“I will not let armed men hurt these children.”
I saw an unarmed Iraq War Veteran stand between the NYC Police and protestors the other night. He was noble and articulate and furious.
After the violent clashes between police and protesters at the massive Occupy Wall Street
demonstration in Times Square on October 15, a marine who served in Iraq delivered an impromptu speech in front of some NYPD officers, denouncing their crowd-control methods and police brutality.
".. why should I expect anything less in my OWN Country.”
“This is not a war zone!” he yelled at NYPD officers.
“These are unarmed people.”
A crowd eventually gathered around the marine, Sergeant Shamar Thomas, who served with the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion USMC in Iraq. Thomas, a New York native, then explained that his father served in Afghanistan, his mother served in Iraq and that he didn’t like seeing cops hurting the people he and his family fought to protect:
“I took an oath that I live by. I am NOT anti-NYPD. I am anti-Police Brutality. There is an obvious problem in the country and PEACEFUL PEOPLE should be allowed to PROTEST without Brutality.”
He went on to say,
“I was involved in a RIOT in Rutbah, Iraq 2004 and we did NOT treat the Iraqi citizens like they are treating the unarmed civilians in our OWN Country. No one was brutalized because our mission was to ‘WIN the hearts and minds.’ why should I expect anything less in my OWN Country.”
Okay it is time Church..
Okay it is time Church.. It is time for people of faith to say,
“I will not let armed men hurt these children.
“These are our children.”
SHAME ON US
There is no HONOR in this.
Goddamn our hubris and hatred.
ENOUGH!
ENOUGH!
ENOUGH!
I will not let the United States of America hurt these children.
When will the people of faith arise?
I have scoured the net for any news.
I sense an awakening.
People and groups of faith inspired by the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York City are organizing events in NYC’s “Liberty Plaza” and around the country according to HuffPost Religion.
Protest Chaplains
In many of the Occupy cities, there are “protest chaplains.” In New York they identify themselves with blue ribbons. In Boston they have white cloaks or are in the Inter/No/Faith tent. (I’ve listed some of the contacts at the end of this post.)
Is God in Zuccotti Park, too?
Over the ensuing days I will report on this faith support movement.
The Catholic journal First Things has a roundup and links of other religious writers on the movement. In his wrap-up, Joseph Knippenberg, professor of politics at Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, wondered if the participants think religion supports or undermines capitalism? He concluded,
“I have no doubt that God is with the folks near Wall Street, but I doubt they’ve recognized Him yet.”
“DO YOU SEE … the hand of God in the economy — inside Wall Street — or out with the protesters? “
When Roshi Joan Halifax, the Abbot of the UpayaZenCenter, took a Buddhist view of the Occupy Wall Street group in Zuccotti Park she proclaimed,
“This is what compassion looks like.”
In a more contemporary reading of Buddhist teachings, Thich Nhat Hanh offered this,
“Do not accumulate wealth whilst millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life, fame, profit, wealth or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time energy and material resources with those who are in need.”
It is just over a month and this gathering in New York has grown into a worldwide movement that has seized public imagination and vision. Can this leaderless movement, without any clear demands, and one that is committed to nonviolence endure? That is yet to be determined, but this is exactly the kind of movement that those with privilege and power have no clue how to control.
The Civil Rights movement is a precedent for this kind of social change where many leaders in multiple locations gradually self-organized so that the whole became greater than the sum of its parts. Like Occupy Wall Street, the Civil Rights movement grew in its own power based on a common dedication to justice for everyone.
This movement is really remarkable because it has been successful in that it has raised the process of “how” change happens to being more important than the “what” of change.
Interfaith Altar in Zuccotti Park
Just like the Gandhi’s phrase the people on the streets in New York are in the process of “being the change they wish to see.” They have organized and provide health care for each other, they feed each other, clean up their own space together, and so far have dealt with difficult situations by using creative solutions.
There is intentionally no alignment with any political party in order to keep their message open to the widest audience. And they display great patience to use a collective decision-making process so that the voices of the marginalized are heard and considered.
In the context of Buddhist teachings and practice, these are all compassionate actions.
It calls to mind the words that Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy spoke at the 2003 World Social Forum:
Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it.
To deprive it of oxygen
To shame it
To mock it
With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness — and our ability to tell our own stories
Stories that are different from the ones we’re being brainwashed to believe
The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling –
their ideas,
their version of history,
their wars,
their weapons,
their notion of inevitability.
Just Pray..
Is God in Zuccotti Park, too?
Peace to You..
Occupy Boston
Faith and Spirituality Group
occupybostonspirituality@groups.facebook.com
The Protest Chaplains
http://protestchaplains.blogspot.com/
Occupy Judaism
http://www.facebook.com/occupyjudaism
Protest Chaplains DC
We are clergy and seminarians who are ministering to Occupy DC. We are planning to have daily worship at 2pm. All clergy and seminarians who are willing and able to help are most welcome to join us.
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/ocpydcchaplains
#OccupyPortland #ChaplainsOccupyPDX: Interfaith Guild of Chaplains
300 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR 97204
http://chaplainsoccupypdx.blogspot.com
chaplains@iriscat.info
HuffPost Religion
A wide-ranging discussion about religion, spirituality, and the ways they influence our lives.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/religion
