"Hammered by the Irish" - new book by Harry Browne tells Story of Shannon "Disarmament", Acquittal

by Mary Kelly Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:32

thanks Deirdre for writing this post, a very valuable contribution to the workings of the anti war groups and all resistence movements.

by Miriam Mon Oct 13, 2008 16:18

Well done Harry Browne. Look forward to reading it.

by Fred Johnston Mon Oct 13, 2008 02:49

There's mention of Harry Browne's book on www.twwc.ie - the website of the Western Writers' Centre, under 'Kiosque,' on the right-hand side.

by Deirdre Clancy - Former Pitstop Ploughshares Fri Oct 10, 2008 00:33

I am writing this note to testify that I do not feel represented by any events/benefits surrounding this book, that I have neither endorsed nor been consulted about said events (this has all been organised by a small coterie of people and excludes three members of the group, all women), and that I have completely disassociated myself from publicity, however paltry, surrounding the Pitstop Ploughshares that is generated as a result of this book, as such publicity is most unlikely to represent or even respect my reality or the reality of my conscience, either as it stands now or as I experienced during the three-and-a-half years going through the courts. (This is not a critique of the book itself, the content of which I would prefer not to address in this particular note, although as the book deals with the defendants as individuals, I do think I have a right to give my own point of view, hence the use of the first person occasionally.)

Such publicity as we had to undergo at the hands of the antiwar movement/leftist media was very rarely executed on a democratic basis, with regard to the wishes of the women in the Pitstop Ploughshares group (who wanted quality over quantity, and did not even get to see the vast majority of the often haphazardly written press releases that were put out in our name). Rarely was the collective nature of our action reflected in any coverage, and many on the left continuously and in a kneejerk, unreconstructed way treated our two male co-defendants as our leaders/spokespersons, even though we made it clear that we never elected them as such.

Respect for the voices of the women's consciences, which compelled us to give up a large portion of our lives to this witness, was absent much of the time within the antiwar community immediately surrounding us, with various honourable exceptions. This trend continues as long as the accounts given of our action don't take our thoughts fully into account. The effects of this silencing has been devastatingly demoralising in different ways for all of us (although I'm not claiming to speak on behalf of Karen and Nuin, I don't think I am speaking out of turn in saying this has been, broadly speaking, their reality too). Certainly, the cognitive dissonance inherent in behaviour that systemtically silences and disenfranchises women defendants within a 'peace' movement has caused me personally much consternation, among other things. (However, I would add that it's not all clear cut: such disenfranchisement has occurred at the hands of women and women's groups, and been strongly opposed by various egalitarian men.) Overall, though, to be treated on an ongoing basis as dumb, only good for a photo shoot, and to be consistently objectified and dehumanised, has gone against everything I was brought up to believe in by a strong and articulate mother about women's equal dignity as thinking agents. For much of the three-and-a-half years, I felt as if I was swimming against my own tide in relation to power dynamics (though not against the tide of my conscience on Iraq), and it was both saddening and alarming to see the kneejerk complicity in the abovementioned state of affairs from people who should have known better.

Before the end of the year, the three women will be putting out a statement (now in draft form) to clarify certain aspects of the story that were swept under the carpet - we made the decision to do this several years ago and felt we had no choice due to untruths that had been repeated about us (some of these continue), but had too much else to face at that time. There's a reason so few strong women are active in the antiwar left, and we really wish this to change. It's not good enough any more to 'put up and shut up for the sake of the movement', as if somehow 'the movement' is immune from the same standards of behaviour in relation to democratic decision-making between women and men that have now been accepted by most of civilised society.

I say all of this with regret, and thank those very many people who refused to go along with any belittling of the women's role in acting at Shannon and then taking equal responsibility before the law, with all the concomitant effects it had on our personal lives and, regrettably, health (concerns that are also consistently demeaned by people trying to speak on our behalf). We committed ourselves willingly, and I have no regrets about acting, but I do regret opportunistic behaviour in relation to us as individuals coming from a minority among the very people purporting to support us, making things more difficult than they should have been. The bottom line is that war is still a reality and will be for a long time. Future women peace activists need not be driven from doing resistance for fear that their dignity and voices will be robbed from them within the antiwar movement itself (as opposed to in prison and aspects of mainstream society, where it's reasonable to expect such effects).

In an attempt to make lemonade out of lemons, so to speak, I am also in the process of putting together a website to explore these issues in a more general way in relation to the peace movement, with a view to playing a small part in improving its future prospects of going about its business in a functional manner. This is another part of my witness, and I hope other women and members of minorities with a similar mindset will join me in contributing written reflections to this endeavour.

I do not feel it necessary to see gratitude to supporters as a reason for keeping silent (as has been argued to me before). While I do feel such gratitude to many supporters, at the end of the day, those genuinely supporting us were doing so because of shared moral outrage at what is happening to the ordinary people of Iraq and the Middle East. They were not there to prop up the egos of the defendants. Nevertheless, I do feel thankful to those genuine supporters who kept our spirits up throughout the court battle.

Best wishes and may the struggle continue without the cynicism.
Deirdre.

by dunk Wed Oct 08, 2008 15:04

Not Guilty. The Pitstop Ploughshares All Acquitted on All Charges
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/77460

related vid below includes the hammers
Hey Presto! Ploughshares Movement Re-Equipped...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvaA4kfrcJI

Hammered by the Irish

Acquitted

Caption: Video Id: xvaA4kfrcJI Type: Youtube Video
Embedded video Youtube Video

by Availability Tue Oct 07, 2008 20:56

Presently Available in Dublin from....
Afri 134 Phibsborough Rd. Phibsborough
Tower Records off Grafton St. City Centre
Harry Browne
Damien Moran
Ciaron O'Reilly

In Cork...from James at WSM

In Londonat the Anarchist Bookfair Oct 18th 08

Online from ....
AK Press
http://www.akpress.org/2008/items/hammeredbytheirishakpress

Counterpunch
www.counterpunch.org

Catholic Worker Bookstore
http://www.catholicworker.com/bookstore/index.html

The book is also available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Hammered-Irish-Ploughshares-Disab...r=1-1