,. I PEACE AND FREEDOM THRU NONVIOLENT ACTION September 6, 1 973/ 201 CESAR CHAVEZ SPEAKS OUT ON NONVIOLENCE PHIL A DAN BERRIGAN,ON TORTURE, ] IN.NQRTH VIETNAM . WRL"CELEBRATES s0th ANNIVERSARY VYAW TRIAL DRAGS ON , t1 We ,. Us youn'uns take the same part id that that framqwork that we more zuspiciously took power. with óur parents (the petty bourgeious, we the are told). As to the Jewish left, there's none. have an American lewish Community, acts a4d considers itself as a colonial Before the Watergate became known to Àmerican public, Zionist publications prided themselves in promoting and guiding Nixon to his power. The lewish Labo¡ Bund is an exception to the Jewish environment. It still speaks of Anyuay, what she said made a lot of but the way she said, challengingly and for the reflection (not memorÞation) sertse, u of the readers, really wàs all. _LINDA J. LARKIN Milwaukee, WI wo¡ld where the exploited mases Will come to triumph in life. A gre¿t humane social order will be the destiny of the world a I don't propose 10 express a point ofview -DAVID BERKINGOFF about læah Fritz's comments (in her unBronx, N.Y, manifesto) on lesbianism and gay liberation, though I would certainly agree that.the gay {novement is not immune from the illness of dogrratism and platitudes. I do wi'sh to Leah Fritz's article wttslT3I zotted me back to the time when the other people in .-.,strongly lake issue with her snide comment .my house disposed of the cat who lived with that "It's easy to grab a publisher or a headme because "having pets is countet-revoluline with a title like LESBIAN NATION." tionary," I can feel myself to be whe¡f óhe That book, by Jill Johnston, is one of only is/was writing that "Uí-Manifesto" whenthree books on the subject of lesbian/femi. eyer I state my sexual preferences (after havnist liberation. The number of books on ingbeen asked to do so) and ûnd that that malehomosexualityissigrif icaqtlygrrc-âter, statement always offends somebody who but there aré really'orily a handful which then labels me "thë enemy." Etcetera. t¡eat the topic from any kind of radical perAcceptance of persons without filtering spective. It has been a difficult struggle for them throu,gh idealogies seems to me to be gay liberation literature to be publisheld and what she's talking about, So I'll go ahead distributed. \ryIN has not reviewed any of and d¡ork" on some new myths-not exclusiri. the lesbian bookg for example, at least not but ones, becauæ istic ones, more wholistic yet, The idea that the writings oflesbians that's important to me right now-and I'm and male homosexuals constitute a media not saying fou have'to buy into them. .hrst fad is a misconception at best and bigotry like I'm not going to denounce Rosemary at wcirst. Tþ other two lesbian.libemtion Ruethe¡ because she is. using masculine books, by the way, aÍe LESBIÁNAIOMAN generic language, Etcetera. by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyons @antam ln her search for a nonviolent mode pagerback), and SAPHOWAS A RIGHT-ON living, Leah almost seems to be suggesting WOMANby Sydney Abbott and Barba¡a spiritual-moral even away with we do Love (Stein & -ALLEN YOUNG violence-and-conquest. She moves me to Westwood, Mass. _MARY SUE GAST aspire to the same. ''"-'Chia:ago' IL I wanted to Jompliment you on the piece you did [WIN, 4/19/73] asking folks to Iæah Fri¿'s unmanifesto, July 19, recommend some usefi¡l books. I suppose prompted me to thañk god for'they'are some would call that filler material, but I Dpwn he¡e in the ranks finally saying would call that the personal side of our polithe¡e has been considerable annoyance with tics and hope you will never forget that that the dogmatism of the'heavies;' Particularly is the key to your unique coqtribution I frustrating is the phenomena in which we also wanted to Suggest two books that I progress within the left by reading or listenwas very much zurprized at their absence. ing to such notables as Johnston, Mao, WIN, David Horowitz's EMPIRE AND REVOLULynd, etc. and adhe¡e stâunchly to thei¡ (Vintage Paper), and Marcuse.'s TION (until pÍogess . ' i ' Photo by Murph Dowouis. lvl-urph-isanative,of.Louls¡anawhodldastretchfordraftrefusalacoupleof mid-slxt¡es whên he was worklng with the Catholic Worker in New york, yearsago. wef¡rstmeth¡m¡nthe ses" which apply only to non-adults. What he failed to point out is thê heavy sexist bias that exists in the treatment ofjuven- . iles. Data reported by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on offenses ôommitted by juveniles sent to "training schools" during 1965 and 1966 showed thatabottS0% of the boys were jailed for "ofrenses against authority," a euphemism for such things as ungovernable behavior, running away, truancy, etc,, the remaining boys were jailed for ofrenses that are also applicable to adults such as theft or assault. More than 7 Mo of the girls were jailed for "offenses against authority." Ariother 13 or l4/o were jailed for sex offenses; for many of these the ofrense was "promiscuity," Futhermore, girls charged with ofrenses applicable only to juveniles seem to receive ha¡sher treatment tlan those charged with adult ofrenses, at least in Pennsylvania during 1965 and 1966 (I doubt if things have changed too much.) Of the girls charged with juvenile offenses about 45% were held in either jails or detention homes pending their court hearing compared with 24Vo of 6,1973 Volume lX, No. 25 lnterview vyith Cesar Chavez.. .'. lim Forest I ... .. .+ o WRL National Conference. Robert A. Pugley Putting Words into Action. Jim Peck 't4 Childcare.....r. ...15 Emelyn Buskirk On Torture. .'.-..'.. Phil Benigon . .... . .. . ...f6 Presecuticih Case Micf¡res.in Gainesvi lle. 1 & Neil Fi)llogar { Changes. ,¡ .20 Cover: Dorothy Day being arrested at the UFW strike picket line in Fresno, Çalifornia. Photo by Bob Fitch. of Day). LErrEns I¿rry Gam's "Prison Notes" column in the July 26 isue of tiVIN pointed out th¿t man]¿ juveniles who are jailéd are held for "offen- September those charged with misdemean ots and 35% of those charged with felonies. Of those charged with juvenile offenses, L!r/z% arc eventually sent to an institution fo¡ delinquents versus 9Vo of those charged with mis demeanors and l4Vo of ühose charged with felonies. (This data iS from a report I wrote for the Americân Association of University Women as part of a project that rqBulted in the formation of the Pennsylvania Program for Women and Gi¡l Ofrenders.) _ BERT KRITZER Chapel Hill, NC Arthu¡ ìVaskow's article on "Watergate and Presidential Power" (wIN, 7/12/73) is an excellent analysis ofthe historical development ofour present situation. It certainly gives a great deal of coherence to the whole Watergate mess, and the events of the last ten yeais, Waskow suggests that as a ffust step toward rectifying the situation, Nixon should be immediately relieved of his presidential power. In this context, however, I would through impeachment, or any other means, before 1976? What is tltere really to prevent him as a last resort from simply utilizing his military connections to forceably seize control of the government and desolve Congress? Note that of thé two closest adviso¡s to Nixon, one is a former fast rising Army general, the other is a former secretary of defense. To me, such a possibility does not seem too. far-fetched considering Nixon's personal- ity and everything he has done so fa¡ and planned to do. This country is certainly not immune to what has happened in similar situations in other countries, and at other times (Germany). The potential conse quences of this entire historical period boggle the -JOHNWALDRON W. Lafayette, Ind. mind. The 812173 issue of WIN, came as stab in a pained chest, There's a Jewish folk song: "Our tears no one sees, our cries nô one hears". The sight ofthe shield ofDavid spread on two pages, one of them in red, the symbol of blood- This brought to mind when tftis shield meant entry to death; A like to raise one very serious poinl Knowing, Jew caught without a sþ was immanently as we do, Nixon's mentality and the way he dead, So who wants to be reminded about operates, can we ¡easonably expect him to it; who wants to see it again, It shor¡ld be willingly give up his presidential power buried with all the glories of war. it! stands we further). We under . STAFF FELLOWTRAVELERS marls cakars susen cal(ars lance belv¡ll€ diana davi€s nancy johnson juli€ maas mary mayo brlen wêster I ralPh digia påul enc¡mer cr¿¡g J{.rpat cfndy kont .- chuck frgcr alllot.llnz.f mlke tr¡nlch j¡ck3on maclow d.vld incioynotds n€ll haworth Jlm psck. b.cki lgal roód.nko 'mlko stamm m¡itha thomascs mâtly lézêr mark morrls johnson paul johnson ôlllson karp€l ..r......, 547 rifton :.i. tâne roþin lar¡cn laåh lrltz lar7y gerâ box pðt6i kl9Þr ålex knopp john kyÞàr dorothy soth folcly ¡lm lorcat COUNTERREVOLUUOU AÑD REVOLT stand the good in what they say without (Bêacbn), Both are essential in understandchallenging them on any grounds (per.our *- ing the Nixon era. eood Amerikan upbringing. Sadly, very few 'Cò'. of the notables ask the criticism which they Thus, their bolda- . have so readily produced. Revolutionãry Greetings,tþ'all p{ila4åis -of cious assertions thei.indivi¿ualbeliefi,' "" Black, Brown, Red, Yellow and Whi6. -'-"' analyses, too oasily qharm the hungry minds. September l3tÞ.wtll maitS the day that All too seldon¡ a¡e we asked to think of our brothers weie beat and killed at Attica. something to do about the situation; rather The people ori the streetb are doing many we are told the proper response, attitudo deeds of solidarity to aid the survivors of the and method of communicating it. Howeve¡ Attica massacre. we fall into the trap of labels such as Gay ln figfti of tftir solidarity I propose an ,r act of solidarity that all of the convicted Power, Third World power, etc, which she ' .class may participate in.to show that Attica has riduculed beoause we have not been encouraged or allowed (by intimidation, etc.) is not forgotten, that men did not die in fæt to develop more meanindul conceptions óf .vafur, that unknown fnen are not on trial whçre we are going and what it means-they us all in racial unity and solidarity throughare constantly provided for us. I suppose I out the U.S. Prisons Federal and State deam trying to ask for more patience on her. cline to eat our meals on September 13th. part with those who lay under the rheto¡ic Breakfast, Dinner and Supper. Ifthey sacri they support. Often the old new left (or ficed their lives, let us at least remember whateve¡ label they would prefer) only them in a national fast and day of mouming A PRISONER rememberþg changes the words and not the framework, futh d€¡i. ... new judyrÞs¡hlter york .12471 telephone 914 3394585 ,,, WIN ls publlsh.d wolkly êxccpt'lor tha flr3t two wecks ln Januôry. 