People for Peace, Justice, and
Healing meets at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings at the Antique Sandwich Company,
5102 N. Pearl St., Tacoma, WA, 98407.
We
are involved in educational events, lectures,
study groups, workshops, and calls for community action.
Please consider joining us. All people of good will are welcome!
Statement on Iraq: In recent days, the nation of Iraq has been coming apart at the seams. In December 2011, President Obama told Americans the war in Iraq was "over," and many informed observers attribute the current crisis to the actions of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It therefore makes sense to regard the new outbreak of violence as the beginning of a new war, the fourth in thirty years, after the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the Gulf War (1990-1991), and the Iraq War (2003-2011). The U.S. did not fight in the first of these wars; it should not be involved in this one. -- On June 13, President Obama promised that "American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again." We hope so, but actions speak louder than words. A few days later he announced the dispatch to Iraq of "additional American military advisers -- up to 300." His claim that these are not "combat troops" is a sleight of hand: the administration does not define Special Forces like Green Berets, Army Rangers, and Navy SEALs as "combat troops." Even CNN said the decision amounted to "U.S 'boots on the ground' in Iraq, no matter how the administration characterizes it." -- President Obama seems to be making a tragic mistake. He cannot save Iraq, and the path he seems to be choosing will lead to deeper U.S. involvement in the conflict in Iraq's neighbor, Syria. Indeed, on June 26 he made a request to Congress for $500 million to "train and equip vetted elements of the Syrian armed opposition." -- People for Peace, Justice, and Healing believes that the time is long past when the United States could claim to act in the interests of the inhabitants of Iraq. The more the U.S. military intervenes in Iraq, the worse the outcome will be. Americans should not turn their back on the ruin they have caused, but we believe future American involvement in Iraq should be in the nature of humanitarian reparations and should be administered by the international community. (6/28/14)
MAJOR EVENT! On Sat., Feb. 8, PPJH brought nationally known
whistleblowers Jesselyn Radack and
Thomas Drake to the Washington State History Museum to talk
about the recent revelations about the National Security Agency. — Drake, a high-level
NSA whistleblower whose case has figured in films and on "60 Minutes," is an historic figure,
and both have visited Edward Snowden in Moscow. — It was a memorable
evening and more than 160 people came despite the worst snowstorm of the year. Even if you couldn't make it,
you can help us
defray the considerable costs we incurred to put on the event for free for the public:
See here for more information about the event. (1/2/14; updated 2/10/14)
RING THE CHIMES for Marriage Equality PPJH held a very successful fundraiser for Referendum
74 (Marriage Equality) on Wed., Sept. 5, 2012, raising more than $5,000. Special guest: Ryan Mello, Pierce County Co-Chair of Washington United and
Tacoma City Councilmember. Also in attendance: Washington State Senator Debbie Regala.
Click here for a printable PDF memento of the event. PJHers will celebrate the
suceess of the event at a gathering on Sat., Nov. 10, 2012 — save the date!
(8/7/12; rev. 9/9/12)
Poem by Karen Konrad Karen Konrad's
untitled poem begins "It is time to awaken..." (See
below for several other poems.) (8/6/05)
Two poems by Karen Havnaer Two poems by poet and playwright Karen Havnaer are published here
for the first time. People of Sadr City is addressed
to the inhabitants of a district of Baghdad. For Sgt. Brian Turner — Third Brigade, Second Infantry Division,
is dedicated to a visitor to PPJH who is now a well-known poet.
Karen Konrad, "Winter at
Nisqually" Karen Konrad's recently completed poem, Winter at
Nisqually, published here for the first time, captures hauntingly the painfulness
of change and the strength change can bring. -- Her meditative poem
entitled Breathe into Life,
made available on this web site last May, continues to find readers who appreciate it as an
antidote to the difficulties and sorrows of the present time.
The Northwest Detention Center See
the UFPPC website for more information
about the Tacoma's new prison, the
"Northwest Detention Center," located at 1623
E. "J" St. The prison was built by
a Sarasota, Florida, corporation with an extremely problematic
record, Correctional Services Corporation (NASDAQ symbol: CSCQ), and
purchased
by a rival firm, Geo, in July 2005. -- If you haven't seen
this sinister complex of windowless buildings built on a
Superfund site whose toxic effects may still be posing risks to
detainees and employees alike,
make an effort to do so.
