal of my individual choices now -- particularly as a male -- is harm reduction. I have no illusions I can decrease suffering but I know I can at least put some of my values into practice by making conscious anti-exploitation choices. Some examples of what I mean: not using my meager money and/or boundless energy to support sweatshops or factory farms; circuses or the automobile culture; chemical manufacturers or pornographers; and so on.

Within a culture constructed upon a foundation of patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism, the truth is elusive, sometimes fluid, and often obscured by relentless propaganda and conditioning. What we can and must do is keep identifying, demystifying, and unlearning -- but in the process, never forget the combined power of humility and solidarity.

Each of us is wrong far more often than we’re right. Perhaps this fundamental realization can be what finally helps to connect us… before it’s too late.

#shifthappens

(Endnote: If you’re trying to discern my“agenda” in writing this article, I urge you to take some time to click on the myriad links I’ve embedded herein to see how many opposing viewpoints and “findings” I’ve provided.)

Mickey Z. is the author of 13 books, most recently Occupy these Photos: NYC Activism Through a Radical Lens. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on the Web here and here. Anyone wishing to support his activist efforts can do so by making a donation here.

 
"(Vegan) Food for (Healthy) Thought?" by Mickey Z. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://worldnewstrust.com/vegan-food-for-healthy-thought-mickey-z.

Who’s Trying to Silence Cindy Sheehan? | Mickey Z.

Photo credit: Mickey Z. 

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust

Oct. 2, 2015

Activism often makes for strange bedfellows. The arduous work of coalition-building involves strategic compromises and trade-offs. Most importantly, solidarity necessitates an agreement to disagree… with minimal malice. 

Being an ally, accomplice, or fellow traveler requires a fundamental understanding that disagreement is not the same as oppression or violence. If a particular activist contingent will tolerate nothing less than marching in lockstep, well, that’s not solidarity or ally-ship. It’s thought policing. 

Which brings me to a situation involving my friend and comrade, Cindy Sheehan -- someone who has connected with an astonishing array of dissident individuals and groups.

“I have worked with groups from the spectrum of revolutionary communists to ‘free-market’ capitalist libertarians,” explains Cindy. “There are some groups I have worked with that I only affiliate with on very narrow parameters because they have proven to be there more to support Democrats than oppose U.S. imperialism. We anti-imperialists are fewer in number, so it's weird that the ‘far-right’ and ‘far-left’ are meeting better on what I consider to be bedrock issues than with other groups I have worked with.”

I last interviewed Cindy in 2010 and was planning to do so again soon. When I recently learned she was being targeted by a new disinformation campaign, I knew the time was right. 

Our conversation went a little something like this… 

Mickey Z.: Lots of people only know you as "anti-war" and me as "vegan" but we each do activist work far beyond any one category. Recently, I noticed we've both begun to focus on male supremacy and "male pattern violence" as the core -- the foundation, if you will -- of all oppressions. Would you agree with that appraisal? 

Cindy Sheehan: I think this male pattern violence is the root of both of our foci. It is true that there are some women who are in high positions of "power" in this patriarchal paradigm, but it seems that most of the time, they are worse warmongers than the males because they feel like they have to prove that they can murder without conscience, also. Male supremacy is also the least recognized or talked about because almost every single institution is dominated by this male energy and the females who support it.

MZ: I find it amazing and so damn frustrating to realize that so much of my writing, public speaking, street activism, photography, etc. has not focused on this root. You might even say that by missing the foundation, I helped support it. Even so, it’s liberating and motivating to finally recognize the deepest connections and re-focus my energies.

CS: Not too long after I left Camp Casey in August of 2005, I was speaking somewhere about matriarchy and patriarchy and I was confronted by the (then) president of Veterans for Peace (VFP) who told me that I shouldn't be speaking about this issue because it will "marginalize" me and piss off half of the movement. What is amazing that so-called aware and awake activists are still stuck in this mindset in the 21st century. We should not still be wandering in the wilderness at his point or having to defend ourselves against sexist attacks for speaking up for the safety of women and girls.

MZ: Which brings us to the topic at hand. Can you explain what recently happened with VFP and how it’s impacted you?

CS: It started when this letter by the Women’s Alliance was brought to my attention. In it, the authors declare: “Veterans for Peace is aligning itself with a belief system that says that we, as women, are the bigots. VFP is rising up against ‘transmisogyny’ (a term not defined in your statement), but ignores male on female hate speech and violence completely bypassing the matter of misogyny.”

It was based on a new statement by Veterans for Peace on transgender politics in which VFP “affirms the rights, humanity and identity of trans and gender diverse people and will not accept trans-phobic or trans-misogyny behavior or remarks.”