2nd wrak ln Mry. trst 4 wacks ln August. end th. last wock ln.Octobsr by thc WIN Publlshlng Emplr. wlth thô'support ot thc Wâr RGslstar¡ L.rguc. SubrcrlDtlons erc 37.OO p.r ycrr. Srcond clåss ÞostagG at Nrw York. N,Y. lOOOI. lnd¡viduat- wrltõrs arc re3po¡s¡blq for oplnlon3 €xprosscd eccutacy of facts glven, . Sorry-manuscrlptsandcannot bã returnrd untæs ¡ccompan¡cd by a self-addr€s36d stampcd .nvelope. Printéd ¡n U.S.A. - Attica. wtN 3 l t I I I L. i I NONVIOLENCEON THE LIN trL an interview' wiih CesarChavez ', more ominous turn as violence.on the part of those r lppgsed to the UFW has erupted. On August 15 Nagi Daiful I ah, a 2Çy ear.ol d i m m i gran t farm worke r from Yemen died as a result of being beat over the head w¡th a deputy shei¡ff's flashlight. ln a disptay of support for the union and la Huelgø, ovor 1Q000 farmworkers turned outfor the funeral procession. The day after Daifullah died, Juan de la Cruz, a founding Sevenl years ago a study indicated that the average peiiod of visible activism for war protester,g was five months. Their war resistance was taken up like an intense hobby, completely consuming for'a time, then abandoned to a kind ofattic for onp's past. t recalled tåe five-month statistif, while listening to several attenders at a liberal San Francisco church. One was especially vehement in expressing his "exhaustion" with food boycotts in support of farmworkers. "l didn't eat'grapes for three yeari. I didn't eat lettuce for one yéar. Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life fasting? I've had enough." He sounded as if he were discussing a hobby with which he'd grown bored. Few farmworkers have time for hobbies. ln California, America's largest single agricultrJtal source, t}te farmworker's.riormal day begins well before sunrise. ln old qars and rusting trucks and buses, r make their way to poorly-paid hard labor-parents and grandparents, men:and women, and children too. For 1 1 years Cesar Chavez has been organþing those families. He's been incredibly effective. Another year or two and the Spanish word, huelga, aught ' to be more familiar than, its.[n!lish-Amerícan equivalent-sti¡ke, Among farmworkers in the San J oachin Valley fwo cries seem to dominate-l'Vìvo la huelgo!"' and !' Vivo Cesr,Chovez ! " The huelga.has taken place at the supermarket and dining table as well as on the field. f oining in national boycotts, hundreds and thousands of persons have gone without table grapes and iceberg leftuce-and sometimes without strawberries, wine, melons and other crops. The partnership between farmworker and eater has been so potent that a few years ago the reluctant growers began to sign contracts with the . union Chavez founded-the United Farmworkers of r-nembe¡ of the union was shot dead on the picket Cesar's 2Fyear-old son has also been shot at. The response of the union !o these developments has been to,fpmporarilv suspend þicketing althe felds while at the same t¡me stepp¡ng up boycott act¡v¡t¡es -line. at supermarkets. plAugust 4th I spent part òf the morning driving _ with Cesar Chavez from the UFW headquartels at LaPaz to the Lamont UFW center near Bakersfield. tliey We Boycott and Huelga. Along the way there was a halfhour stop to join with 300 or so stri'kers at one of the " i I ot i:i o o ì: ù @ :o io 9t Íe 4 wlN l i i I I .t I I the A FL-Cl O-and the Farmworker .Eagle'became a familiar sight on agricultural products not gnly f¡om C¿lifornia but from Arizona, Florida and. other states as well. Recently, as WIN has been reporting for months, the California growers have been involved in what ap- '. pears to be a final attempt to drive away a union that is interested not only in better wages and living conditions for its members, but which is stubborn in its practice of u+nion democracy and adamant in its opposition to the use of those chemicals thdf particularly endanger botlr the farmworker and the conóurher- The potent¡al of union vetopower over a number of selfserving agribusiness pract¡ces has infuriated the major owners. Their response has been to seek contracts w¡th the Teamsters, a union that has sworn-off the kind of democracy and worker-consumer health interest that characterlze the UFW. ln the past several weeks events have taken an even drove yith ftsar's son?¡n-law and another friend, both uñaiined bodyguards, and two German shepherds,. Guimarra vineyards. . Having already experienced the heat and hostility the strikers face each day, having talked with nurses who had stiúched up the feet of itriker children who had stumbled on spikes hidden at the edge of vineyarils, háving met with people who hours lat€t wefe to be arrested in 3 a.m. police raids on their housêihaving seen the sacrifice demanded by the strike, my questions to Cesar centered on the miracle of thè ' . farmworkers'continuing nonviolence. -Jim Forest ' . t'CulVez: Nonviolence is very difficulr ln our case never done because we're always dçaling ,with new people in.these situations.' We're ahvays at the beginning p-oint. Where yqu happen to deal with people yor¡.lr¿qlBalt wi.th before, it's no problem, but . tñatþ not affordedis'Tiry ôftêri' And so we now " "have 10,000 people on strike in seven different places' 'and in almost every single case-witl¡ 98% of the people-they've never had the experience. That's difficult, You have to deal with them in such a way that you don't impose the ¡dea of nonviolence on them but that they occept it. Because if you try to impose it in a situation as difficult as this ong a situation thatrs so charged up, they'll reject everything. You haye to have a very skilled method of convincing peoplg. I th¡ñk the first prerequisite of nonviolence is for tJre nonviolent person to assume tlat there are other feelings and not to impose. Trying to impose is a mistake a lot of non-octlvlsf nonviolent people fall into, just as they fatl into the trap of thiirking nonviolence , our job'Ís ., ': wlN 5 is a land of milk and honey. Nonvioience is really tough. You don't practice nonviolence by attend-ing conferences-you practice it on the picket lines. And if you've been here two or three days, you know how difficult that is. But once the workers make that first step toward nonviolence and they accepl the ide4 tJren you begin to work at carrying it out. lt goes by steps. We're fortunate. We've been able to hang on to nonviolence in these really large confrontations we've been having. Some people st¡ll throw rocks-but they'r not carrying guns or knives or baseball bats, and the rock throwing is only occasional, so we think we,re 99 and 9l1}ths% successful. FOREST: How do the people do it? How do they remain nonviolent in that heat, under those conditions, with those pressures? CHAYEZ: A lot has to do with leadership and the people running the strike. l'm not running the strike, you know. ln some places they've been striking a long time. They're disciplined. ln some cases they're not discias plined, but they've got the idea-initiating creative picketing, never permitting the people to feel they're up against a stone wall, that they've come to the lasl And that's more important than talking about nonviolence. The thing we have going for us is that people are willing to sacrifice themselves. When you have that spirit, then nonviolence is not very difficult to accomplish. lt becomes mechanical then-just amatter of working on mechanics But I think that we're just blessed with the idea that the workers acceptand understand-as part of the¡r trad¡tion-they accept and understand the meaning óf sacrifice. And once you're willing to do that, then you're well on your way to putting the whole idea of nonviolence before them. And with some creative picketing as I said, this does the trick. FOREST: Cesar, it has been 1 1 years since you began organizing the farmworkers. Have there been times when your convictions about nonviolence were shaken? CHAVEZ: No. Because I'm an extremely practical man. I don't think any one evÊnt, or any one day, or any one action, or any one confrontation wins or looses a battle. You keep that in mind and be practical about it. It's foolish then to try and gamble everything on one roll of the dice-which is what violence really gets down to. I think the practical person has a better chance of dealing with nonviolence than people who tend to be dreamers or who are impractical. We're not nonvio lent because we want to save our souls. We're nonviolent because we want to get some social justice for the workers. lf all you're interested in is going around being nonviolent and so concerned about saving yourself, at some point the whole thing breaks down-you say'to yourælf, "Well, let them be violent, as long as l'm nonviolent." Or you begin to think it's okay to loose the