Trinity College Trinity College Digital Repository Resist Newsletters Resist Collection 12-2-1968 Resist Newsletter, Dec. 1968 Resist Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/resistnewsletter Recommended Citation Resist, "Resist Newsletter, Dec. 1968" (1968). Resist Newsletters. 131. https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/resistnewsletter/131 a call to resist illegitimate authority 2 December 1968 - 763 ue, a-# 4, Cambridge, Mass. - Newsletter #20 12 DAYS OF SANCTUARY AT MIT "It h'as been made clear to me that by We need money. This fall we ran ads taking sanctuary -I face more time -in in the New Republic and the New ".iQu the stockade than I would if I turned . Review of Books, and we have sent out myself in. To me it is worth it. I a fund-raising letter, and the response feel that if I can convince 100 people has been very disappointing. Many that the war is wrong, that it is an people have told us that they appre­ injustice against. the basic freedoms of ciated the political analysis presented our country, then I will gladly serve in the ad, but our appeal for support the extra time. · The ones that I hope was largely ignored. to bring a better understanding to are those who say that the war and the mil­ Demands on the national RESIST office itary are wrong, but yet are not will­ are increasing. Many established groups ing to do anything about it." still need support from us, and there are also many groups breaking ground in This is an excerpt from the statement new areas of work, especially with sol­ made by Mike O'Conner as he took sanc­ diers and high school students1who need· tuary at MIT on October 29th. By the funds to get started. I suspect two of time he was arrested 12 days later the causes~of the poor response to our Mike had managed to involve more than appeal for money are the President's "peace offensive" and the fact that many 1000 people in his action, 1 and it look­ ed as though for many of them this in­ people have shifted their contributions volvement would become a continuing to local resistance work. personal commitment to active opposi­ tion to the war. President Johnson's April Fool's Eve and Halloween speeches lulled people who Mike, 19, had been AWOL from Fort oppose the war ~nto a false sense of Bragg for 3 weeks when he visited the optimism and a dangerous relaxation. sanctuary for Ray Kroll in Marsh Chapel Optimism is premature and relaxation is at Boston University. Deeply impressed dangerous because of what is happening by what he felt that sanctuary was ac­ in Paris-, Vietnam and America. complishing, he asked to join Ray. However, Ray and those around him felt Item: When American planes stopped the bust would come soon and convinced bombing part of North Vietnam last Mike to wait. (It did come the next spring, they intensified bombing of the morning.) rest -of the North. In fact, American planes dropped more bombs on territory Mike spent the next several weeks below the 19th parallel than they had carefully considering what he wanted been dropping on the whole of _the North to do. He then approached the New Eng­ before. It now appears that after the land Resistance to discuss arranging a · Halloween announcement that bombing of sanctuary. The members of the Resist­ the North would cease altogether, that ance ·discussed with h~m its possible air war in the South and in Laos has detrimental consequences to himself. been rapidly escalated. Thus the war Mike could not be dissuaded; he had is ~not being scaled down, it is being make a firm deci~ion to make his state­ concentrated. We must imagine w~at that ment against the war in this way. means ~or suffering people in the Viet­ namese and Laotian countryside. Cont. on p. 3 Cont. on p. 2 Page 2 MONEY cont'd. Item: "Allied forces have surrounded provided emergency grants to tide over 24 square miles of rice paddy land and two GI coffee houses and a GI news­ foothills just west of here in one of the paper. Moreover, local support often most concentrated efforts of the Vietnam comes only after a project is set uo. war to root out enemy troops and Viet­ The national office is one of the few cong agents .••. The primary goal of places to which new projects can turn the operation is the destruction of the for f~nds to open an office and pay an Vietcong organization in the area." organizer $30 a week to start the job. (N.Y. Times, Nov. 23.) This is particularly true of high school projects which we think are Item: The day after the election, extremely important just now. Besides l established projects do come on hard ' the Pentagon announced that draft calls times: bail or fines eat up reserves for January were being increased to . , expansion takes new funds, full-time 26,800, by far the highest total since organizers don't have time to raise last spring. Calls of that size or money. In such emergencies, it is larger are forecast for the rest of the YOUR money, flowing through the RESIST spring on 1969. The college graduates office, which keeps people going. spared in the fall will begin to go in January. At the last Steering Committee Item: Prosecution of war resisters is meeting there were 14 funding requests intensifying. Thirty-six indictments totalling about $15,000. We don't have been brought just in Massachusetts have even a third of that to disburse. in recent weeks, and we have reports that prosecutions are being accelerated else­ If each person who contributes or where, too. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has pledges to RESIST (or to a local group) seen its first five-year sentence for a were to recruit one other person to resister, breaking a long-standing pat­ contribute or pledge, we could help tern of maximum three-year terms. many more of the groups all over tfie country who are now requesting assis­ In the second place, people who have tance from us .• We also nope that previously contributed to RESIDST are now people will review their own financial giving their money to local groups. We commitments and decide if the amount think this development is important and they "tax" themselves for resistance desireable, and we have aided it in every is commensurate with their ability­ way we could, by providing mailing lists and the movement's needs. sending special fund appeals, and so on.' Rochester, Long Island, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, and Baltimore, . among other places, have adopted monthly pledge systems similar to that of -national RESIST. The strength of the resistance movement depends finally upon the HELP! strength of its roots in local communi­ ties. RE~IST .needs help in sending out its Nonetheless, a -sufficient flow of newsletter . Anyone in the Boston area funds to the national office is vital to who ~ould_spend a little time and energy the movement as a whole. New areas of ~orking wi th us to get 6000 newslett ers work are being opened. Many projects, :nto the mail every other week would b e because of their location and nature, Joyously welcomed. Please con t a c t our find it difficult to obtain adequate office at 7 63 Massachusetts Avenue, Rm . local support, especially at first. I n 4, Cambridge, Ma ss . 4 91-8076. the last month, for example, we have Page 3 SANCTUARY AT MIT cont'd .•• Sites for the sanctuary were then the first alarm came. From the securi­ considered, and MIT chosen. With over ty people came word that several police $200 million per year in defense con­ cars had pulled up to the Student Cen­ tracts, it seemed a particularly appro­ ter and were discharging people. priate place to protest U.S. Vietnam People gathered together and surrounded policy and military procedures. A Mike. Mike, visibly nervous, thanked large hall, the Sala de Puerto Rico in everyone for having come to support him the MIT Student Center, was chosen for and said that a part of him would al­ the sanctuary because Mike's was a po­ ways remain with the sanctuary commun­ litical action and it was felt it should ity. As everyone sat quietly awaiting occur in a secular atmosphere. the Feds word came that the police cars had departed and the people left behind At noon on Tuesday, October 29th, MIT had dispersed without entering the faculty, staff, students, employees, Student Center. Everyone calmed their and administration on their way to and nerves and tried to settle down to from lunch were informed that Mike sleep again. The next alarm came O'Conner, with the support of the MIT around 4 AM when everyone was abruptly Resistance, had claimed sanctuary at awakened by an announcement over the MIT. A sheet explaining Mike's stand loud speaker that "This is the police. and that of the MIT Resistance was dis­ Everyone stay where you are and no one tributed as all passers-by were encour­ will be hurt." Everyone immediately aged to support Mike by joining the moved in close to Mike. It was thought sanctuary. Those who did spent the that the police must be in Kresge Audi­ afternoon discussing the tactics to be torium, the building next to the Stu­ used when the federal authorities ar­ dent Center, but the Campus Patrol rived to arrest Mike and finally de­ searched ·it and found nothing.