All Tacoma residents should see it for themselves.
Given our heritage of "the Tacoma Method" (1885) and
Executive Order 9066 (Feb. 19, 1942), we owe it to ourselves -- and
to others -- to be vigilant. (To that end, please note that members of the
public -- with 2 pieces of
picture ID -- are entitled to enter the Northwest Detention Center on
Wednesdays to witness legal proceedings (hearings).
Time to show up: 9:30 a.m.) (3/10/04; revised 10/11/05)
Martin Luther King Jr. United for
Peace of Pierce County has posted
a
collection of inspiring sayings by Martin Luther King Jr. (1/19/04)
Tacoma City Council votes to defend the Bill of Rights On
Dec. 20, 2003, PPJH addressed
a letter to the seven members of the Tacoma City Council who four days
earlier voted in favor of the Resolution to Defend the Bill of Rights of
the U.S. Constitution. To read the text of the letter, individual
copies of which have been mailed to Mayor Bill Baarsma, Deputy Mayor Bil
Moss, and Councilpersons Bill Evans, Connie Ladenburg, Sharon McGavick,
Doug Miller, and Rick
Talbert, click here. — That
the City of Tacoma is currently prosecuting 21 port militarization resistance protestors
for exercising their constitutional rights in March 2007 has called into question
the significance this endorsement, however. For details, see the web site of United
for Peace of Pierce County. (12/20/03; rev. 6/26/07)
What is People for Peace, Justice and Healing, anyway?
People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
Endorses the Earth Charter
PPJH decided to endorse the Earth Charter on Feb. 8, 2003, and has conducted
a sustained examination of
the Earth
Charter to deepen our understanding of its sixteen principles.
Our study of the document has deepened our belief that the Earth Charter
offers a vision of how the U.S. can live in peace
with the other nations of the planet while moving toward a
safer, healthier, more just future for
us and those who come after us.
As of Nov. 6, 2011
tens of thousands of groups, organizations, and individuals around the world had endorsed the Earth Charter.
Despite a virtually total blackout of news about it in the corporate-controlled mainstream media,
this document continues to develop momentum. In November 2003 the Fourth
Summit of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates issued a statement supporting
the Earth Charter.
Click here
to view this fascinating list. The beginning of the
"T" list gives a sense of the variety of the 5,293 organizations that have so far
embraced this call for a worldwide change of mind and heart
in people around the world as humanity's best hope for the future:
T.E.I. of Epirus, Greece
Taipak (restaurant), Mexico
Taiwan Christian Institute, Taiwan
Taiwan Ecological Stewardship Association, Taiwan
Taiwo Adewole and Associates, Nigeria
Tall Grass Farm (business), United States
Taller Laboral Brisas del Mar, Chile
Taller Laboral Candelaria, Chile
Taller Laboral Las Arbejitas, Chile
Taller Laboral Las Arañitas, Chile
Taller Laboral Vista al Mar, Chile
Tamberly Mott, MFT (private practice), United States
Tao Mountain (business), United Kingdom
Tarea de Escuela (school), Mexico
Tartu University, Estonia
Tasmanian Environment Steadman, Australia
TAUWP - University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, United States
Taygeta Editora & Consultoria, Brazil
Te Awamutu Peace Group, New Zealand
Teachers Without Borders, United States
Teaneck Creek Conservancy, United States
Tearo de Amadores de Pernambuco, Brazil
Technicalities (business), Canada
Técnico de la Dirección Ejecutiva de Igresos, DEI, Honduras
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Chihuahua, Mexico
Tecnoterra Adobe y más para la construcción, Mexico
TELC Girl's Hr. Sec. School, India
Teleosis Institute, United States
Telescundaria "José Soledad Hernández," Mexico
Televisoras Grupo Pacifico (business), Mexico
Temple of Eilish (business), Australia
Temple Hindu - Sivananda Ashram, Spain
Tenemos Retreat Center, United States
Tennessee Clean Water Action, United States
Terra Curanda (magazine), Netherlands
Terra Images Inc., Canada
Terra Sana (business), Spain
Terra-1530, Moldova
Terralink International, Philippines
Terrasante Village, United States
Terrawatu, Tanzania
Terre d'Humanité, France
TESA, Taiwan
Tesi Environmental Awareness Movement, India
Tetra Tech, Inc., United Staets
Texas Nature Project, United States
textkonstrukte (business), Germany
Thailand Environmental Institute, Thailand
. . . and the list goes on!