battle as long as you remain nonviolent. The idea is that you have to win and be nonviolent. That's extremely importantl You've got to be nonviolent-and you've got to win with nonviolence! And there's no cop-out. lf I loose, I can't blame nonviolence. I lost for other reasons. Right at the beginning I have to accept the fact that, if t loose, it,s 6 WIN my fault more than anyone else's. FOREST: You mentio,ned that the workers are sus_ tajqed þy a tradition-of sacrifice. What sustains you? CHAyEZI People. I have to touch people, ind i trave !o get so close to them that my skin rubi *itt, tt rrn. Thatls where.l get my strength- l,m at leaiiãxperienced enough to know that all po*r, .ornð, lio, the people. So I stay close to ttiem. ffiãi;s',uf,er" ¡ get my strength. They give it to me. ' And sometimes it works the other wav. When we meet, esp-ecially under these very difficuli situations, ,'Oh, people.often say, it's so gobd to seÀ-vål-t,.rr. We leel strong when you come." And I say. ,,How funnyl I feel the same,rvay!" (Laughter.)';,1 feel strong when I see you.' But the business of nonviolence in struesle is not angelic. lt's the business of working with fióople_at best it's a very tough proposition. FOREST: I noticed in your office many of Gandhi's books as well as drawings of him. Theré was a photo of Martin Luther King. There were various ediiions of the Bible. To what extent do you find yourself turning to these sources? CHAVEZ: Well, number one, in our movement most of us are the action type and not the philosopher type. This is probably the most l,ll ever do on nonviolence-talking when someone comes around ahd asks questions about it. I won,t write about it. 'l don't want to write about iL I haven't got time. The philosophy is greaq but you take Gandhi and King and learn from them because they were activists and strategists. What people have to underst¿nd is that Gandhi-besides being a saint (not an angel but a saint!)-Gandhi was a masterful strategist. When I read him, I read him for that. I think l've read almost everything Gandhi wrote on nonviolence. I have the concept. I may not under- I resent it. t can't stand it" Nonviolent pçople aren't part angel.'"Let the world go to hell over there"that's what that says to me. FOREST: You draw a distinction between saint and angel. For you the saint isn't an eggshell walker? CHAVEZ: Right! You think about St. Paul-there was a man! And you think about Gandhff You'know, Gandhi's secretary was once asked by some westerners who came idolizing Gandhi, "Oh, how is it to l¡ve with Gandhi?" And his secretary says, "To live with Gandhi is like living in the mouth of a lion.". (Burst of laughter.) FOREST: .. .Jonah in the whale's belly. . . CHAVEZ: You see, he was diffcult to work w¡th. I suppose living with Maitin Luther King was also diffi- 'cult. lt was push and push and púsh. So you learn that from them. And you go to the source and tþad the story of Christ's life here on earth and you get the message. He went over, you know, and upset some lables and said some very tough things to the rich. FOREST: The tame people who spoke of "cheap pac¡f¡sm" said it'is extremely important to distinguish between nonviolent conflict resolut¡on and the build' ing up of justice. They said the main problem now is gett¡ng people to stop using violence as a method and that we should worry more about that and less about justice. Your own approach seems very differentst'ruggling first with the problem'of infustice. . . CHAVEZ: W¡th the struggle here, we'll sit back and we'll tålk about nonviolence and we'll have made more converts than you'll ever make by going to ten million . sem¡nars. But also you'll have accomplished just what they,want to accomplish, What do the poor care . about strange philosophies pf n'onviolence if it doesn't mean bread for them? FOREST: I recall Gandhi saying that there are so many hungry people in the world that the only way God can appear is as a piece of bread. CHAVEZ: Right. You know, if people are not pacifists, it's not their fault. lt's because society puts thefi in that spot. You've gotto change it. You don't just change a man-you've got to change his environment as you do it. (There is a pause, Cesar looking closely at a Guimarra vineyard, then gazing out the rear window, no- ticing a police car following.) We have a t¿il on us. Yqu know at one point we' , had three police cars in front and four i¡ back. Completely surrounded! They finally stopped us, then they let us go. (Anothei pause as he contiiiues to studf the vineyards, then asking the driver to get over tothe far side of thq f¡elds where a stríke line is located.) : stand everything but I understand enough to carry . me through. But then I go behind the scenes to find out the :1 strotegy that he used-which'in rnany cases makes nonviolence workable. FOREST: You make me think of a phrase I heard in Berkeley the other day - "cheap pacifism." The phrase was meant to describe.the stance of people who use the h¡ghly moral rhetoric of nonviolence while in reality excusing themselves from any real response to human suffering. . . CHAVEZ: That's not nonviolence! There's no reason to bé nonviolent - there's no challenge - unless you are living for people. These two men - Gandhi and ' King - did it for the masses, for the people. That's how it has to be done for a purpose. It's amazing how people loose track of basícs. Gandhi was one of the best fund-raisers the world has ever seen! (Laughter.) But people don't look at it that way! They don,t! One millionaire lndian said, "lt costs me millions to keep Gandhi poor." (Continued laughter.) When You put that rogether with Gandhi's political acumen-well, you find he's a living operating guy working with people. What l'm trying to say is that you can't go around pretend¡ng to be an angel when you're not an angel for the sake of making people believe you're nonvio. lent. That's cheap. lt doesn't work tJrat way. I get continually irritated by people who walk around as if they were on eggshells. I don't buy that.  u L o o 6 ¡¡ o o E ê w¡N 7 Day is in jail, you know. ln Fresno. -^?glolhv ruKÈ,s I : Yes. Her picture was in the San Francisco Chroryicle the other day. She was under arrest, sur- LYl999!y police, and looked very proua-þó iàr"rJ CHAYEZ: Yes-yes she is. And she's still ìn! | weni to visit her the day before yesterday. I visit all the prisoners. They let me go in. Oh, she was very, very _ happy and she was there with several nuns and'a whole slew of farmworker women. They,re doing o¡ay. L asked her to teach the workers somethinf about the labor movement and the peace movement. She will give them clásses twice a day! She's a pro fessor. She knows a lot. FOREST: Cesar, you're somewhat famous for the stor¡es. you_tell about particular people and what they are doing. Do you have any new ones? CHAVEZ: A funny story-it's not with'the workers buta Mexican lady I met in Saginaw, Michígan the other day. I was touring over there on the 6oycott. She had been a farmworker all her life. She's âbout 60 now. Her husband's retired. I was asking for volunteers and saying that the chicanos had to get out there and help. After the meeting she came-up to me and said she couldn't get out there on the pickef line, although she wanted with all her life. But she just couldn't because her legs were bad. But she said she did go to the stores often to look for grapes and when she found them she always took a.greeting.froT me !o them! She said, ,,1 go ahd I get their h¿nd.and I really sgueeze their hand.-' (laughÍer.) She said, "l give you regards from Cesar Chav'ez.ù She' looked like an angel-she struck me so! I was sure they wouldn't believe me so I got me brother and Richard and asked her to repeát what she'd said. "Yes, I go and shake their hands and really give them your regards." FOREST: The spirit of the Boston Tea party is still with us. CHAYEZ: Yes. One of the fellows that works with us was driving to town the other day with his fiveyear-old son and he came upon a Safeway supermarket and sdid, 'lOh, I'm going to go in a shop." The l¡ttle *þoy in back sai{ "Daddy, don,t you do it! Don't do it! Cesar Eonna get you if you do it! " FOREST: So many kids seem ínvolved in this. CHAVEZ: That's the strength of the movemenl Babies! Richard's little daughter is eight months oldshe came back with her mother from 6eing arrested the other day. FOREST: lt makes you think of the people in Metnam in prison. They arrest whole families. The prisons there are full of children. CHAYEZ: That'c right. lt's not much different here. I was.talking to in Coachella recently. He said, "Don't be such a coward. Take the women and kids oui 9f thgre and you men stand up and let,s fìght it out." And I said, "Why? Do you want to beat us up? We're game. Beat women and kids too. What,s the difference?" And he started complaining, ,,Ah, we don't even know who in the hell we're fightingwhen w-e fìght you guys. lf we fight the woiker, úe,ve got to fight with his wife and his kids and his grandmother and hìs grandfather and his first, secoñd, third, fourth and fìfth cousins!" And I said, ,íThat's right! Plus millions of other brothers and sisters throughout the country in the labor movement, the religious communities, the blacks, the whites. You'll havé to fight everybody." And we make it that way. a Teamster FOREST: The Teamster offcíals seem to be part¡cularly upset about the involvement of religious comrnunities in this. . . CHAYEZ:. Bugged, bugged-completely bugged ! FOREST: What do you expect will happen with the legotiations b-erween Meahy [of the AFL-CIO] and Fitzsimmons [of.the Teamsteis] ? Do you have any hope they'll resolve 'CHAVET: There's athis? lot of pressure there. The labor mo.vgnlgnl ¡s.getting pretty upset about the Teamstèrs, and