Annual Veterans for Peace Convention – Resilience, Resistance, and Non-Violent Revolution
For four days, veterans and families enjoyed a robust schedule featuring eco-friendly sight-seeing, film-viewing, socializing, and activist-focused training and networking. The stimulating agenda and the statements of resolve passed as business ensured that veteran enhanced activism would carry into the Veteran-for-Peace co-sponsored events would carry into 2012.
Keynote speakers were available to the public and included the 3-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee, co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness, human rights activist Kathy Kelly speaking on the costs of wars; Robert Jensen, Journalism Professor with specialties in media ethics and law at University of Texas at Austin, and author of Citizens of the Empire, the Struggle to Claim Our Humanity. Jensen’s critique of the Michael Moore movie Fahrenheit 9-11 and entitled What Michael Moore Misses About Empire was published in Counter Punch and can be seen here
http://www.counterpunch.org/jensen07052004... Rounding out the cast of keynote speakers was UCLA/California State University faculty member Blasé Bonpane, who was expelled from Guatemala in the 1960s for his work with peasant activism.
Among the many veteran/activists who drew on their personnel journeys and challenges to lead discussion, none better exemplifies 'walking the talk' of resistance to empire than Brian Wilson - Vietnam Veteran (USAF 1966-70), member of the District of Columbia Bar, and founding member of Veterans for Peace. As a trained lawyer, Wilson has studied examples of US violations of international law in dozens of countries in Latin America, Israel and Asia. While engaged in a protest of US weapons support to Central America, Wilson blocked a train at the Concord, California Naval Weapons Station….The train did not stop and Wilson lost both of his legs below the knees and suffered a severe skull fracture. Wilson’s plenary session was entitled Resistance and Resilience. Wilson’s memoir, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BRIAN WILSON, was published this year. Also, Retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, who, as a State Department official received the 1997 Award for Heroism for her work in evacuating people of Somalia, spoke of her recent experiences with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
A quorum of veteran activists approved resolutions – details of which are published at:
http://veteransforpeace.org/convention_res... Veterans for Peace are co-sponsoring the following fall events – 24-28 August – Democracy Convention in Madison, Wisconsin; Sept 11 – Bikes not Bombs Bicycle Tour from NY to Washington, DC; October 6 – Stop the Machine – Federal Square, Washington, DC; November 11-13, United National Anti-War Coalition Meeting in Stamford, Conn.
