DOCSLIB.ORG

Winter 2017 Newsletter

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Winter 2017 Newsletter Winter 2017-18, volume XXI, issue 4 VETERANS FOR PEACE NEWS MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL VETERANS FOR PEACE, CHAPTER 27 Veterans For Peace News is published quar- Tear down walls, terly by Mpls./St. Paul Veterans For Peace, build up people Chapter 27. by Mary McNellis Veterans For Peace works to increase awareness of the costs his past Armistice Day, of war, restrain our TVeterans for Peace led a government from intervening in the bi-national march on both internal affairs of other sides of the Arizona/Mexican nations, end the arms border at Nogales to shine a race, reduce and even- tually eliminate nuclear light on our new administra- weapons, seek justice tion’s highly politicized “build for veterans and victims of war, and abolish war the wall” and the humanitarian as an instrument of abuses of the U.S. Border national policy. Patrol. Scores of people gath- We pledge to use ered in front of adjacent democratic and non- stages, separated by a 30-foot violent means to fence that “protects” and sepa- achieve our purpose. rates the U.S. from Mexico, to protest a wasteful and inhu- To subscribe to this newsletter, mane policy. please call: It was a weekend filled 612-821-9141 with actions, sponsored by the Or write: School of America Watch Veterans For Peace Ch. 27 (SOAW), founded in 1990 by Father Roy tics resulting in torture, assassinations, kid- 4200 Cedar Ave, S. #7 Bourgeois. This was in response to the Nov. nappings and repression. Labor leaders, union Minneapolis, MN 55407 16, 1989, El Salvador massacre in which six organizers and environmentalists have always Or e-mail: Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her been among the primary targets of SOA vio- [email protected] teenage daughter were murdered. A U.S. lence. Many Americans remain unaware that Congressional Task Force reported that those their tax dollars are still funding SOA, under Our website is: responsible were trained in Ft. Benning, GA, the guise of “defending our national interests.” www.vfpchapter27.org. at the notorious U.S. Army School of the Since 1990, SOA Watch continues to say Newsletter committee: Americas (SOA) or, as some people have “BASTA! NOT IN OUR NAME!” Frank Fuller, editor; dubbed it, “School of Assassins.” In an effort For 25 years, members of our local VFP Pat Downey, Jennie Downey, Jean Heberle, to disassociate the school with its horrific past, attended every annual SOAW rally held at the Joan Johnson, Mike in January 2001 the SOA was renamed the front gate of Fort Benning, GA, to expose, Madden, Steve denounce, and call for an end to U.S. state- McKeown, Mary Western Hemisphere Institute for Security McNellis, Barry Riesch. Cooperation (WHINSEC). sponsored terrorism and oppressive U.S. poli- Craig Wood From its inception, the mission of this cies subverting self-determination and desta- “There won’t be any U.S. hosted and taxpayer-funded institute has bilization of democratically-elected govern- trumpets blowing come been to train military personnel to protect the ments. the Judgement Day — interests of multinational corporations and Last year, SOAW moved the annual event, on the bloody morning after, one tin soldier maintain the economic status quo for the few now called Encuentro at the Border, to the rides away...” rich and powerful in the U.S. and their cohorts (Potter & Lambert) in Latin America, including military-style tac- Encuentro, Continued on page 3 PAGE 2 WINTER 2017-18 MPLS./ST. PAUL VETERANS FOR PEACE CHAPTER 27 Notes from the President by Dave Logsdon movement began at Ft. Snelling in the early 90s by a small group of thoughtful, committed VFP members, and now “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful VFP Chapters around the country are following suit! committed citizens can change the world; At 4 p.m. on the 11th, our chapter sponsored a docu- indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” mentary at St. Anthony Main called The World is my Margaret Mead Country by Arthur Kanegis. The film chronicles the amaz- ing life of Garry Davis, former Broadway performer who ur group of committed thoughtful citizens at Veterans served as a bombardier that bombed Brandenberg in World OFor Peace are doing our best to leverage our brand to War II. After seeing footage of the death and destruction that effect meaningful change right here in Minnesota. There is he was part of, he experienced a powerful change in his life. a lot of on-the-job training that goes into all this communi- The film goes on to follow Garry as he creates the World ty organizing stuff. With the right people and much imagi- Citizenship Movement using his imagination and perform- nation and networking, amazing things are possible; lives ing talent to thrust himself onto the world stage. Arthur are touched, and things can change for the better. We are Kanegis was here for the film and also attended our History always trying to recruit