Vera May Shirley, Presente

I'm thinking today especially about Vera May Shirley, who was holding her first newborn son on August 6, 1945 when she heard the news about the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. She later named that moment as the beginning of her journey to pacifism, as she imagined the horror of mothers like her holding their children in Japan. She knew they were not her enemies. Vera became active in many peacemaking efforts over the years, including organizing a chapter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Austin, where I met her. She co-founded Sustainable Options for Youth in 1997, and her gentle, perceptive, generous spirit attracted me and others to the group that continues in her memory.

Militarism is no future

On July 13, 2018, the US Army announced that Austin was chosen as the site for its proposed new Army Futures Command Center.  We believe this marks a step backward for Austin or for any community that would choose to use its human and physical resources to design more weapons and systems of war.   This is a misdirection of Austin's creative culture and technical expertise, and we stand by our objections to it. 
We will continue to promote Sustainable Options for Youth in our high schools and raise awareness about the human costs to each other and to our planet of unchecked militarism and war. 

Austin is a peace-loving city and should not be a weapons producer

Upon learning last Saturday from an article in the Austin American-Statesman that Austin is one of 5 cities being considered as the site of a proposed "Army Futures Command Center,"  I wrote a letter to the editor, which was published in today's edition, to express opposition to this.  I wrote also to our Austin City Council members and the following letter to members of the Economic Development staff at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce:

Dear member of the Economic Development staff, Austin Chamber of Commerce,

I write to you as a concerned, longtime Austin resident in response to the article in the Austin American-Statesman on Saturday, June 16, “City 1 of 5 finalists for Army site.”  The article indicated that the Austin Chamber of Commerce supports the idea of having a proposed Army Futures Command Center placed in Austin.

Reading this article was the first I learned of the Army’s selection of Austin as a possible location for this center.   The article also indicated that the final city selection may be made by the end of this month.  This offers very little time for any community input.

I do not agree that Austin would be a suitable location for this Army site.  The primary purpose of the Army center, as described in the Statesman article, apparently would be to enhance the Army’s arsenal, “including improvement to its tactical missile system, combat vehicles and helicopters, defense teams and weapons.”  Is that really what we want in Austin?  The Army says it wants a “creative culture” in which to place its facility, but weapons are not creative, they are destructive.

I have worked along with many military veterans over the years and have witnessed what the weaponry and tactical systems of war kill in a person even when the person survives.  There is too much life-long trauma, too much physical and moral injury, too much suicide.  I’ve also witnessed the trauma borne by refugees who have fled US wars.   

Please, let’s use our high-tech, creative genius in Austin for what really enhances life: excellent health care, fine education, green energy development, efficient communications and transportation systems, good maintenance of our infrastructure and wise stewardship of our natural resources.

Discussing gun control at Austin HS

Hart, Tami, Susana and I were happy to be able to table a second time this year at Austin HS. As we waited at the entrance desk for our ID badges, we looked over copies of the school newspaper, "The Maroon" and were pleased to see several articles that related to the themes of our SOY table. For example, there was a great piece about the #MarchForOurLives, in which a number of Austin HS students had participated.  Austin HS students also were part of the #Nationalschoolwalkout on April 20.

excellent commentary piece by an Austin HS student in their paper, "The Maroon"

Our reflection question for today asked students if they felt gun control should also be made at the Pentagon level. 
We got some puzzled looks about our question. A few students said they weren't sure how to answer it. Most students are not aware of the extent of our military budget or that the US is the biggest arms dealer in the world, and we wanted to spur some thought about that. One of the student responses, pictured here, reflected what another student said as she put all her pennies into the Education jar during the Penny Poll: "If we had more education, all the other problems could be solved."

Some of the other written responses:  

"Yes, stay neutral.  Don't get involved with chemical warfare.  Mitigate arms race."

"Yes, not getting as involved in foreign affairs that really don't concern us."