With its themes of
-- respect for life
-- ecological and environmental concerns
-- social justice
-- peace
-- democracy
with its exemplary international genesis, and with its comprehensive outlook on the
humanity's problems, PPJH hopes that the Earth Charter can offer a positive vision of the
nation's and the world's future -- and an alternative
to the vision of national security through global domination that has been embraced by the
short-sighted leaders of the current U.S. administration.
Please read the Earth Charter and see whether you, too, are willing to embrace
its principles. PJHers will
also want to review the Earth
Charter USA Campaign, whose national secretariat is based at the Center for Respect
of Life and Environment in Washington, DC.
Individual members may be interested in becoming Earth Charter
Facilitators, which they can do through the above link.
Support United for Peace of Pierce County!
People for Peace, Justice, and Healing continues to support the work of
United for Peace of Pierce
County, which organized the "The World STILL
Says No to War!" rally in McKinley Park in Tacoma on March 20, 2004, and which
was a very visible presence in the antiwar rallies in
Seattle on Mar. 19, 2005, and in Tacoma on Mar. 19, 2006. —
UFPPC is a local group affiliated with the national coalition
United for Peace and Justice.
In the aftermath of the Iraq war, UFPPC adopted a new mission statement:
"We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions
rather than cooperative diplomacy." Many PJHers are members of UFPPC. Visit
the increasingly popular UFPPC website
(which recently passed 12,000,000 hits) for more information, including information about
UFPPC's book discussion group, Digging Deeper, which has been meeting
weekly since the summer of 2004.
United for Peace of Pierce County was founded on Nov. 14, 2002, to
oppose nonviolently a war on Iraq. UFPPC was the organizer of a
successful March around the Mall on Dec. 8, 2002, and of a full afternoon of
anti-war and pro-peace activities on Feb. 15, 2003, which included a rally
with speakers and singers in McKinley Park, a march from McKinley Park to the
Federal Courthouse in which more than a thousand people particpated, and an
elaborate and unprecedented Celebration of Peace in the Washington State
History Museum from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. that was very well attended.
Like the March around the Mall before it, UFPPC's events made the front page in
News
Tribune. Tacoma was one of more than five hundred cities
around the world participating in the largest peace demonstration
in the history of humanity.
Some photographs:
The rally (Flo Ariessohn)
The march (Flo Ariessohn)
No Iraq War sign (Tom Bates)
The crowd near the stage (Tom Bates)
Vance Lelli performing (Tom Bates)
Rally at the Federal Courthouse (Adam Bray)
The "No Iraq War" plane! (Adam Bray)
More shots (Flo Ariessohn)
Still more shots! (Brian Smith)
Feb. 15 peace demonstrations
around the world.
Links to other
photographs
of peace demonstrations around the world.
In fact, there were not 600 separate demonstrations on February 15.
In reality THERE WAS JUST *ONE* DEMONSTRATION FOR PEACE,
AND *THE WORLD* WAS WHERE IT WAS TAKING PLACE!
UFPPC sponsored a June 21 concert at the Antique Sandwich Company featuring
Jim Page, Steve and Kristi Nebel, and Holly Gwynne Graham, and on July 15 the very
successful "Save Our Nation" event attended by hundreds of people, and featuring
noted activist Medea Benjamin, and in the fall sponsored the visit of Bay Area activist Jan
Adams.
MEETINGS OF UFPPC take place on the first and third Thursdays of each
month at First Congregational Church (209 South "J" St., Tacoma), at 7:00 p.m.
Check out the UFPPC website!
Join in the struggle for peace! Activism does make a
difference!
People for Peace, Justice, and Healing is a group of people living in or near Tacoma that began meeting in September 2001.