I th¡nk they're going to fight Fitzsimmons' union' if they don't pull back. My aslessment is that the Teamsters are up against too much pressure. from the public and other organized groups. One of ífre Uig Teamster leaders saíd the other .day, ,,Th is damned thing is like Metnam-everybody,s in on it." He was upset because he thinks it should just be the Teamstôrs and the Farmworkers. But I said to myself, ,,That's gx_agqLy what we want-we want everybody involved.,' FOREST: Cesar, the AFL-ClO gave g1.6 inillion tó'tne the farmworkers to help while the strike soes onmoney for the striking families to live on] I understand most of that's gone now. What will happen when when the strike fund is empty? CHAVEZ: We'll go back to the old way. This is the first time we've had money. We've always had'to fìght without money. Our fight is not dependent on money '.: -although money makes it easier. But we got the harvest in Coachella-about 40% of the croþ there wasn't picked and 50% of what was picked'wasn't ripe. You see, over there we struck early-we struck during the thinning. Here in tl¡e Lamont area they had hoped-to pick five million boxes-no way! They'ie not going to get anywhere near that. FOREST: Then why do the growérs refuse to sign? It seems nearly insane to t¿ke on the union and iîs supporters throughout the country. They know about the strength of the stri kes and boyôotß by now.. . :t CHAVEZ: They haven't yet learned to live witiì a ' real union. We beat them wíth the boycott last time, more than anything else, and they thought the boycott wouldn't work again. FOREST: Have the growers changed in their basíc att¡tudes over the years? CHAYEZ: No, they haven't changed. They made a lot of money last year and the yeai before.- ln Delano, they averaged 92.85 profit ø box,.There was no way the,y could ever do that before. For them, things [ooked better than ever. FOREST: What are you hoping for from people around the country-the people who eat what the farmworkers raise and pick? How can they make themselves part of the huetga? CHAVEZ: Boycott. Boycott the grapes, boycott the the leüuce. Send money for the struggle. You know, we feel pretty good, even though we're much where we were in '|,970 beîore we signed the contracts. But we have what we didn't have in those days-a heck of a lot of people with an awful lot mo¡e. We're the majority now. The majority is on strike. And that's agreat source ofstrength. Jim Forest is edìtor of Fellowship Magazine which is copublisltìng this lnteruÌew in its September issue. He hos been o frequent contrìbutor to these pages q) BY ROBERT A. PUGSLEY U (- a- . cJ tCJ \+r I (- T o U d -r l+ltllZ\'andThe Viltoge Vo¡ce (415n3); an appear' ànce by Chairperson lrma Zigas and Field Secretary David Ñ4cReynolds on the J uly 44h edition of NBC" TY's Today ihow; the formation of the WRL 50th Anniversary Committee; and local fund'raising events c +I cú Z J But this three-ðai National Conference, the first in the League's history to be called on the West Coast and thetargest ithas ever held anywhere, was tJre mirst impriitant fooal point in a year of qulet cef ebra-tion and purposeful rededication. This meeting brought together face-to'face many of the.older men and úomen whose personal biographies collectively constitute much of the League's history, with those . younger persons who found a source of sanity and itrengttr and hope in the League's militantly nonvie lent resistance to the American role in lndochina over the last decade. A partial listing ofConference participants quickly re' vealed the diversiiy among the "assorted crackpots" (in David McRevnolds' affectionate phrase) who go òn arèuming up'alternatives to war and towards a more human society. Marxists, anarchists, globalists, futurists, collectiviits; gays, straights; businessmen, writers, ministers, farmers, students, lawyers, carpenters, and , artists-aíl of thesó and moie were theré, exploring ' bome not unimportant differences in their emphases ãnà style, but i;i.6€d by a love'bond of dedication to ' life anã.iis riurtvíolent protection.' - Also present, but not listed, was the usual quota of âsents.-{dan'Baez.made them feel as welcome as ";;;tibi;;íñiônd"vtuen¡nÈbV dedicating a chorus of tf'r" hãrmting "Ain't ya Got a RiEht?" to them. The assembly followed her lead in pragmatic acceptance ., , and,good-naturedopenness. The Conference began on Sunday evening, August 5th. with Roy Kepler, formor Secretary of the Lelg-ue ãná'tongtime'membei of its West Coast Regional Office. weLoming the participants. Roy's words were the tulminatioñ of a larger, quite tangible whole: the indefatigable and hugely successful organizing efforts of tt.re WnUWest as Conference host. You knew im' mediately tñat this meeting had been well planned- . so that spontaneity could have a base. lgal tioodenko, a previous Chairperson of WRL,. addieqsing his "br-other and s¡ster lo{ers," outlined in and inspiring strokei the history of Uroa¿, "o-totful, 8 WIN i 'l .F around the country. (¡E OI¡ ú Five hundred and fiftv peoole from 25 states.came to the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California, for the War Resisters League's National Conference, August 5th-7th, 1973. This was the b¡9" '), one, the fifdiethãnniversary-of the founding of the WRL. Fifty years is, after all, an important m¡lestone in the life of any individual or orgariization, and esp-e' cially so in the iustained existence of a radical pac,ilst group that has come through thelast turbulent half' õentury of world history as a consistent voice of American opposition to war-all wars. This has been a year marked for WRL by remem' brances and projeciions, by tracing roots and charting ' future directions. This important creative task has assumed, a variety of forms: the 1973 WRL Calendar, containing Marty J ezer's excellent history, " Fiftv Years of Ñonviolent Resistance"; Marty's articles in the Special Anniversary lssue of lllN !7126173-),and in the Journot of the lnstitute for the Studv of Nonäot"rie ß-7173lt stories in The New York Tìmes wlN 9 the League, mainly through reference to the witness of some of its outstanding individual members. Evan Thomas, younger brother of Norman, the late Socialist Party leader; and Ned Richards, a birthright Friend, were present. Their pacifist history extends backward to their refusal to serve ¡n World War l. Eileen Egan, of PAXr-brought personal greetings from Dorothy Day, 75-year-old co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, and a member of WRL's 50th Anniversary.lnitiating Committee. Dorothy had come to California a week before, intending to be present at the Conference in person, but instead joined it in spirít while sitting in a Fresno jail for picketing on behalf of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers. Her presence and love were, if possible, even more keenly felt under the unexpected circumstances. Her message to a Conference whose theme was "The Next 50 Years" was simple and compelling: rrThe future will be different if the present is different." Others among those whom lgal singled out for special tribute: A.J. Mu'ste the late, great leader-reconciler on WRL's Executive Committee, the ministersocialist in a secular-reformist pacifist organization; and, Sam Coleman, jailed.under the Smith Act in the Fifties, later an active member of WRL, where his humanist ideals found a compatible home until his untimely death several years ago. The resisters to World War Il were more numerous: J im. Peck, Ralph DiGia, Larry Gara, Roy Kepler, and lgal Roodenko himself are only a few whose names come to mind. The Fifties, as lgal described them, viere pretty barren soil on which to cultivate a peacebuilding consciousness. The Sixties, however, and America's involvement in tis longest, most unpopulai war, changed all that. Most Confereqce participants came to their feet when lgal invited all those who had somehow clashed with the law in opposition to the Metnam War to stand. !Sa! touclred -upon one of the themes of the Sixties, and of this Conference, when he emphasized the inescapable need to simultaneously attempt both personal ond political change. "To debate whether'society comes before the individual, or the individual before society, is like asking a healthy human being , whether eating or sleepirlg is more important.', Larry Gara, historian, WRL National Committee membgr, and lillN columnist ("Prison Notes,'), presented the history of WRL through a well-conóeived series of slides with accompanying narration. Again, ' that section of his program which emphasized th1,pár, ticular contributions of individuals working towards a common goal proved the most engaging. Roy Kepler focused on WRL as an institutional collective, an organization with an eclectic political past and a still-evolving political present. Roy saw the League's major overall achievernent ofthe past several years as convincing many people of the value of direct action, civil riisobedience for iocial. change. He.thought the League failed, howçver, to persuade very many people of the effectiveness of nonviolence. Roy challenged the League to,,dare to have d topical program of its own," in the future, one based on the Gandhian models of social'change exper- imentation, one that would attract many.people from various points'on the political spectrum. Mandy Carter WRL/West staff persôn, said she had "no pre-planned answers" for the future, bu!