Andy Mager
Central New York peace activists stared at television screens on September 11 with the same level of shock, sadness and confusion as others in our community. This was truly an event of horrific proportions.
For some of us the horror didn't include the same disbelief as many of other Americans, since we were already conscious of the widespread hostility to oppressive U.S. government policies around the world. Concern about retaliatory actions by our government and attacks on Arabs in the United States quickly rose to the fore.
Several activists quickly called for a candlelight vigil at the Thornden Park amphitheater for the evening of September 14. Three principles were articulated:
•It's a time to grieve with others in our community about the terrible loss of life from the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania.
•It's a time to speak out for peace. Peace is the way.
•It's a time to let our Arab and Muslim neighbors know that we will stand by them if they are targeted.
Several hundred people filled the amphitheater with the light of our candles and shared thoughts and songs in response to the crisis. The crowd was quite diverse, with peace activists mingling not-so-comfortably with people in military uniforms and carrying large American flags.
A group of Peace Council activists gathered the following week to discuss how to work locally to prevent our country from going to war. That group developed a petition, organized a peace vigil, named ourselves the Global Justice Committee and called a coalition meeting to bring together other Central New Yorkers to raise our voices for "Justice Not Revenge".
The coalition is now the CNY 9-ll Peace and Justice Coalition and has been meeting weekly on Sundays. It involves people from the Peace Council, Peace Action, Syracuse University student groups and other concerned citizens.
An emergency response demonstration drew about 75 people to Clinton Square only hours after the U.S. military attack on Afghanistan began. The coalition organized a successful Town Meeting at Nottingham High School on October 11 which drew some 150 people to hear speakers and share their own thoughts about how the United States ought to respond to the attacks of September 11.
Local activists have worked hard to provide alternative perspectives for the media. The successes have included many letters and opinion pieces in the Post-Standard with thoughtful calls for a non-military response to the events of September 11. The Onondaga/Syracuse Human Rights Commission aired a panel discussion calling for peace on their monthly cable access program. SPC TV has, of course, aired several related programs. Mara Sapon-Shevin and I represented the Global Justice Committee on WRVO's talk of the region call-in radio program and will on Our CNY on WCNY TV. However, there has been little substantive coverage on local network television news.
Our community has made an important start in articulating an analysis of why "terrorists" target the United States and how our nation might respond without going to war. Transforming this start into an effective campaign will require greater resources on many levels. Please consider what role you can play.
Write letters to the editor,
or call in to talk radio shows expressing opposition to war.
Share your concerns with friends,
family, neighbors and co-workers.
Attend
the weekly peace vigil, Wednesdays 5:00 to 6:00 pm at Perseverance Park,
S. Salina St. between Fayette and Washington Sts.
If you have internet access, subscribe
to peace-list to keep updated on local anti-war activity. Send a message
to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu, and in the message type: subscribe peace-list
your name.
Participate in organizing
efforts; call 472-5478 or email: GlobalJustice-SPC@bigfoot.com.
Contact your federal representatives
to ask them to oppose the war.
Share information with others, contact the Peace Council office or check out the website: www.peacecouncil.net