new members and it can be frustrat- Center event. There is some wonderful vintage footage of ing trying to get people involved. the Kellogg-Briand signing and other historical events. We But in the past year we’ve had a small group of com- will screen this film again soon! mitted citizens joining our ranks. So many new people have The Sisters of St. Joseph finished this full day with an made important contributions to our many varied efforts this evening of singing and reflection at their residence on the year. Hopefully some of you reading this Newsletter will be campus of St Catherine’s University. Roy Wolff of Veterans inspired to join the struggle and, with the VFP National For Peace helped organize this event, with music by Joan Convention coming here in August, we’ll need all hands on Johnson and Bridget McDonald! deck! And…..on November 12th, Steve Mckeown drove to Fargo, North Dakota and spoke at Red River chapter mem- “The World is my Country, all humankind are ber Ron Saeger’s First Unitarian Church on the topic “What my brethren, to do good is my religion.” does the American soldier defend?” Steve also presented the Thomas Paine church with a Kellogg-Briand banner and was well received! On Armistice Day (Nov. 11th) we had a full day and then some! We were invited to the Minnesota History “Seek not to contest evil, lest ye be taken by the spirit of Center on the closing day of their wonderful WWI exhibit contention, rather concern yourself with goodness, for in to do our traditional bell ringing program. Steve McKeown, goodness is the leavening that makes the whole loaf rise.” John Varone, and I spoke about why we ring our bells to Leon Kenegis (Arthur Kanegis’ father) honor the sacredness of the original idea of Armistice Day. It was a day of peace and remembrance, not a day of flag When the National VFP Board came here to conduct waving and guns firing. Our bell ringers came up and talked their annual business meeting and to find out about our con- about the stories behind the bells they were ringing. Then vention plans, we had a meet and greet at our office (4200 we rang the bells 11 times at exactly 11 o’clock, 99 years Cedar). We had a nice evening of food, music and speakers. after silence fell on the killing fields of France. John Varone The next day one of the board members told me she felt that sang the Phil Ochs song “I Ain’t-A-Marching Anymore” to there was a lot of love between our members. Yes, we lovers end the program. here do quarrel at times, as lovers often do, but we do care At St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, Larry Johnson was deeply for one another. part of a morning program that concluded with Larry ring- This coming year come join us on the Peace Bus. After ing his bell at 11 a.m. At St. Albert’s. This bell ringing all, it’s a love thing! MPLS./ST. PAUL VETERANS FOR PEACE CHAPTER 27 WINTER 2017-18 PAGE 3 Encuentro, from page 1 U.S./Mexico border. It tarism, and economic was again held in exploitation. In our Nogales on both sides struggle as activists, of the wall in Arizona we have learned that and Sonora. It included where there is injus- vigils, concerts, work- tice, silence is com- shops and the VFP plicity. Today, the March to the Border, lives and future of so calling for an end to many of our Latin U.S. policies that are American sisters and the root causes of brothers are at stake, migration that have had including our 800,000 devastating effects on DACA recipients. asylum seekers and More than ever before, immigrants. SOAW and Presente at the stage. the voices, support VFP stand in solidarity and actions of every- with border communi- one in our SOA Watch ties denouncing racist, movement are needed. military, political and Let us build bridges, economic U.S. policies not walls! Hope not that create the condi- despair! Equality not tions responsible for the discrimination!” current refugee crisis. Many in the VFP SOAW founder organization were Father Roy Bourgeois unhappy that the states: “We’ve been at SOAW weekend fell this for 25 years before this year on coming to the border November 11, a day last year. We realized it many chapters histori- was time to continue to cally hold their own call for the closing of Father Roy Bourgeois speaking at Encuentro. Armistice celebra- the school but to make a tions.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nuclear Resister Issue #145
