Support Peace Activists & Military Resisters in U.S. Prisons & Brigs for Resisting the War!

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Monday February 07, 2005 20:18

by Solidarity

They're in Jail for Us, We're out Here for Them!

Thre are growing number of civilian anti-war activists and military resisters in U.S. prisons & militar brigs for resisting the war on Iraq.

Consider wrting a postcard or a letter of solidarity to them!

They're in there for us, we're out there for them!

Message #2 from Elton Davis;
Feb. 5, 2005
Leavenworth Federal Detention Center
Leavenworth KS

The nun calls for general intercessions at the Leavenworth Detention
Center eucharistic service: "Let us remember those who gave their
lives so that the people in Iraq can vote tomorrow. Let us call them
peacemakers. Let us pray to the Lord."

"Lord, hear our prayer," respond the 25 or so orange-clad inmates
attending the service. I can't take it and interrupt to ask the Sister
how she can call those who brought war to Iraq "peacemakers." She
tells me that there are those who have lost friends and loved ones in
the conflict. The implication is that I should hold my tongue.

After the service, a couple of federal inmates tell me how proud they
are of the US for "kicking Saddam's ass," and stroll off laughing. One
has "white power" tattooed across his back. Almost got his butt kicked
while taking a shower when he first arrived here. That was by a black
guy who took exception to the racist message inscribed on his body.
Now he pays tax to avoid problems. A real tough guy.

I arrive back in the pod. A ball game is starting on television.
Someone is singing an ode to war, the US National Anthem. A color
guard of soldiers and marines stand there holding a US flag as war
planes fly over the stadium. I count four commercials recruiting for
the Army and Marines by half-time and then we're locked down for
count. The message of war and militarization is everywhere we look:
in our churches, schools, and beamed into our very homes.

At mail call a letter comes with monthly updates from Ardeth Platte and
Carol Gilbert, nuns of an entirely different stripe, serving time in
federal prison for a Plowshares direct nuclear disarmament action.
Turning to Micah 4:3 and Isaiah 2:4, I read the passages calling for
"beating swords into ploughshares" in the context of a restored Zion.
For some reason, I am suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of nostalgic
homesickness. I miss the family farm of my youth. I can see and smell
the shiny, black earth as the 14" triple bottom rips and turns the
prairie in springtime. I recall how my heart was ripped out of the
earth as I was taken off of that farm. The stages of my life come to
my mind's eye. It is plain how my technical skills and abilities were
honed to meet the needs of the so-called military industrial complex.
Through the hardness of my heart, I have become the sword in need of
conversion.

My brief 90 day stint in Federal custody only serves to foster a strong
desire to return to the earth. I wish to delve deep and plant my heart
back in the cool, moist soil. I am Zion in need of restoration.

Elton

------------------------
You are invited to Elton Davis' Coming Out of Jail and Welcome Home
Party

Date: Saturday February 19th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Apartment of Sally Frank, 3660 Grand Ave., Des Moines IA

You all are Welcome!