If you, too, are concerned about
the direction this country has taken and are interested in local
efforts to help this nation return to its core values of
liberty and justice for all, we hope you will consider joining
us in seeking paths that
lead to peace, justice, and healing for the United States of
America and for the world.
Our activities include a
vigil for peace every Wednesday,
from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in front of the Federal Courthouse
on Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma, across from UWT. The Federal
Courthouse is the most visible symbol of the authority of the federal
government in the city of Tacoma. Join us at the Federal
Courthouse with signs and make visible your stand for peace and justice!
The principal locus of action of People for Peace, Justice, and
Healing is the weekly Saturday morning meeting, where we share concerns and plan
activities. We are involved in educational events, lectures,
study groups, workshops, and calls for community action. (The formation of the
leading anti-war group in Pierce County,
United for Peace of Pierce County, grew out of a
call from People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
in early November 2002 to people and groups in
Tacoma and Pierce County to form a coalition against the war on Iraq.)
Please consider joining us next Saturday morning. All people of good
will are welcome!
How does PJH function? We are a deliberately leaderless
group in which decisions are made by consensus at the weekly
Saturday meetings. We always welcome new participants.
A word about "healing" and beliefs. People for
Peace, Justice, and Healing does not advocate a particular set of beliefs,
is not pursuing a political program, and does not endorse candidates
in political campaigns. We call on all people
of good will to join us in trying to further our common
understanding of the challenges we face in finding the paths to
lasting peace and social justice, a commitment that led to our
recent endorsement of the Earth Charter. But valuing peace, justice,
and the health of the earth are not, in our opinion, enough.
We live in a nation born of
a bright dream, but also marred from the start by the historic
wrongs of genocide and slavery -- wrongs that have for too
long been denied or neglected.
Leadership in our contemporary society, misshapen by the powerful and
violent institutions of patriarchy, exploitation, and militarism,
continues to be marked by the manipulation and reinforcement
of patterns of prejudice and
fear that help maintain these institutions. PJHers tend to
believe that peaceful progress toward addressing these matters
depends on finding ways to heal the wounds
that have too often blighted and stymied our dearest hopes.
This is not always possible, of course,
and our efforts often fail to bear immediate fruit.
But we have faith in their long-term efficacy nevertheless. Our emphasis on
"healing" signifies a recognition that progress toward peace and
justice, if it is to be enduring, must involve learning about the harm
that has been done (and is being done). Reconciliation can only come
through acknowledgment of the truth, however painful that may sometimes be.
People for Peace, Justice, and Healing was prominently featured
in
an October 4, 2002 article in the Tacoma News Tribune.
On October 1, 2002, People for Peace, Justice and Healing
sponsored a full-page ad in the Tacoma News Tribune
questioning the wisdom of U.S. policy toward Iraq, and calling
on citizens to contact their elected representatives in an effort
to influence Congressional action on the pending war resolution.
The ad and the subsequent attention helped swell the numbers
of people who turned out for a Special Peace
Vigil on Monday, October 7, which commemorated the loss of civilian
life in Afghanistan and rallyied opposition to the impending war
on Iraq. -- To see some pictures of the October 7 vigil,
click on Local Events. -- The event
also produced an incident that led to
an exchange of letters with
the commanding general of Fort Lewis. People
for Peace, Justice, and Healing sponsored the visit of Kelly Campbell, a
co-founder of September 11
Families for Peaceful Tomorrows on May 18, 2003; other sponsored
speakers have been Jan Adams of War News, Stan Goff of
Bring Them Home Now!, and Robert P. Ericksen of Pacific Lutheran
University. On Thursday,
September 30, 2004, PPJH co-sponsored the visit to Tacoma of Daniel Ellsberg,
Medea Benjamin, and Norman Solomon, who spoke to a packed house at
UPS's Schneebeck Concert Hall about 'What's at Stake in the 2004 Elections -- and
Beyond."
Your support for our work for a peaceful, hopeful, and just future
is greatly needed and can be expressed through a donation to
further our efforts.
Please send contributions:
PPJH, c/o Sallie Shawl,
Associated Ministries, 1224 South "I" St., Tacoma, WA
98405.