    the Nuclear Resister “A Chronicle of Hope” No. 145 February 18, 2007 8, 12 & 15 Months for Disarming ND’s WMDs Last summer, three men dressed as clowns broke the lock off the fence surround- ing an unguarded nuclear missile launch site in North Dakota, on Fort Berthold Reservation farmland of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations). There they hung a banner declaring “Weapon of Mass Destruction Here”, as well as painting slogans such as “Stop Nuclear Terrorism Here” and hammering and pouring blood on the buried missile silo’s massive reinforced concrete cover. Their action on June 20, 2006 was the latest in the U.S. in the 26-year tradition of the Plowshares nuclear disarmament movement. In that time, hundreds of nonviolent resisters around the world have given flesh to the biblical prophecy of Isaiah and Micah, and begun the work of beating swords into plowshares. Many, if not most, have spent time in prison or jail as a consequence. The “Weapon of Mass Destruction Here” Plowshares defendants were sentenced November 16 in federal court in Bismarck, North Dakota, for destruction of government property. Fr. Carl Kabat OMI was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison, Greg Boertje-Obed was sentenced to 12 months, and Michael Walli received an eight month prison term. The men have been jailed since their arrest at the site, and were given photo by Ted Stein/Resistance Media In black hoods and orange jumpsuits, scores of surrogates for Guantanamo credit for time served in local jails. prisoners kneel and petition the Federal Court in Washington, D.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Parish Resources on the Death Penalty
    Parish Resources On The Death Penalty Prepared by: Human Rights Commission Diocese of Toledo 2008 3/11/2008 1 Table of Contents Resources for Death Penalty Education in Parishes Introduction of Packet by HRC explaining Packet of Materials 3 Informational Bulletin Fill-Ins 4 Ideas for Use in Initiation, Preaching or Religious Education 7 Prayer Resources 15 Litany for an End to the Death Penalty A Service of Hope: A Prayer Service on the Occasion of an Execution Prayer Vigil for Victims of Gun Violence A Vigil of Witness against Capital Punishment: Signing the Declaration of Life Additional Recommended Resources 30 Books Catholic Resources/Documents Videos Speakers Websites 3/11/2008 2 Greetings of Peace! This packet is intended to provide parishes with a set of resources and tools to educate and inspire our communities to look at how we think about the death penalty and study what the Catholic Church teaches on the issue. In recent years the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has taken a public stand to end the use of the death penalty. Included in this packet are some basic resources from the Catechism, Encyclicals, our bishops’ statements and the Catholic social tradition. We have put together homily helps, short bulletin inserts, sample prayer services, and additional resources to aid you in reaching out to your parish community. If you have questions or would like additional information, feel free to contact the Diocesan Human Rights Commission through Ms. Germaine Kirk, Diocesan liaison to the Human Rights Commission: 419 – 244-6711, ext. 431 or [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Feminism for the 99 Percent
    - ESTO ;:.iii POLITICS / FEMINISM ",,::: $12.95/ £7.99/ $17.50CAN THIS IS Feminism for AMANIFESTO the 99 Percent FOR THE 99 PERCENT Unaffordable housing, poverty wages, inad­ equate healthcare, border policing, climate change-these are not what you ordinarily hear feminists talking about. But aren't they the biggest issues for the vast majority of women around the globe? Taking as its inspiration the new wave of fem­ inist militancy that has erupted globally, this manifesto makes a simple but powerful case: feminism shouldn't start-or stop-with the drive to have women represented at the top of their professions. It must focus on those at the bottom, and fight for the world they deserve. And that means targeting capitalism. Feminism must be anticapitalist, eco-socialist and anti racist. Feminism for the 99 Percent A Manifesto Cinzia Arruzza Tithi Bhattacharya Nancy Fraser VERSO London • New York For the Combahee River Collective, who envisioned the path early on and for the Polish and Argentine feminist strikers, who are breaking new ground today First published by Verso 2019 © Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya, Nancy Fraser 2019 All rights reserved The moral rights of the authors have been asserted 1 3 5 79 10 8 642 Verso UK: 6 Meard Street, London W1F OEG US: 20 Jay Street, Suite 10lD, Brooklyn, NY 11201 versobooks.com Verso is the imprint of New Left Books ISBN-13: 978·1-78873-442-4 ISBN-13: 978-1-78873-444-8 (UK EBK) ISBN-13: 978-1-78873-445-5 (US EBK) British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book
    [Show full text]
  • View, Even As Power Restricts and Censors, It Has Generative Effects