^was in fact ätträcted to the nonviolent movemqnt'dtecisély because of ongoing commitment to openness and dia' logue. She saw no immediate end tothe phenomenon of-war, and looked to a busy next 50 years with the League. : the first evening together in the large, wooden Me.rnill Hall ended on an emotional, quietly upbeat note, with everyone prese.nt linking arms andslowly, rhythmically swaying to the strains of "Amazing Grãce." Thêre wèreltrenghth and gentlene5g (what . Mandy called "soul") both present in-that hymn, led by Joán Baezand Mimi Farina, that frening in Asilomai. Histor:y had been relived, and the future spoken of. Now the old and the young were joined in common sp¡rit. The Pacific rolled and crashed in the distance, and 550 war resisters affirmed in chorus their belief in the Capacitl of the human spirit to overcome human evil. The next few hours were spent around whatever gathering þlaces Asilomar afforded: pool tables, a lounge, an outdoor campfire. This wai the essence, really, of the Conferencè: people meetirry, talking, sharing in one of thè most naturally beautiful parts of Calífoinia. This wàs a- good place to be at this tirne. I T , :r ' workshop on the problems of farm workers at the wRL Nailonal conference at Asllomar, caffi,8t73. photo by. G/acls Hedemann On Monday morningrAugust 6th, WRL Chairpersen lrma Zigas convened the grqup for a symposium entitled, "WRL: The Next Fifty Years - Mairi"Currenß of Pacifist Thought and Action." Beverly Wood' ward, of the WRL Executjve Committee, opened with a description of, and a call fdfa "tronsnotlonol non' violent reYolution'.tf She outlined five sçages of developing such. a revolution, drawing upon George Lakey's new þook, Stroieþy for o Livi n g Revol uti on. Beverly saw the construbting of alternative syttems and institutionals as one of the Movement's most importan"t tasks. future -- Ltã i*"nron, ofthe lnstitute for the Study of lo wlN Nonvíolence, in Palo Alto, discussed some of the insights which anarchists could offer in thé creation of a nónviolent social order. He cited what hg sees as the close connection between the decentralist G4ndhiari econom¡c program and the realization of .4¡on'heirarchical, human society. He stressed'the close connect¡on between the personal "rituals" we live ôut däily; ! and the transformation of the larger socialprder. ' David McReynolds spoke to the connection (which he and others are working to develop) between Marx-. . ism and pacifism, He firit reminded the group, however, that therè are plenty of reasons for its continued ex¡stence ínow that the Metnam War is'over'r" to borrow the phrase most widely used by politicians and the media. He reeled off several. AmQng them:" the release of the 200,000 political prisondrs curently incarcerated in Thieq's jails in South Metnam;.the according of a universal and unconditicinal amnesty to the 500,000 war resisters of various types who are in need of it; the nuclear elimination of the arms race in. an inherently unstaþle multipolar world; and the need for human liberation from the shackles of anti-human sexual stereotypes. ln shor! he said, "We c-an now get back to the much more fundamental tasks from which the Vietnam War has diverted us for 10 years." Evan Thomas, WWI r€slster and brother of Norman Thqmas, rests betweên.conforênce sossions. photo by Boþ F¡tch ' Daue expressed encouragement that ol-er half of the Conference participants were- under 30, proof to him that, "however many things the nonviolent move: ment may have done wrong in the last several years, we'ye ôUv¡oústy done some things right". He strongly reaffirmed hls belief that the coalition politics of the 'anti-Metnad War yçãis were n9cessary, and that the nonviolent segment o1 that'coalition had influenced làree rlumbe.rsQf People. öàve reinifiàèti'thã ati¿¡ence that WRL had beeñ ' ... :lourídêd by both pacifrstsond socialists who rejected the êlitist, v¡olent'vanguard party of Marxism'Leninism in favor of a mass'movement, democratic Marx' ism. This Marxism, like pacifism, sees conflict-but ' ' ' n ot violence-as ¡ - nevi tab le, Dave underscored I gal Roodenko's.insistence of the evening before on the necessity of both personal ,, and social change. He chose on this occasion to emohasize the latter: "Now individual morality will'not äuer stop'a war alone." Elaborating upon the evêrpresent tension inherent in the intertwining of periona! and social change, he-declared in ringing tones and to loud applause, that: '11 am weary of confusing the concep-t of nonviolent revolutioÍl with-organic. food and compost heaps. ...1 know that for the Blacks i ' in the ghetto of Bedford-Stuyvesant, in t}re areas of WIN 11 lra Sandperl, of the lnstitute for the Study of Nonviolence, gave a brief, strongly felt reminder that' those in the nonviolent movement are too often gripped by a "moral, ¡ntellectual, spiritual fear," a fear of "alienating" people by insistently speaking out for Gandhian prinçiples. He noted that, as a result, "we've alienated the wrong péople." He strongly urged his listeners to speak openly within the various political coalitions, to'f say love, say truth" which can be realized through nonviolence. Monday afternoon included not only various WRL Regional reports in a session chaired by WRL national staffer Lynne Shatzkin Coffìn but also some of the .smaller-group workshop sessions briginally' announced for that evening, Among these was one entitled, "The Morals of Torture," led by Daniel Ellsberg. ln'it he Joan Baez and Mimi Farina clown wlth Manly Carter, WRL Staffer and conférence orgônlzer, at the beglnnlng of Monday nlght's entertalnment, photo by Bob Fltch Chicago and Philadelphia, organic foodb do not get rid of the rats or make théir rooms larger." Defining socialism as a "seizure of power and its relocation and redistribution," Dave emphasized that "for the Marxist, the enemy is never an individual. lt is, rather, a cornplex of forces." He called for the essent¡ally White, middle-class pacifist movement to have a "certain humility," and to not exclude the White middle class, but to begin to include Blacks, lndians, Chicanos, and lower-class Whites. He stated that the system needecl fundamental change, and that certain misconceptions of radicals would have to be shed in the process: "l've heard a lot about power corrupting. And I agree, ¡t corrupts. But I will tell you something: Powerlessness also corrupts, and absolute powgrlessness corrupts absolutely. . . .Our search for personal and political morality must include a way of liberating the poor people in this country who at present have no control over their own lives. . . .A honviolence that cannot relate to the qnderclass is noi in my view, a serious nonviolent movement." Dave concludedþy observing that at least 500,000 Americans have been "profoundly and permanently radicalized by the Vietnam War," He said that the American myth has been shattered forever, and that we must now either recreate and rebuild America, moving forward to a pacifist and nonviolent 1776, or sink back into an irretrievable 1 984. There are no other choices. 12 WIN Monday of Nonvlolence; lÍma Zlgas, chalrwoman of thê wRL; L€e Swenson of the I ni¡tltuts¡ of lra Sandpetl; and oavid McRey4otds, Fleld Socrêtary of the WRL, dl¡cuss "WRL: Th€ Noxt Fifty Years-Maln Curronts of,P¡clflst T hought and Actlon.r' photo by Gracle H€demann. ¡\' I pointed out the significant role whích the League played (he attended the WRI 13th Triennial at Haver" ford, Pa., in 1969) in helpinghim reach higdecision to make public the Pentagon Papers. He recalled, (with obviously deep-seated emotion) the time his wife,,Patricia, read the part of the Papers dealing with "the ratchet" and the "turn of the screw," terms, circa1964-65, which the Pentagon applied to the policy of military escalation intended to break Hanoi's will. Her reaction was, "This is the language of torturers." That insight, put just that way, moved Dan Ellsberg then-and now. Approximately 200 people ' attended Dan's workshop. ;t The early part of Monday evening was given bvei ' to more individual workshops, a format that allowed open, far-reaching discussions of topics of particular interest to those part¡cipat¡ng in them. ln one, for example, Dave McReynolds developed in greater detail the intersecting currents of democratic Marxist economics and pacifism. ln another, Joan Baez, Dan Ellsberg and Ganetta Sagan (who was tortured for 40 days at the hands of the Gestapo) had an explana' tion/discussion of Amnesty l nternati onal, .an organ ization dedicated to "f¡ght¡ng a war of conscience" dn behalf of political prisoners in over 60 countries. The whole group reassembled for an evening of song with Joan Baez and her sister¡ Mimi Farina. "Beautiful" is a simple word, vague, overused, and awkward. Yet is the only one I find to describe the feeling in the room that eveníng. Afterwards, there was another informal round of get-togethers. But there'was also one very ¡mportant piece of business going on: over 100 people met to plan an organized response to the increasingly critícal situation facing the U FW a couple of hundred miles to the south, The group heard first-hand reports from people who had just come from the fields; then they discussed the possib.ilities. The next morning, Tuesday, at 8:30, Joan Baez led over 100 people from the Conference to Fresno, where they joined the picketing. As Mandy Carter noted in her closing remarks that Tuesday morning to those w.ho had stayed bèhind: "This is the perfect example of what the WRL ¡s all We discussed nonviolent theor|, and instead of passing a resolu¡iön, we took nonviolent*direcf action." about. The caravan of confelence partlclpants leavlng Asllomar fof Frogno to J oln:t!?e-,uFw vlgll.8 /7 17 p. photo by G racle Hedema nn. (lncluãed amqñg ìhe packet of Conference mäterials r rvl'rich everyone received was a flyer reminding us that August 9th was Nagamki Day, and calling for a demonstration in front ofthe French Consulate in $an Francisco on that date to protest French A'Bomb testing. action followed theory.) ' Again, The-re were more small rygikghops