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Andrew Bacevich, a noted scholar, author, and critic of U.S. imperialism, will be speaking on U.S. policy, or lack thereof, in the Middle East on October 6 from 7-9 pm at the Westminster Unitarian Church, 24 Kenyon Street in East Greenwich, RI. This public presentation will be based largely on his most recent book: America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History. Among his eight other books is the important Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War. There will be a Q&A period.
Prior to a distinguished academic career, Bacevich served in the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of Colonel. His son, Andrew Bacevich Jr., was also in the army but was killed in Iraq by an IED. Dr. Bacevich had expressed strong opposition to this disastrous war prior to his son’s death.
In addition to the books, Bacevich has written many articles that have been published in various magazines and journals and has appeared frequently on a variety of news shows. He is a Professor Emeritus of Boston University and also is an associate editor for Harper’s Magazine.
This event is being organized by the Rhode Island Anti-War Committee, Pax Christi Rhode Island, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Tuesday Interfaith Peace Group. Cosponsoring and hosting is the Social Responsibility Committee of Westminster Unitarian Church. Light refreshments will be available and attendees are encouraged, if possible, to bring cookies or some type of simple finger food to share. There is ample parking in the Church lot.
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Nearly 200 people turned out at the Westminster Unitarian Church for a Black Lives Matter march in response to white supremacists fliers that were distributed in East Greenwich and to ongoing racial injustice in our state and across the country. Police officers cleared a path for the two mile march that went through downtown East Greenwich, slowing, rerouting and delaying traffic. The march was organized by the White Noise Collective and Westminster Unitarian Church’s Social Responsibility Committee. Protesters called on white people in particular to stand up and support the growing Black Lives Matter movement.
“We have a responsibility as white people to acknowledge the racism people of color face every day in this state, and to support their struggles for justice,” said Ash Trull, a member of the White Noise Collective in a statement, “As long as we close our eyes when we see police profiling or plug our ears when we hear about employment and housing discrimination, then we’re part of the problem.”
Reverend Ellen Quaadgras of Westminster Unitarian and organizer Rachel Bishop spoke briefly before the march on the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement and why signs declaring “All Lives Matter” were specifically discouraged. After the march Ellen Tuzzolo of the White Noise Collective and Reverend Tim Rich of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church spoke briefly.
We are not going to change our white supremacist culture if white people are unwilling to confront systemic racism. Racism is not a black problem.
The White Noise Collective RI is a group of people working at the intersection of whiteness and gender oppression to disrupt racism and white supremacy, and to challenge white silence around these issues. It is a branch of the White Noise Collective in Oakland and an affiliate of the national network SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice).
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It is sad how some people cannot seem to let go of their irrational hatred of other people. In recent months we have seen a faceless outfit called Voice of the Renaissance litter East Greenwich with their flyers calling to preserve the White race, as if people of color who are building themselves up are a threat to White people everywhere (it’s not). Last February the Islamic School of Rhode Island was vandalized by someone who spray-painted Islamophobic messages on their building, one making his intentions very clear: “Now this is a hate crime!” And we all know by now how Donald Trump refused to rebuke a supporter who went on an anti-Muslim rant at his town hall event in Rochester, New Hampshire. Thing is, these things left unchecked may lead to even more extreme actions towards a community in the future, be it acts of violence or legislation that stifles rights. That is why when it happens those communities come out to build a resistance against it.
[Editor’s note: There will be a march against the racist flyers on Sunday, September 20 leaving from the Westminster Unitarian Church (119 Kenyon Ave, East Greenwich) at 12:30 pm. “In response to white supremacists fliers recently distributed in East Greenwich and to ongoing racial injustice in our state and across the county, Westminster Unitarian Church’s Social Responsibility Committee, the White Noise Collective, and concerned East Greenwich residents are organizing a march to mobilize people across RI for racial justice. We are calling on white people in particular to stand up and support the growing Black Lives Matter movement.“]
Those that engage in such behavior however are not going to be content with just tagging a school, throwing around flyers or ranting at a presidential candidate. That doesn’t get results. They still have to organize and network with people who can advance their hatred to the point that they see things happen for them, and they are able to reclaim a position they once had over the people they hate just a few short years ago. When they do that, it takes even more vigilance to fight back because this is when they are at their most dangerous.
On Saturday, Oct. 31 (Halloween) a group with a rather benign name called the National Policy Institute (NPI) will hold a conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. While not directly connected to the Voice of the Renaissance, they share the same ideals. NPI is a promoter of eugenics, believing that blacks are genetically inferior to whites, has waged campaigns to make the Republican Party exclusively white, and is trying to build alliances with white supremacists and fascists in Europe. In fact, their leader, Richard Spencer, who has called for a white ethno-state, is not allowed to enter much of Europe for the next two years after he attempted to hold a similar conference in Budapest, Hungary. Undaunted, he continues to hold conferences in the DC area, often during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) where he tries to build outreach to attendees, many of them young people, with some success. That means he is attempting to create a new generation of racist legislators who will keep his brand of hatred alive.
The speakers at the NPI conference include anti-Semites, Islamophobes and Men’s Rights Activists (MRAs) that will speak to political operatives, academics and others in a setting that unlike the average neo-Nazi rally, will give them the opportunity to network and organize behind closed doors. One of the speakers is part of a group that has the slogan “Ni keffieh, ni kippa”.(“Neither [Palestinian] keffieh, nor yarmulke”). They are only one of several similar conferences happening all around the country. Another one happening just one week later in Baltimore is sponsored by the H.L. Mencken Club, which is, curiously enough, one of the groups co-founded by NPI’s Richard Spencer.
They very seldom get opposition, mostly because they make themselves look like nothing more than your average conservative organization that doesn’t set off any alarms unless someone delves into what they are about, but unfortunately for them, that is what is beginning to happen. There are people mobilizing to oppose the NPI conference by calling the National Press Club – where NPI has held two other events – and sending them letters calling for them to shut this hate conference down. Failing that, they plan to be out there on Halloween, letting the hatemongers know that they are not welcome.
Regardless of what face hate puts on, we need to recognize it for what it is, and once we do keep it from hurting the greater society. We have seen what it has done to generations in this country and abroad, and although it is cliché, there is something to be said for how in this day and age this approach to life is still something palatable to some circles.
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