    Producing Pacification: The Disciplinary Technologies of Smart Bombs and National Anti-War Organizing Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Andrew Curtis Culp Graduate Program in Comparative Studies The Ohio State University 2009 Thesis Committee: Eugene W. Holland, Advisor Philip Armstrong Mathew Coleman Copyright by Andrew Curtis Culp 2009 Abstract The disciplinary technology of pacification works as a tool, embedded within the logistical assemblage of liberalism, which works to maintain lines of force necessary for reproducing liberalism’s conditions for existence. Chapter One develops this conceptual framework, situating my approach in relation to Foucaultian scholarship on biopolitics and war. The proceeding chapters are an exploration of two different cases that demonstrate radically different contexts in which the pacification-assemblage-force assemblage is mobilized. In Chapter Two, I consider smart bombs as a disciplinary technology of pacification within the assemblage of ‘virtuous war’, tracing effects of the affective force of the bombs. And Chapter Three is a criticism of the current national anti-war strategy and concludes with a brief suggestion on a new paradigm – affectivism – that recenters a politics of resistance on deploying minor knowledge to produce new potentialities. Each one of the three elements of the triad, the disciplinary technology of pacification, the form of the concrete assemblage, and schematically mapping the topography of lines of force, are crucial components to the political analytics. ii Dedication For Tristan iii Acknowledgements The idea for the thesis began while preparing for the National Debate Tournament in 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Process, Activism, and Health Dissertation
    POLITICAL PROCESS, ACTIVISM, AND HEALTH DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Anne E. Haas, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2005 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Vincent Roscigno, Advisor Professor Timothy Curry ________________________ Professor Steven Lopez Sociology Graduate Program ABSTRACT Conventional women are saturated with mass media images depicting very thin, attractive women. These images impose ideals that are impossible for most women to meet in a healthy way. This study examines the substantive issue of women's body appearance, aging, and related health outcomes, including eating disorders, and how these might be mediated and improved by activist political process. Concepts from social movements and social-psychological perspectives are integrated into what I call the political process model—a model that delineates how activists become socialized and immersed in alternative political networks that influence subsequent activities, ideas, and identities. I use this model to test the ability of activists to sustain commitment to their causes, including those that relate to women’s bodies, over time. The process that connects the concepts in this model (i.e., pivotal events, collective identity, pivotal departures, empowerment, and health) provides the conceptual framework to which my analytic strategy derives. I address four research expectations using triangulated quantitative and qualitative methods, and draw original data sources. Original survey data on female activists and non-activists are used to test whether the two groups differ in their politics, daily routines, and several dimensions of health (e.g., use of conventional versus non-conventional medical care, eating habits, etc.).
    [Show full text]
  • Coalition Dissolution, Mobilization, and Network Dynamics in the U.S
    COALITION DISSOLUTION, MOBILIZATION, AND NETWORK DYNAMICS IN THE U.S. ANTIWAR MOVEMENT Michael T. Heaney and Fabio Rojas ABSTRACT Coalition formation and dissolution are integral parts of social movement politics. This article addresses two questions about the effect of coalition politics on organizational processes within social movements. First, how does coalition leadership influence who attends mass demonstrations? Second, how does the dissolution of a coalition affect the locations of organizations in activist networks? The case of schism between United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) and Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) in the contemporary American antiwar movement (2001–2007) is examined. Survey results demonstrate that variations in coalition leadership do not significantly affect protest demographics, though they do attract supporters with different political attitudes, levels of commitment, and organizational affiliations. Further, network analysis establishes that coalition dissolution weakens the ties between previous coalition partners and creates opportunities for actors uninvolved in the split to reaffirm and improve brokerage opportunities. The end result is that preexisting network structures serve to mitigate the effects of coalition dissolution on social movements. Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, Volume 28, 39–82 Copyright r 2008 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 0163-786X/doi:10.1016/S0163-786X(08)28002-X 39 40 MICHAEL T. HEANEY AND FABIO ROJAS When public approval of President George W. Bush’s handling of the Iraq War stood at an unprecedented low in September 2005, the American antiwar movement seized the opportunity to get out its message.1 The nation’s two leading grassroots antiwar coalitions – United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) and Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) – formed a grand coalition to sponsor a march in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2005.