on Tuesday morning. One was a serious discussion of communal N lifestyles.in rural areas, Anotherconsidered the past, pr.esent¡ and future of WIN. The reassembled larger group heard reports on the tental¡ve conclusions and recommendations which various rtiibrkshops had reached. And then, all too soon, the end was at hand. Mandy II I I l l said a few words, expressing the desire to do hersdf out of a iob, so that there will be no need for a WRL and a 10'0th Anniversary Conference 50 years from now. A telegram of support for the UEW was nounced. And Isal Roodenko, with a perfect gense of the moment, told a little parabtp. lt'was about2 an- mustard seeds, both buried in horseshit. One Seed was seed, which lgal hoppd we wóuld , stifled. The other l . emulate, made use of all the horseshitto grow. And just then, ¡n that half-filled room, you knew that everyone around you was feeling the same thing: in '' ': the past three days we, ând WRL, hod grown. The meeting of love was'not over; it trad iust begun. Theìext 50 yeàrs are going to be glorious. t, Robert A, Pugsley is a student at New York University Schoot of Law, ond Dlrector of Peace Educotion Pro grams for The Christoohers, New Yorþ.CÍtv. Thts year's was his first llRL Conference, and this is his . first apoearonce in 144 N. wRL"ontinu.o CHILDCARE I'd like to share with you something that really bothered me at the recent WRL conference; but first t'll thank all the people who helped w¡th child carethey really made the job easy' However, the children's eniovmeni of the conference was limited because the roifôrtn". was not planned w¡th the needs of children in mind. For instance, having a very late session the first night was especially difficult for the children. They were upset by the travelling and the new place' so they really missed their parents' We'neeä iõ ionsider what is'to be the aüitude of 'i WRL as a whole towards the small children. l'.strong' ly feel that children should bê considered a-part of WRU ln¡s would benefit the children, their parents, and the other adults. The needs of these three groups ,mèsh together. Children need to feel care.d'for and included w¡ttr tne adults around them. Parents need' time with other adults. Other adults need time wilh^ children. Wdheed, in short, to build a carin$Öommun' itt¡ of ,altour peopie-from the tiniest baby to the old- PUTTING WORDS INTO ACTION BY rrM PECK At the end of the WRL conference at Asilomar some 65 of those attending boarded 16 cars for a motorcade to Fresno to nonviolently challenge, on August 8, an anti-mass-picketing injunction against the United Farm Workers. Among our group were Evan Thomas, 8O-year old WRL veteran, Joan Baez, who would bring her songs to the picket lines and Daniel Ellsberg hounded by the media since becoming Nixon's number one "enemy." Shortly after we started picfeting one of the big ranches, aïìewsman chided Ellsberg with: "What happens to be your connection with the striking farm workers?" Heaptly replied: "The Pentagon Papers ìh:volved the issue offree speech. So does the farm' workers' mass picketing. Furthermore, I have admired C¡sar Chavez for some time and I am here today to give him my support." It was a burning-hot day-like every day in that area-once the sun finishes rising. We had been picketing since long before sunrise, having gathered at the assembly point at 4:30 a.m. None of us knew whether or not we would be busted for our civil disobedience to the injunction. Some 450 persons were in jail, including Dorothy Day, who had come west to attend ôur conference. There had been no arrests in the two precedini¡ day,s, but nobody knew when the arrest policy might be resumed. By mid-morning it became apparent that the sheriff, who was on the scene along with about eight deputies, would not renew the arrest :. : , ".:i, T.".i l. i.*r. i jt'i\r "*e'd t c ff {Ê Hþ ÈTL* J¡m Peck and others D¡ck€t the French Consulate ¡n San Francisco ori Ñasãàk¡ D.av,8/ö/73, to protest French nuclear t€sting ln the Pacific-. Photo bV Gracle Hedemann i .f est person, Creating this community would be diffcult because everywheré children are second or third class citizensp"oófà whose,.needs are the last to be considered' We w¡ll'have'to'ii¡tti¡nt our values. The needs of children must be one of our top priorities. Conferences, for. inràn"", might consist of less sitting around. and talk' inn f *ftiltt bãres children) and more time with free ¿ínèins simple music, painting and other playingwith thé children and adults together, This is still another area for conciousness raising' Remember, though, that fewthings have as.great ef- Demonstrators leaflet homebound AEC lab employeês in Livefmofe, calfi,, a/9/73, Photo by Grac¡e Hedemann policy that day. Possibly, the authorities feared the potential publicity of Daniel Ellsberg Joan Baez and some 200 pickets joining the 450 already in jail. Possibly they took into consideration the fact that the injunction case was in the process of being argued in court. " :! I have been on many picket lines in my life, but this was my first in the vast California corporate farnr area. I have on occasion been on picket lines which start early, but never before at 5 a.m., when we started circling along the road bordering a ranch associated with Barr Packing Co., one of the biggest. Ordinarily, the only contact between pickets and strike breakers occurs when the latter enter or leave a struck plant. With the farm workers, pickets are in constant communication with strikebreakers who work not too far from the road to be out-of-hearing of the portable loudspeakers. Frequently, strikebreakers heed the pleas over the loudspeakers and decide to ioin the strike. Throughout our morning of picketing, our loudspeakers were in use. Ellsberg's talk was duly translated into Spanish and Baez's music needs no translation. Union spokesmen and spokeswomen who talked over the loudspeakers emphasized the principle of nonviolence, as advocated by Cesar Chavez. The t¿lks were so un-hostile that at one point a dialogue was established between representatives of the union and a deputation representing the growers, who were gathered around an American flag a few yards inside the property. At about noon, we boarded the cars and AFSC bus parked along the other side of the road and drove in to Fresno for a second mass vigil at the courthouse, where both the injuction case and the casê for releasing the 450 pickets on recognizance were being argued. (l Dgothy iust -Day,have learned that the þickeùs, including have been released and are back on the picket tinéí.) We had vigiled there the previous day, immed- iately upon arrival from Asilomar. As on that day, the vigil concluded with a mass rally in the park in front of the cõurthouse. A few ôf our group stayed-on to picket with the farm workers. Some departed to retqrn to their homes towns. Others, including Marty Jezer and l, got rides up to the Bay area in order to participate the iof lo*¡ng åay in a Nagasaki Day demonstration o-rgan' ized.by õraig Simpson of WRL-southwest in conjunction with the conference. The effectiveness of his organizing was proved when up to 70 persons showed up on the moining of $ugust 9 to picket the French Consulate in San Franbisco prù testing the French nuclear tests in the Páðìfic. During the demonstration, a deputation of four, including . myself, conferred in French with the cs$-ul. The dem'' onstraíion was well covered by the mediá. The cool weather was a sharp contrast with Fresno the two pre-. vious days. fect on the'futurã , as our dealings with children' -EmelYn Buskirk Emelyn Buskirk was childcqre cøordinator for the WRL 50th AnniversorY Conference. ' .r-,, : iF'a , ri-1,... ; ln the afternoon we gdt rides out to. Livermore to demonstrate at the big Atomic Enery Commission lab there. We arrived in time to leaflet the homebound employees as they crossed the road to the, extensive ' parkiqg lots. since lim Peck has been active in the peace mouement 'before Wortd War tt. His own occount of his most recent odventures oppeored in WlN, April 26 and May 3, Oak. Mwos¡, and Janls Þlay outslde of the m€etlns As¡lômar. They weron't in "ch¡ldcare.r' photo by Dav¡d McReynold3 Þll d Wll,,¡ t5 ON TORTURE the following exchange of letters will perhaps speak for itself. We wrote the Prime Minister of North Vetnam for reasons we tried to make clear in our letter. Another. reason, not stated in our note of April 10, can be mentioned here. The Americán peace movement had taken a position on the charges oftorture, which ranged from silence through outraged denial. ln any and every case, an inadequate response, to say the least. There was, as far as we could learn, no unequivocal condemnation of such charges as the airmen had made-if true. Most peace people, including pacifists, were seriously embarrassed by the charges; one sensed that an idol had fallen in the night. North Metnam was an unimpeachable herq undefeatablg vanguard of the human future, ethically out of sight, an angel of lisht in comparison with the slouching western beasl Now an if had reared its ugly.head. lf true, the charges fo¡ced uó to face, not.the epogee of our alienated dream, but a nation of bese! morally diverse, potentially violent men and women; a nation that-had learned with utmost finesse the art of survival, and then (if) had applied the art to the shrinking fiesh of their tormentors. What to say, what to do? You could be silent; the facts were not in. They were not to be learned from the papier mache stage hands who twitched at Nixon's tug. You could deridethe fliers, those pitiful killer-heroes, the last sour pressing of the good wine of myth, the non-heroes, the non-anti-heroes, the near zeros of our discontent. You could straddle a moral picket fence and, with some