turn your back

Hi Maggie,

And there is the charm of being mostly oblivious.  I missed all the drama, and never knew it happened.  The only thing I caught was your youngest leaving the bus to catch up with the walkers.  I actually had the passing thought that if I had known walking was an option, I might have gone with them.

It is kind of funny that the youngest in a very large family took on the position of organizer/Mama Hen/or, or as Mama said, the Red-headed General!  S#5 and S#4 may deny that horrible things were happening to us, and they may have missed some of it, but I still see some characteristics of growing up in an alcoholic family.

I guess my attitude about being herded around is - it's only a day or two.

I have been feeling tired and run-down. I was dreading all of the walking Mama said we would do.  Saturday we went to the zoo. We took the metro, and walked to the zoo, then walked through the zoo for hours.  We took turns carrying the four-year-old, who did a lot of walking, too. That night my feet were a bit sore, and I was truly tired. I liked that.  Sunday, my granddaughter and I took a flowerwalk with Mama. Then Monday we walked around the Mall, visiting memorials.

I felt good.

Now, after four days back at work, trapped at my desk, I am starting to feel punk again.

I don't think Papa D. was a warrior all of his life. He didn't fight for anything after he left the army.  And after reading Howard Zinn, we have no idea what we are really fighting for while in the army. I still respect his nobility and courage for going for the reasons presented, though.  But, he frequently criticized and minimized me for speaking out and fighting, especially on environmental issues. I think he identified most closely with the military part of his life, maybe it was the only part that felt valid.  He definitely did not honor his role as father. He didn't especially care about the jobs he moved through.  Maybe his other big role was husband. I am not sure.

Maybe that is why I have a problem with the focus on thanking a veteran for service. We should thank them, yes, but we should fight for them. They each deserve good, available medical care, a safe home, and a job for the rest of their lives. They deserve!  But ignoring what the military has done to them and to their lives, then saying Thanks! Let me shake your hand...it's display and nothing more. And it diminishes the rest of their lives.

I don't like it.

I do like your image of a triangle. In the middle is violence. We have three ways of responding.  I wonder who says the center must be violence?  Whoever says is winning. This is how we define everything in our lives, I think - through a lens of violence.

But it's just a little triangle. We can turn our backs on it, join in other ways. Disempower the violent. Stop the violation.

I get these images all the time. I know it is simple, but I am not sure how to do it.  The best I do is refuse to support things like WalMart...places that are so obviously unethical. Cheap prices are not worth the shattered soul...

I am off to Quaker this weekend. It is our Spring Gathering.

Love and hugs from Clare