    [Show full text]
  • Witness to Distant Suffering, Human Rights and Unworthy Victims in The
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Theses from the College of Journalism and Mass Journalism and Mass Communications, College of Communications Summer 8-1-2010 An Ardent Flame: Witness to Distant Suffering, Human Rights and Unworthy Victims in the Coverage by The New York Times and Two Journals of the Religious Left of the 1980s iC vil Wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua Charles A. Flowerday University of Nebraska at Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/journalismdiss Part of the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, and the Mass Communication Commons Flowerday, Charles A., "An Ardent Flame: Witness to Distant Suffering, Human Rights and Unworthy Victims in the Coverage by The New York Times and Two Journals of the Religious Left of the 1980s ivC il Wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua" (2010). Theses from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. 8. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/journalismdiss/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journalism and Mass Communications, College of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. AN ARDENT FLAME: WITNESS TO DISTANT SUFFERING, HUMAN RIGHTS AND UNWORTHY VICTIMS IN THE COVERAGE BY THE NEW YORK TIMES AND TWO JOURNALS OF THE RELIGIOUS LEFT OF THE 1980’S
    [Show full text]
  • Martha Rosler
    MARTHA ROSLER 1. A good number of artists and students I know have in one way or another opposed the present war. Before it began, in the summer of 2002, the art, litera- ture, and activist communities came together by the hundreds, if not thousands, and spurred the formation of the activist coalition group United for Peace and Justice. A group calling itself Not in Our Name issued a statement in opposition to the war both online and in print (including full-page ads in newspapers such as the New York Times, with an impressive number of signatories from the arts and lit- erature). Numerous public meetings were held by those in the visual arts, as well as poets, writers, and theater people. Literary groups organized antiwar readings and performances with celebrity headliners, including events at Lincoln Center and other public halls in New York. The activist group Artists Against the War (of which I am a founding member) formed in this context. Many young artists, art students, and others interested in symbolic actions and interventions took part in antiwar activities, from writing graffiti and postering to street theater and perfor- mance, as well as joining marches and vigils and engaging in civil disobedience. Many were also involved politically during the election season of 2004, especially during the huge demonstrations protesting the Republican National Convention in New York, when people in the institutional categories you mention are most likely to have joined in. The most effective action, to my mind, is always the street demonstration and march—especially if it is very large or neighborhood-based and frequent.
    [Show full text]
  • International Medical Corps Afghanistan
    Heading Folder Afghanistan Afghanistan - Afghan Information Centre Afghanistan - International Medical Corps Afghanistan - Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) Agorist Institute Albee, Edward Alianza Federal de Pueblos Libres American Economic Association American Economic Society American Fund for Public Service, Inc. American Independent Party American Party (1897) American Political Science Association (APSA) American Social History Project American Spectator American Writer's Congress, New York City, October 9-12, 1981 Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action - Students for Democractic Action Anarchism Anarchism - A Distribution Anarchism - Abad De Santillan, Diego Anarchism - Abbey, Edward Anarchism - Abolafia, Louis Anarchism - ABRUPT Anarchism - Acharya, M. P. T. Anarchism - ACRATA Anarchism - Action Resource Guide (ARG) Anarchism - Addresses Anarchism - Affinity Group of Evolutionary Anarchists Anarchism - Africa Anarchism - Aftershock Alliance Anarchism - Against Sleep and Nightmare Anarchism - Agitazione, Ancona, Italy Anarchism - AK Press Anarchism - Albertini, Henry (Enrico) Anarchism - Aldred, Guy Anarchism - Alliance for Anarchist Determination, The (TAFAD) Anarchism - Alliance Ouvriere Anarchiste Anarchism - Altgeld Centenary Committee of Illinois Anarchism - Altgeld, John P. Anarchism - Amateur Press Association Anarchism - American Anarchist Federated Commune Soviets Anarchism - American Federation of Anarchists Anarchism - American Freethought Tract Society Anarchism - Anarchist
    [Show full text]
  • Invisible Soldier Iraq Vets Are Landing on the Streets