discomfort to the crotch, go relativisl Torture etc., is bad for the good guys and good for the bad guys. Or: Look at,what Thieu has done to uncounted thousands of South Vietnamese prisoners. Or: Look at what the fliers did to North Metnam The situation and the American movement's response, are also historically interesting lt seems to us a sad fact of life that admiration for an admirable enemy.gradually coalesces into idolatry of the enemy. At the same time, one finds nothing or very nearly nothing of substance to admire, emulate, build on, hope for, cherish, in one's own culture-including one's ooaoooooooooa own community. People put their ethical money in secret, in foreign banks; it inust be good if (one at a time) it's Soviet, then Chinese, then Cuban, then North Metnamese. By t'good" ¡s meant nothing so modest, so various, so apt to kill, wound, disappoing deceive, æ wdl as to inspire, hearten, bring infusion of hope and great lbve-nothing like the conduct of actual men and women in torment. "Good" is a frozen platonic bullion; it is moral cash in distant banks, al- . . ways at hand to be drawn on, inert, infallibly there, April 10, 1973 Dong Deor ,.. North Vietnam. ' t little or nothing at all to right the most atrocious ., , . : r tile have been perplexed by this lt hos been'the common assumpt¡on of our movement thot the Wetnomese people, under the most qtrocious.oir assult in history, hod yet shown magnanimity toward the cop tured flien. And this treatment wus accorded I in foce of the fact that mony omong them were war criminals We olso considered thtem criminals, ond hove soid os much, But we believed that your'þenerasity ond mercy, shown lbove measare to these men, were of' fering the only possible olternatlve to the violence of America. lü/e were sure that you would not permlt even the destroyers of hospitals, schools, pagodas; the destroyers of the sick, ofchildren and the ogedthot you would not permlt even such meñ.to be de" ;r groded in spirit or wounded in Please ùelieve thot v've ore brothers whaleioice to nome you our brother. It is in this sp¡r¡t that we ask you to conment uþon , them - body' these chorges. Please believe thlt our leftû is motivø ted by our deep lovg ond admiration for the Vietnam- people. lile will do everyth¡ng possible to refute these charges, once the facts sre mode known to us. fhe'ceose-fìre, for whÌch so many Wetnomese hove' paid such enormous mcrifices,brings ioy oqd renewed spirit. lile continue working at your side tþtil ihe þeace is fìnally assured. ese Dev qtedly o nd Deor frlendq 'l'0 l4/e have received a copy of your April letter sent to our Prime Minister Phom Von Dong, .lle are also aware of the current compaign of slond- ,ei',launched byfhe US Adminlstration àgøiist our Government on the treotment of Americon captured þilots. lt is fp¡ us no surprise thot'îhe men vullo hovë committed the most odious trvr cl¡mes ever known in human history are oble to distort the truth recognized by the peoples oll over the world, As you ore certainly owtre, our people høve olwoys treoted hu¡¡nnely prisoner5 of wsr, That policy of lenlençe is ol-sg our long-doteC trod¡tlon, Mony foreign visitorc,'inèluding American friends, hove met with aiptured pilots and tìave witnessed'thot they have been given odequate housing, foods, clothes. Only their You are undoubtedly ouyare of thìs; 'the releosed prisone¡s held press confereñces in mon¡t parß of the countr.it, spoke in detoil of their.sufferings at the hands of their cøptors, exhibited sorc on their bodies which, according to them, resulted from such treotment. have chosen another way than violent resistahce, and are still paying the price. And when will it be paid? But I th¡nk our deepest reason is connected with the moral needs of our community at home. There are certainly times when one can do very' -PhilBerrigan .': Wetnam ofe writlng you, our friend in the struggle for human iustice. We a¡e, os you ore owore, brotherc ond, priests whõ have served prison séntences in defênse of the rights of our Wetnamese brothers and sisters We confess thai we ore in grìef and distress.of spirit. The American airmen, of.ter the release of the lost of their compp. nions one week ago, repqrted lþöt many of the Americans hod been tortured in the þrisons of in the south have trodden a technological hell; and, would not countenance, or ourselves inflicq physical torture or moral degradation, on any other human. Whatever the provocation, whaûever the crime. Friend, of We emerging at the far end, have proclaimed a possiþle human future. We salute also, and with a special affection and fraternity, the Metnamese Buddhist community. They wrong. lt is not useful to die, it is not expedient to be irt prison, policy is at a stinking impasse, the con, sciences of people seem transmogrified into an army of night crawlers, mucking about in Watergate. The congress, a child, bargainiwith the spoiled, tantrum lf ridden president, a child; so man! more days of bombing. At such a fime, it seems necessary to us to pilt something on the record; ' Simple as that. One thinks of a message in a bottle, cast into a turbulent sea; or a time capsule with a message for the unborn. One has a kind of desperate sense in his loins, that, if there are to be children, generations, a human future, they should know something of us. Something, that is, beyond the cruel headlines thatday after day, bear witness to ourfolly, our despair, our hatred of life. That most assuredly'ánd with shame; but something else as well. What then? A kind of human manifesto: that we -. Pham Von The Democratic Repubtic HonoÍ never devalued, mine. ln publishing this correspondence, we salute the North Metnamese, who along with their compatriots Hanoi 26 May,1973 - health condition totally different from thøt of Vìetnomese held in USThieu's prlsons hos proved thot they have been humonely treoted, But the current campoign of slonder by the US Administration ìs not on isoloted act, lt is oimed not' only ot justifying why Nixon has continued the war during his fo,ur yearc previous term but olso ot lui: tifying his further plot of mìlitary involvement in lndo chino. lt is olso oimed ot covering ap US-Soigon's sb'otage of the Paris A,greement.and the delay of releasing politìcol prlsoners they ore still holding in their prisons and their plot to transfolm South Vìet Nam into o US new type colony and to Índefini{ely divlde Viet ' Nøm. 'Finàt¡t we thank you for your good feelings towards our people."lile hope'that ¡tou will continue to help us, os you liave dön'e,- in our struggle for o losting peoce ond for ix.lr notionol independence and freedom. j"' , ui'-\:'.',. '" ,.¡'-.:.. Fraçernally youn, .s.. ., ::ì ,- ¡. vi;Ãx1"*Å,¡t,," ro, , Solidority with the Americøn Peoplc froternal Iy, Frs. Philiþ ortd Donlel copy to the Committee of Solidority, Honol 16 wtN wlN 17 I , NEIL FULLAGAR Beyond the three week limit originally set by U.S. Judge Winston Arnow, the tr¡al of the Gainesville Eight continues under heavy security. The trial so far has been marked by contradictory testimony, surprise informers and a now famous apparent attempt to bug the defense office. The Eight, all members of Vietnam Veterans Apinst the War, are John Briggs, Gainesville, Fla.; Scott Cam¡|, ' Gainesville, Fla.; John Kniffn, Austin, Texas; William Patterson, El Paso, Texas; Peter Mahoneyl New York; Alton Foss, Hialeah, Fla.; Donald Purdue, Hollywood, Fla., ahd Stanley Michelson, Gainesville, Fla. All except Stan Mlchelson are charged with conspiring to cross state lines to create disorder in Miami during the 1972 Republican National Convention. Michelson is charged with aiding the conspiracy after the fact. Scott Camil is also charged with possessing an incendiary device, and demonstrating the making and use of incendiary devices. Before the opening ofthe trial, a gag order was given, prohibiting all parties from discussing the case with anyone. Judge Arnow intended to apply this to "all interested persons, that is, anyone in the world". His attempts to control free speech and reporting continued even to holding a CBS news artist in contempt for dnwing courtroom scenes from memory. He was quickly overturned on this by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The selection ofthe jury began Tuesday, July 31. N¡ghtly demonstrations began t¡at n¡ght. Sixty sisters and brothers including several of the ddfendants, marched to the Federal Building. Most wore gags in reference to Arnow's ruling After reaching the Federal Building they ripped the gags from their mouths and shouted, "Victory!" Earlier that day, two FBI agents had been spotted in a closet adjoining the office assigned to the defense. A defense ass¡stant noticed a movement behind a vent leading to the closet, and marshalls were called. Flushed from their hiding place the agents, Carl Ekbald and Robert Romans, were found to be carrying a soldering iron, screwdrivers, two microphones, two amplifiers, meters, tÃpe, a piece of paper with several telephone numbers and v of The Electronic lnvosion by Robert Brown. After a hearing on the agents in the closet, Arnow ruled that there was no evidence that anyone was be- a ing bugged. On Friday, August 3, the jury was seated and opening statements were presented. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart "lack" Carrouth presented the government's case. The prosecution, he said, would prove every point in the indictment, from which he read salient passages. According to the indictment, "Íi was part ofthe said conspiracy that the defendants. . . would organize numerous 'fire feams' to attack w¡th t8 WtN Misfires in Cainsville Prosecut¡on Case automatic weapons, fire and incendiary devices police stations, police cars and stores in Mianii Beach, Florida . . . fire-lead weights, 'fried' marbles, ball bearings, 'ch.erry' bombs, and smoke bombs al police. . . úsing wristrocket slingshots and cross bowi',, during the ' The fifth witness was William Lemmer, a former ; er. From . different florn th_e description gun dealer Don Barrett, manager of The Rancher, gave of M-14's. Don Barrett was another early government witness. According to his description of M-l4's and M-l 6's, the guns described by Marshall could not have been either. Barrett test¡fied that neither type of rifle is an automatic.weapon. Only automatic weapons are covered in the indictment. Barrett also testified that The Rancher had,never displayed an M-l4. The only "incriminating" testimony obtained from Barrett was that C¿mil had asked about the price of 30 caliber ammunition by the case, had asked whether The Rancher carried any slingshots, and had bought one bag-ofsteel reloading balls. Barrett testified-that 30 caliber ammunition could not be used in any autoimatic weapon. this trial. . Despite the tension in the court,,the tr¡al has not , without.humor. During thè hearing on Poe's testimony when Schneider asked Nancy McGoven, Camil's girffriend, if she was at that time "in love been Apparently Lemmer is acting out of a grudge VVAW. ln one of his letters tp his former wife, Lemmer is reported to have written of vengence against Martin Jordan who Lemmer replaced as Arkansas coordinator, and other VVAW members, indiagainst the ness, Charles seen one displayed at The Rancher, a Gainesville sto¡e. He ivas then asked to describe a MJ"l4, and finally adl mitted he could not. He then wasasked to describe what guns he had seen. The description was greatly threatened to have Bill Patterson gagged because he had objected too many times thaf Poe's testimorly was on matters not in the indictment. Patterson, Kniffen and Camil, are acting as their own.couns'el in ' pons. That afternoon Carrouth presented his first wit"Tex" Marshall. Marshall was, at the time of the alleged conspiracy, the head of a rent-a-cop agency and was Scott Camil's landlord. According to¡ Marshall, Camil came to his office early in 1972 and told him with some relish about his plans for using slingshots, homemade grenades and firebombs, ,,fiied', marbles and automatic rifles to " make the pigs come down hard" on demonstrators, thus starting rircts. Marshall also testified to having seen a cardboard böx containing "two M-1 4 rifles" in Camil's apartment. During the cross examinatioñ Marshall admitted that he had never handled an M-14, but said he had his role in this base Lemmer has adhiei'ed a notoriety probably as great as that of the E¡ght. Lernmer told of "political assassination"squads" being or-' ganized by Camil. This brought fortþ vigorous objections from defense attornels since tlfere ¡s ho mention in the charges of any plans to assassinate anyone. After Lemmer's statement, a few minutes later, that Çamil was to obtain automatic rifles and mortars by trading "dope" forl.Them, there was a motion for a mistrial because of the inflamatory n¿ture of Lemmer's testimony. As Arnow has done at least five times nown he denied the motion for a mistrial. Republican Convention. Carrouth tried to convince the jury that the VVAW yas lgt on-trial. The government, he said, supported , the right of the VVAW and other groups to demonstrate peacefully. :He told the jury that these defendants were a "splinter group", ând that they were not supported by the VVAW. Larry Turner, attorney for Don Purdue, and defendants Scott Camil and John'Kniffen made openiirg statements for the defense. The othér defendants elected to make their statements at the close of the government's caæ. Camil said that if there was indeed any conspirac-y, it was a governmental conspiracy to harass himself and the others. Turner told ihe jdry that it was paid government agents who talked constantly about violence, and it was a government agent who unsuccessfully tried to sell Canìil automatic úea- was admitted. Becker, Anchill and Poe largely reinforced previous testimony rather than adding new material. Horiyever Poe tóstified to having be-en asked to take Camil's guns for safekeeping on séveral occasions when it appeared that Camil would be arrested. .. - At the close of Poe's direct examination, Arnow VVAW member who turned out to be an FBI inform- t I I cating that he will not make noise when he comes after them, but will come'in "tennis shoes", equipped with a "length of piano wiré. . . I am not a leg infantryman like them. I am an elitist paratrooper, S. F. (Special Forces) ranger". . His tesfimony is no more reliable than other prosecution wit¡esses, At first he testified that he had been in Special Fçrces, later saying that he was not, was only trairled by Special Forces and that he hâd never claimed to have served with Special Forces. On cross examination by defendartt Bill Patterson, Lemmer was asked about a list of difficulties suffered in the service which he had made at the time of discharge. Among those listed were frequènt depression, excessive nervousness, unconsciousness and amnesia. Lemmer stated that he could, "recall all but the amnesia." Lemmer was followed to the witness stand by ' Charles Becker, another FBI agent who hád assumed a position of leadership within VVAW, by Louis . Anchill, an agent of the Florida Bureau of Laiv Enforcement, and by Emerson Poe. Poe wai ãlso a paid FBI informer, and his appearance came as a total sur- prise to the defense. Poe was, unt¡l the day he was exposed in court as an agent, the State Coordin4tor and Assistant Regional Coordinator for Florida. He had been considered among Scott Camil's friends and confidantp. He had even been represented by the same counseläs the defendants when called before the grand jury last year. According to defense witnesses called in a special hearing to decide whether Poe's testimony could be admitted, Poe had been actively involved in the planning of defense strategy while making regular reports to the FBl. The judge did not consider that the evìdence showed that Poe had indéed been a party to any attorney-client relationship, and tlerefore his testimony w¡th Mr. Camil", John Kniffen echoed the prosecu- úion's frequent objection, "calls for a conclusion qn the part of the witness." The judgé took more than a minute to,stop,laughing long enough to overrule the r objection, On Monday, August 27,the prosecution tentåtively rested its case and Judge Arnow again denied a defense motion that the case be dismissed for lack of evidence. Despite 27 prosecution witnesses and a great dèal of talk about guns and other weapons, under cross-examination dll have testified that the only weapon that they saw as figuring in the convention þlans was a slingshot. The FBI and the fôrensic sciences di. vision of the Armed Forces lnstitute of Pathology conducted tests on the rlingshots and reported that used against fully clothed adults it woutd appear ."if "that.serious injury is unlikely." Live rabbits and pigs were used in the tests and this resulted in a strong protest from the Humane Society. Neil Fùllogr lives ond writes in Goinesville. .CONTACT The rr¡al ¡s l¡ to cont¡nue for months. lf you supcan use you in Gainesville. iuþþtrrt the defendants. confrontation with "the not need you. /. ng they insist that they do lf you cannot come to Gainesville, you cah help at home. This trial is important. The American people should know what is being done in their name in the courtroom in Gainesville, just as they are now learning what has been done-in their name in Southeast Asia. lf your local paper doesn't carry news of the trial, ask to see it. The wire services are covering the trial. The news is there for the papers to print if they are moved to do so. And of course, money. Contr¡but¡ons can be sent to C¡ainesville Conspiracy Defense Committee, Box 1 3179, University Station, Gainesville, Fla. 32@4. wtN 19 abíe in Sèptember from NARMIC, IMPORTANT REMINDER! PA * RE: AMNESTY RULING lN -._ CANADA -LNs ;;; ¿;;;;;n Government has enacted 112 Sbuth Srreet, Philadelphia, 19"102. The cost is $50, first class pa¡d' post¿se moyed the book during July because "of this Watergate businéss" and because he wasafraid vandali would d+ ' _ face it. American war resisters in Canada. DAVE lN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT: I UDGE .{WlN 812173) Everyexilewhoarrived ARI ZONA PEACE COATITION COMPLETE DOUBLE.FOCUSED PEACE CAMPA¡GN thereby Nov. 30, .'l9T2irrespective of nerusrs Ãnnnrér.¡MENr lflil:,iåH,:lå:ïiJ! i:i"J,yl5ï:* olv to have his residence in Canada . ieáalized. "This Wh¡te House these days. He's not not-to-be-repeated period ends tired out after more than two years on Oç1. 15, 1973. pres'ent centers where the sidewalk. He hasn't, given up hope. .ñãT" ¡nforrution can be obtained are: His spirits are high. But his body has ' * Halifax Committee to Aid Wa¡ Immi. .grants, 167 Argyle, Halifax, Nova Scotia, þee¡ pllced in a cell ¡tt .P.C. l?il, where he is held.in "deadlock"-solitary cgn' îoz-qig-ess+l* TàrontoAnti-Draftprogramme. llrzz Ú finement.t' How did this happen? On Tuesday, Spadina, Toronto, onta¡io i¿tò:iiçoïct to Aiåt War objecAugust 14, dozens of people joined ] wiqtgqeg Com-mittee s11: wiy"n.e,.Manitoúa the White i-louse tour iine,to þray for t:liflf"c'"j3il y": peace. Dave joined them. About 60 bàãp r" ná uä¡ ne vi e¡ rs a f He scñ et ir #"^ii'#,:i,iì1":T, tÍ"iåJ ftitiå";¡ and Dave) were arrested for praying. i\h * Dave was asked his name a.nd refused vancouver Comrnittee to Aid war objecto give ¡ü The policeman knew Dave to¡s, Su^ite 204, 144 West Hastings, Van-' couver 9, British Columbia (604t-588-9656. by first name and thus he got listed as David (Refused), which is how he is ;. ] c!!e!!v committee on war Immígrants, stitl t