"There are some booths that pay you money for your guns, then those guns could also be melted and turned into something cool or helpful."

"Stop Selling."

"I don't think that the weapons have a big problem, it's the people who use them wrong."

"Have the UN enforce gun sanctions."

"We can restrict sales to ally countries and only a certain amount per year."

Some students responded with measures they would support for individual gun owners, such as "stricter tests to pass before you can legally obtain and operate a gun," "gun regulation and stricter access to limit purchases," and "less loopholes." All these could also apply to ways that weapons of war are sold to other countries.  The US arms trade leads to black market sales that put US weapons into the hands of child soldiers and adversaries of the US.

Penny Poll results showed the Education category as top priority with 30% of the penny vote, Health Care with 24%, the Environment with 22%, the Military with 13%, Humanitarian Aid at 7% and 4% for NASA.

Thanks to all Maroons for your interest today!

  

   

Tax Day at Travis HS

Tami, Hart and I had a really good visit to Travis HS today. Since it is Tax Day, our reflection question focused on that, and the Penny Poll was especially relevant. The Education category came out way on top with 35% of the penny vote, followed by 27% for Health Care, 20% for the Environment, 11% for the Military, 7% for NASA and 0% for Humanitarian Aid. Sometimes students ask us what "Humanitarian Aid" means.
 
One student said he'd already enlisted in the military. We are sure to tell students that if they have enlisted through the Delayed Entry Program, they can change their minds at any time prior to their report date for basic training. The Center on Conscience and War has good info about it online.

several of the student responses

student responses

some of the student responses

We're always impressed with the student art we see on campus

Gun Violence (of all kinds) is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things

The Austin #MarchForOurLives yesterday was a major march in our city, attracting some 20,000 participants, according to estimates by organizers as reported in the Austin American-Statesman.  The march organizers, as was the case in the extraordinary DC march, were primarily high school students.  It was so inspiring to march from our City Hall, up Congress Avenue to the Capitol and to hear all the speakers, including a student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS in Parkland, Fla. and students from LASA and LBJ High Schools in Austin.

I hope that students will continue to think critically about all aspects of gun violence, including the terrible gun violence of US war and militarism.  Enlistees as young as 17 are issued assault rifles and trained to think of their weapon as their most valuable companion.  What does this kind of training do to young people?  Why are the mass shootings in war considered acceptable?  As the US continues to increase military spending in its federal budget, what effect does this have on the young people in our country and around the world?

SOY visit to McCallum HS

Hart, Tami and I were happy to have a SOY table today at McCallum HS. We added the #MarchForOurLives to our Peace Wheel, and the reflection question was, "What legislation would you support to reduce gun violence in the US?" Students gave a variety of written responses, which I will include here. The Penny Poll results showed the largest percentage vote for Health Care at 21% of the budget, followed by 19% each for the Environment and NASA, 17% for Education, 12% for Humanitarian Aid and 12% for the military. We had our full range of t-shirts and also buttons for students to earn doing the t-shirt challenge. Thank you to all Knights! Here are the student responses:

"Education"
"Strict background checks because everyone doesn't deserve or need to have a gun. Guns are a weapon that should be strictly used to protect yourself."
"I would like a yearly psych evaluation on all gun owners, much harsher restrictions placed on semi-automatic rifles, and a raise of the age for gun owners to 21. People should require a license for the manufacturing of guns."
"A legislation that makes it harder to get guns, ex: more background checks, checks for mental disorders, checks for any extremely violent tendency."
"To teach people gun safety and how to properly use them."
"Support of Social Darwinism"
"1. We need to have a better way of people getting their gun license. 2. Try to make schools more secure."
"All the members of the government should support and come together to end gun violence."
"More background checks. No Fly No Buy. Age restriction to 21."
"Mental Health"
"Background checks"
"Raise age requirement for purchasing a gun."
"Background check. Automatic rifles limited. Invest in safety devices on guns, such as print (finger) lock. Age limit on buying guns."