I made a comment supporting the writers of the Women’s Alliance letter, and immediately began to be attacked for my mild support. 

So, I had the authors of the letter on Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox and got the most hits for any show I have done recently. To be fair, most of the response has been positive and grateful for the show.

MZ: Have other women reached out to you?

CS: Yes, for example, I was asked to sign a letter of midwives to the licensing org which has changed all of its materials at the bullying of the trans community to exclude the words: breastfeeding, mother, and woman.

Breastfeeding has to now be called "chestfeeding" because the other term that's been around for centuries offends women transitioning to male who have had mastectomies yet get pregnant. Women, woman, or pregnant must now be called: Pregnant partner and birthing individual.

Incredibly misogynistic to deny women the very thing that our biology makes us uniquely suited for.

MZ: I’ll assume your stance has inspired more than a few personal attacks in response.

CS: Once I supported Lisa Blank, Cheryl Biren, and Anita Stewart in their quest to get answers from Veterans for Peace as to their transgender-related rules and to define some terms it used, I was immediately attacked.

I have been told many times that I am "on the wrong side" of this issue, that I am "transphobic," that I am a “TERF,” that my support for my three friends means that I have made the entire "antiwar movement" irrelevant and anything I did for Private Manning is also irrelevant because I deny Private Manning her "womanhood." 

I have also been told that Caitlyn Jenner is more of a woman than I am. The trans-bullies (as I call them) obviously only support the "ideal" of a woman in this culture and can't even wrap their minds around being gender abolitionists nor around male supremacy and why that prevailing paradigm is so dangerous.

MZ: In other aspects of social justice activism, comrades can agree to disagree but in this case, you are being smeared and ex-communicated for owning a differing opinion. But, to state what should be obvious, let’s be clear: It’s quite possible, of course, to support transgender issues while not agreeing with every aspect of trans politics/queer theory.

CS: I fully support each and every individual's right to be whomever they want to be. To be with whomever they want to be with. As long as there is no exploitation or anyone else is being harmed. 

MZ: You’ve said, “The one thing gender politics refuses to acknowledge or analyze is class.” Can you elaborate on this?

CS: How many poor women can afford the surgeries and hormones? Just like back alley abortions, it is a class issue. Then again, women have always been second class citizens, and here in 2015, that is still true. Women still are paid less than men in the workplace and women are still not equal under the law. For example, the Equality Act of 2015 is being rushed through Congress, a bill which would give transgender women equality under the law before biological women get it.

For a long time, female members of VFP have been pushing for a statement about women and women veterans, and the answer is that it is not necessary, but within three weeks of bullying, VFP had a zero-tolerance for "transmisogyny" up on its website.

VFP (seems I am picking on them) recently instituted a program: "Peace at home, peace abroad" which is great and addresses police brutality and other issues, but leaves out the most prevalent one (especially among veterans) and that is domestic violence. 

It seems to be still socially acceptable to tell demeaning jokes about women, because, unfortunately, some women still laugh and tell others to "lighten up." It's sad, that in the 21st century, women still have to struggle to break free of our second class status.

MZ: How do you believe we can join together to fight for social justice, educate about the upcoming elections, work to save the environment, struggle against militarism, and expose patriarchy while under threat of silencing and thought policing?

CS: I don't know if I have shared this with you, but everyone I have come into contact with lately (those doing real, revolutionary grass-roots work) are all having the experience of being bullied by transgender activists. From struggles in small southern towns to Black Lives Matter movements around the country, transgender bullies are moving in with their “our way or the highway” approach.

To bully people who would stand with them in their right to safety and to be whomever they wants to be and to tear apart movements for their own narrow identity politics ends is counter-revolutionary.

I would just say "ignore them" and move forward, but the minority is hellbent on infringing upon the rights of the majority (biological women) using very abusive tactics. Like you said, with others most of the time we are able to put aside differences to work together on confronting fascism and I say we have to continue that strategy.

In fact, I heard from a young gay man that after he listened to the show I did on male supremacy, he has become a "gender abolitionist" when he was not before. We are having a good effect on people. One at a time, if necessary.

I would just encourage people to listen to the show: Confronting Racism on the Left at Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox.

MZ: Bringing it back to where we started: where will your holistic brand of activism take you next? What’s on the horizon for you in terms of focus, actions, talks, etc. and how can readers follow your work and/or get in touch?

CS: I am still producing Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox on a weekly basis and published a book this year called: The Obama Files: Chronicles of an Award-Winning War Criminal.

