Author: Breeze Richardson
Here in Chicago there has been much press and discussion about the recent FBI raids into the homes of anti-war activists. Hatem Abudayyeh, Executive Director of the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) was among those whose home was raided and he served a Grand Jury subpoena.
The Arab American Action Network published a response, stating AAAN: “denounces the raids on the homes of, and the serving of Grand Jury subpoenas to, these anti war activists in Chicago and across the country. The FBI has overstepped its boundaries and targeted individuals based on their commitment to peacefully challenge U.S. policies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Colombia.”
On Monday (October 4), the Peace Resources Committee was sent the “Chicago Faith Community Statement on FBI Raids and Grand Jury” authored in-part by AFSC Chicago who has joined the Interfaith community protesting these FBI raids. The email asks Friends to sign the statement and encourages organizations to sign on.
Members of the PRC have expressed a range reactions, towards both the spirit and the letter of what has been authored. Our varying communities are reacting to the FBI’s actions in different ways; individual and corporate action is being discussed (and opposed); and the historic role of such statements and coalitions, and the impact they had, is surfacing.
What is your reaction to this Statement?
So glad you asked…I have not signed the Statement as I found the third paragraph (“we are all committed to a just peace in Israel and Palestine…”) a bit self-serving…and alienating. The invasion of privacy and disruption of personal lives of peace/political activists who are not charged with any crime is, to me, the larger issue here…I don’t think it’s particularly an opportunity to toot the horn of those who are (also) organized in one or another international war zones. Would love to know more about “the historic role of such statements and coalitions, and the impact they had” from the point of view of any active Friend.
So glad you asked…I have not signed the Statement as I found the third paragraph (“we are all committed to a just peace in Israel and Palestine…”) a bit self-serving…and alienating. The invasion of privacy and disruption of personal lives of peace/political activists who are not charged with any crime is, to me, the larger issue here…I don’t think it’s particularly an opportunity to toot the horn of those who are (also) organized in one or another international war zones. Would love to know more about “the historic role of such statements and coalitions, and the impact they had” from the point of view of any active Friend.
For those who may wish to join their names to what is already posted on the website linked above, here is where an internet-based petition is growing.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/chicagofaith/
If you click the “signatures” tab, you can see who has joined since the initiating group.
This is an apology for jumping in earlier by private email to express in an overbearing way what Patricia has expressed much more persuasively. The issue is indeed the chilling effect that the raids exert on any free speech and association. The middle two paragraphs of the petition preach viewpoints that happen to be chilled by the current FBI / grand jury action, but we are not the only interests that should be protected.
As we scrutinize the power of government, we should acknowledge that both the policy makers at the top and the enforcement officers below probably do not want to kill and maim innocent people or to waste resources imposing ineffective external control on foreign governments. The purpose of our conversation can be to show all the parties a better way to discuss our nation’s directions, building on points of common agreement. It begins with our patient and loving persuasion by example: the gentler our rhetoric (search for truth), the more likely it is to bear fruit.
This is my interest in the present thread: how do we bring promoters of ideas together with people who feel threatened by those ideas so that their combined energies and interests will drive the evolution of new solutions? As the saints and the government both address the identified question in the described spirit of shared understanding, the world will improve its behavior.
This is an apology for jumping in earlier by private email to express in an overbearing way what Patricia has expressed much more persuasively. The issue is indeed the chilling effect that the raids exert on any free speech and association. The middle two paragraphs of the petition preach viewpoints that happen to be chilled by the current FBI / grand jury action, but we are not the only interests that should be protected.
As we scrutinize the power of government, we should acknowledge that both the policy makers at the top and the enforcement officers below probably do not want to kill and maim innocent people or to waste resources imposing ineffective external control on foreign governments. The purpose of our conversation can be to show all the parties a better way to discuss our nation’s directions, building on points of common agreement. It begins with our patient and loving persuasion by example: the gentler our rhetoric (search for truth), the more likely it is to bear fruit.
This is my interest in the present thread: how do we bring promoters of ideas together with people who feel threatened by those ideas so that their combined energies and interests will drive the evolution of new solutions? As the saints and the government both address the identified question in the described spirit of shared understanding, the world will improve its behavior.