    THE INDY WINS BIG AT THE IPA PRESS AWARDS! SEE P3 THEINDYPENDENT Issue #62, December 22, 2004 – Januray 11, 2005 • a free paper for free people Invisible Soldier Iraq vets are landing on the streets. More are on the way. SEE PAGE 4 ; ©ANDREW STERN/ANDREWSTERN.NET ANTRIM CASKEY UGANDA PEACE ON ONE SMALL CORNER PATRIOT ACT II OF EARTH BIG PAGE 8 BROTHER JUST GOT THE ONLY BIGGER MUSICIAN PAGE 5 THAT MATTERED indypendent.org PAGE 10 PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF REVOLUTION BY KIERA BUTLER On the third Sunday of NEW YORK CITY advent, the Reverend Earl INDEPENDENT Kooperkamp told his The gregarious Reverend Kooperkamp remains animated after the 10a.m. service, as he MEDIA CENTER congregation at St. Mary’s runs off to a vestry meeting. Below Left: Reverend Kooperkamp succors a parishioner, Episcopal Church to go. and they’re both left laughing. PHOTOS: ANTRIM CASKEY Phone: 212.684.8112 “Go. Scram. Get outta here,” he said, flick- When Reverend Kooperkamp became pas- come out when he pronounces the name of Email: ing his hand at the 30 or so congregants in tor of St. Mary’s Church four and a half years the city where he grew up. “Low-ville,” he [email protected] the pews. ago, he knew he wanted to continue the tra- says for Louisville, Kentucky. He remembers Actually, he was (very loosely) quoting dition of community activism. going to church with his family during the Web: Jesus Christ. Christ, Kooperkamp explained, Shortly after the terrorist attacks of Vietnam War; it was during that time that he NYC: www.nyc.indymedia.org was always telling people to “go.” To go September 11, 2001, Kooperkamp hosted the realized that he wanted to be a pastor and GLOBAL: www.indymedia.org spread his teachings.
    [Show full text]
  • Getting Connected? the Politics of Mobilizing a Transnational Feminist Response to the War on Terror by Krista Hunt
    © Wagadu Volume 2 : Summer 2005 Getting Connected? Getting Connected? The politics of mobilizing a transnational feminist response to the war on terror by Krista Hunt Abstract This paper examines the essential role that the Internet has played in mobilizing a transnational feminist response to the war on terror. The use of the Internet by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) and feminists opposed to the war on terror exemplify the power of this technology to give voice to women who have in many different ways been silenced off-line. This timely case study illustrates how crucial the Internet can be to gain international attention regarding human rights abuses, to solicit transnational support, and to provide an international forum for those who are politically disenfranchised. However, the Internet remains a tool that only women with the privilege of connection hold – a privilege that runs along lines of gender, class, race, and location. As such, the potential to use the Internet to fight for women’s rights must be weighed against issues of unequal access and the politics of knowledge production that structure the digital divide between women. In particular, feminists must resist equating RAWA as the ‘authentic’ voice of Afghan women just because this is the predominant group garnering international attention. It is significant that feminists continue to stress the importance of the Internet to link women worldwide when the ability to get connected depends on factors like race, class, geographical location,
    [Show full text]
  • Partisans, Nonpartisans, and the Antiwar Movement in the United
    American Politics Research Volume 35 Number 4 July 2007 431-464 © 2007 Sage Publications Partisans, Nonpartisans, and 10.1177/1532673X07300763 http://apr.sagepub.com hosted at the Antiwar Movement in http://online.sagepub.com the United States Michael T. Heaney University of Florida Fabio Rojas Indiana University, Bloomington American social movements are often bitterly divided about whether their objectives are achieved better by working with one of the major political par- ties or by operating independently. These divisions are consequential for how social movements and political parties respond to one another. First, differing partisan attitudes shape the structure of activist networks, leading activists to join organizations with others who share their party loyalties or disloyalties. Second, partisan attitudes affect how activists participate in the movement, with strong partisans more likely to embrace institutional tactics, such as lob- bying. Third, partisanship affects activists’ access to the institutions of govern- ment, such as Congress. Relying on surveys of antiwar activists attending large-scale public demonstrations in 2004 and 2005 and a Capitol Hill Lobby Day in September 2005, the authors argue that some activists integrate into major party networks through the “party in the street,” an arena of significant party-movement interaction. Keywords: antiwar movement; social movements; political parties; party in the street; party identification; activist networks; social networks We believe that most of [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi’s constituents perceive her as antiwar because they know only of her initial vote and her later public statements. We believe that we can pressure her by exposing the gap between her rhetoric and her votes and other leadership actions and inactions.
    [Show full text]