Since March, though, I have been concentrating on helping my sister recover from and be cured of breast cancer (will the trans-bullies soon demand to start calling it "chest cancer”?). She has the rarest and most aggressive form of breast cancer which has metastasized. As aggressive as her cancer is, we are being more aggressive and recently learned the large tumor she had on her breast is completely gone!

With the next episode of bourgeois elections approaching, I see we will also have to be aggressive in exposing the empire and Capitalism every chance we get.

Thanks for the conversation, Mickey! As far as I know (as of late September), VFP and the Women’s Alliance have not come to a meeting of minds over the transgender statement. I will keep you posted!

Mickey Z. is the author of 13 books, most recently Occupy these Photos: NYC Activism Through a Radical Lens. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on the Web here and here. Anyone wishing to support his activist efforts can do so by making a donation here.

"Who’s Trying to Silence Cindy Sheehan?" by Mickey Z. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://worldnewstrust.com/who-s-trying-to-silence-cindy-sheehan-mickey-z.

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Blogs & Submissions

• Syriasly | James Howard Kunstler
• TOON: Satan's Emissary | Gregory Crawford
• Who’s Trying to Silence Cindy Sheehan? | Mickey Z.
• Divert the Serfs to Maintain the Empire | Philip A. Farruggio
• Tick Tick Tick | James Howard Kunstler

GRACE LEE BOGGS: REST IN POWER (JUNE 27, 1915 to OCTOBER 5, 2015)

GRACE LEE BOGGS
REST IN POWER!June 27, 1915 – October 5, 2015

Today, long-time activist and author Grace Lee Boggs passed away.

Cindy (Lee) Sheehan and Tour de Peace had a wonderful meeting with her in Detroit when the bike ride for peace and justice cycled through Detroit.

GRACE LEE BOGGS AND CINDY SHEEHAN

JUNE 2013

DETROIT

CINDY SHEEHAN INTERVIEWED GRACE LEE BOGGS

FOR THE SOAPBOX IN MAY 2014

 

THE NEW AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE URGENT NEED FOR ONE

#RISEUPOCTOBER (STOP POLICE TERROR) (SOAPBOX PODCAST OCTOBER 4, 2015)

CINDY SHEEHAN'S SOAPBOX

OCTOBER 4, 2015

#RISEUPOCTOBER
(Cindy Sheehan is planning on being there)

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO RE-PLAY
OF KILLER COP SHOW 

This week, the Soapbox is re-running a show with family members of young men who were victims of police murder.

Learn about their stories, the stories of their loved ones and the inspiring heart-connection they have made to do something that I know is not easy.

None of us asked for "this," let's hear stories that are so difficult to hear, but even harder to tell. 

 BIOS AND RELEVANT LINKS

Christina Arechiga – Sacramento, CA– Prison right activist for over 15 years then changed focus to police brutality when her first cousin Ernest Duenez Jr was murdered by John Moody of the Manteca PD. Now works full time as a private investigator and in the CA Statewide Coalition Against Police Brutality for all families who have been victims of law enforcement corruption and working on changing procedures and laws allowing such corruption.


Rosemary Duenez – Lathrop, CA – a mother and grandmother whose son Ernest Duenez Jr. was murdered by John Moody of the Manteca PD on June 8, 2011 – Ernest 34 yrs old was a father of an 11 month old son at the time, the Duenez family maintains weekly Sunday protests at the Manteca PD and is actively working with the CA Statewide Coalition Against Police Brutality. They fought to have the dash cam video released to them and they in turn released to the public in their fight for justice. Their civil case is currently in the federal courts in Sacramento, Ca and trial will begin in early 2014. The officer was cleared by the DA’s office but the family maintains an ongoing investigation and continues to put pressure on law enforcement to be accountable and file murder charges.

You can view the video here: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhnY17F_eiQ

 Denika Chatman – Vallejo, Ca – mother of Kenneth Harding 19 years of age was murdered on July 16, 2011 by San Francisco Police and then left to bleed out while medical personal was not allowed through police barricade – she moved her family back to California from Seattle to fight for justice for her son and holds monthly feeds for the homeless in the spot that still is stained with the blood of her son. Aka the Kenny Feeds held by the Kenneth Harding Foundation – they have recently been blessed with a new location in a church to continue their work. She is currently in a civil trial.


You can view the video here: 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K9RS34WG7M


Cephus Johnson aka “uncle bobby”– uncle of Oscar Grant murdered by Johannes Mehserle on a BART platform in Oakland, works nationally to organize and unite families who have been affected by the injustice system, their story is on screens nationwide in the film FRUITVALE STATION – you can read reviews here: 
https://www.facebook.com/FruitvaleStationMovie