Poetry for Peace, Justice, and Healing
the path of sideways trees and
my tribe has many fingers were
written by PJHer Karen Konrad.
Jerusalem was written by PJHer Sheila Renton.
Iraq Is Like Crack,
Pox Americana,
Dominoes Again,
I Turn to Prayer, and It Must
Be Fate, all inspired by the American adventure in Iraq, were
written by R.P. Ericksen, a professor of history at Pacific Lutheran
University.
SNOW member Ann Evans's On the
Playground has been selected for inclusion in a forthcoming anthology of
anti-war poetry.
PJHer Ann Philis Murphy read The
Path of Peace aloud on Feb. 8.
UFPPC Member Duane Niatum reflects on Auden's famous dictum that
"Poetry makes nothing happen" in a poem dedicated to
Elizabeth Bishop:
Speaking with
an Elder Poet on an Anti-War Poem. In another poem,
For Friends Living along the Walla Walla
River, Niatum speaks of his search for "songs that
would . . . break my wolf's journey to blood tracks."
Unfortunately, W.H.
Auden's September 1, 1939 has
taken on new meaning in recent months.
Robert Bly's recent poem on the Iraq war is entitled
Call and Answer.
A website of poetry against the war has been created:
Poets
Against the War.
Cartoon Corner
Jack Kus presents:
On September 21, 2002, People for Peace, Justice, and Healing
was one of the first groups to organizationally affiliate
with Sound Nonviolent Opponents of
War (SNOW -- 'gentle, but it can shut down a city'), a regional
coalition formed in Seattle on September 18, 2002.
By November 2, 2003, the number of
member organizations had swelled to 105. Other member
organizations include: Washington Physicians for Social
Responsibility; University Unitarian Church Peace and Justice
Committee (Seattle); Fellowship of
Reconciliation, Seattle Chapter;
Pax Christi Pacific Northwest; Church Council
of Greater Seattle; Interfaith Network of Concern for the People
of Iraq (INOC); the Plymouth Congregational Church Peace Action
Group (Seattle);
United for Peace of Pierce County;
University Friends Meeting (Seattle);
and many others.
Click here to see
a complete
list of SNOW member organizations.
SNOW's 'Points of Agreement':
We commit to nonviolent actions:
We will commit no acts of violence, physical or verbal
We will commit no property damage
We will behave respectfully to all
If conflict is likely, we will strive to have ample trained
peacekeepers and legal observers
We encourage all participants to be trained in nonviolence
If arrest is risked, all participants will be trained in
nonviolence
We condemn human rights abuses including, but not limited to
U.S. wars and sanctions against Iraq;
Saddam Hussein's use of poisons as a weapon.
We recognize that the former is far greater in magnitude than
the latter but we need to be consistent in defense of human rights
for all
We oppose all weapons of mass destruction including
U.S. nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, biological weapons,
cluster bombs, landmines, and economic sanctions against Iraq
Iraqi, Israeli, Pakistani, Indian, and other countries'
nuclear weapons, and other WMD
We support an International Criminal Court to deal with those
who plan and perpetrate acts of terrorism, such as those of Sept.
11, 2001
We support U.S. foreign policies which promote human rights,
economic justice, and self-determination for all people as the
best way to prevent future acts of terrorism and to promote
global well-being.
SNOW calls on people in the U.S.
to act like giraffes: STICK YOUR NECK OUT! STAND
TALL FOR PEACE! -- SNOW meets weekly. Call 206-789-5565 (Fellowship of
Reconciliation) for more information, or consult the
SNOW
website. SNOW also maintains a number of listservs, including
a high-volume SNOW-NEWS listserv:
information on how to subscribe is available on the SNOW web site.
Comments or suggestions for the People for Peace, Justice, and
Healing website?
Click here to write the
webmaster, or call 253-535-7219.
To subscribe to our mailing list, please register with
Yahoo. Once you've
registered, join our group by going to Yahoo Groups
(click "Groups" on the Yahoo website above) and
search for "tacomapjh" -- or you can find our group under the
Cultures & Community/Issues and Causes/Peace and Nonviolence
category.
Last updated: February 14, 2015
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