Portland, Oregon:The Portland Alliance needs a poetry editor to research, scan, layout, & edit a presentation of two local poet's work from our archives.  (Will also need two pages of breaking poetry, new creative arts,and poetry venues & events for the October Issue) poetryeditor@writingresource.org or see community meetings page... 
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http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/resist
Checkout The Northwest Alliance Resist Portal


Trump vs. Sophie Scholl: Lessons in Courageous Resistance

by Rivera Sun

 US politics are enough to give everyone nightmares of Donald Trump as Hitler minus the mustache. He'd drop a nuke on ISIS. He wants a registry of all Muslims. He decries economic inequality while profiting from, and being the epitome of, the problem.  He's white, male, inherited his fortune, and millions of prejudiced, mass media-skewed Americans seem to adore him.

 Although the report that "Trump does not mind being compared to Hitler" is rather, well, trumped up, it rang true for many United States citizens after his numerous racist and bigoted remarks. Many people are wondering, what can we do? In Nazi-era Germany, a young student was asking herself the very same question, and her story offers some suggestions for us today.

 In 1942, a young German woman, Sophie Scholl, joined the White Rose, a group dedicated to nonviolent resistance of the Nazis, particularly through spreading forbidden literature about nonviolent resistance. As a child, she, like all of her school friends, had joined the girl's wing of the Nazi Party youth movement. However, she grew alarmed at the political views and the dangerous rise of Nazi ideology. Over the next 10 years, she consistently chose to dissent from her peers. In university, she discovered her brother Hans and friends had started the White Rose and quickly joined. On February 18th, 1943, Sophie and Hans were spotted doing a leaflet drop from the top of a university tower, arrested, brutally interrogated by the Gestapo, put on trial without lawyers, and executed by guillotine on February 22nd. Sophie Scholl was 22 years old.

 The point of Sophie's story is not her death . . . it is her life of conviction and courage that offers inspiration for our own lives. If we live in a time when one of our presidential candidates does not seem to mind being compared to Hitler, then we must organize in such a way that we can be compared to Sophie Scholl and the White Rose. We must challenge the hatred and bigotry of our day, withdrawing from social clubs and institutions that support xenophobia and racism. We must consciously take the stance of respect and justice even if it runs contrary to the opinions of our peers or neighbors. We should share knowledge of how to nonviolently resist the injustices wrought by our nation. We should write, print, and distribute literature calling upon our shared human values of respect, peace, justice, equality, and kindness. We should use our new online technologies to do so, as well.

 We, unlike, Sophie Scholl and her fellow students in Germany, have the Freedom of Speech. Her life, her death, her courage and sacrifice should serve as our reminder to use it, now, not tomorrow or next week, but today.

 "Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did." - Sophie Scholl

 –end–

 

Author/Activist Rivera Sun, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection, and other books, She is a trainer and social media coordinator for Campaign Nonviolence. (This essay was originally part of a longer essay addressing five stories of nonviolent resistance to the Nazis and the parallels that can be applied to current events in the United States.)

 


 

Bette Lee added 66 photos from November 25 to the album 2014 Protest the killing of Michael Brown — in Portland, Oregon.
November 25 · 

I was much heartened that thousands of people in Portland showed up for the rally and march to protest the killing of Michael Brown, in response to the non-guilty verdict for Darren Wilson, the white policeman who killed 18-year old Michael Brown in Ferguson months ago. People visibly expressed their grief and outrage about this recent murder of yet another African American man by the police. The rally was followed by a peaceful march in downtown Portland. After the "official" march was over, the crowd was urged to "go home peacefully." It was great to see hundreds of young people determined not to disperse but to continue to resist in solidarity with the "movement" for racial and social justice. When the crowd was urged to sing along to "We shall overcome," several young Black men shouted in response, "I could get shot tomorrow! WIll your singing save me?" Soon after, several hundred protestors, mostly young, marched for hours, determined to shut down bridges, or freeways. Several confrontations with an army of riot police, cops on horses, motorbikes and bicycles occurred without any major injuries. 7 people were arrested. The resistance continues!  ~ Bette Lee


“War itself is the enemy of the human race.”

 

-Howard Zinn
 
What can RESIST say that hasn’t already been said about the Iraq War?
 
We certainly all know it was a war based on lies. We know it was immoral and it was illegal. We know it brought an unthinkable amount of death and destruction, left hundreds of thousands dead, with even more injured. We know that 4,483 US soldiers were killed in this war for oil and power, with 33,183 injured and even more coming home with PTSD. We know that thousands of young people were recruited to fight this war and had to endure multiple tours of duty. We know that the war wasn’t fought for “freedom,” for “democracy,” or for the “rights of Iraqi women,” or any of the other reasons that were given.
 
But we also know this is the story of most, if not all wars. This wasn’t the first war we tried to prevent, and it won’t be the last war we try to stop.
 
As sad as this anniversary is, we would like to acknowledge the bravery of our allies, friends, and grantees that resisted this war, previous wars, and the countless other acts of imperialism that are far too common in our history.
In the face of extreme pressure that included silencing, marginalizing, and criminalizing, these groups stayed strong, vocal, and organized, and put their bodies and futures on the line.
 
To the active duty soldiers who refused to fight and to the veterans who came home and protested the war they just fought in, we thank you on this day.
To the brave high school students who said no to military recruiters in their schools, to the courageous military families who dared to speak out, to the civilians who forged radical new relationships built on solidarity with soldiers, we thank you on this day.
 
To the entire Iraqi peace movement that went completely unacknowledged by Western media, we thank you on this day.
While many people, including many liberals and progressives, swayed back and forth in their support of this war, these grassroots groups remained steadfast and committed. They were against this war from the start and throughout it. When so many people got it wrong, they were the ones who got it right.
There are many sobering lessons to be learned from this war, but one thing is clear: our best hope to stop anniversaries like this in the future is to fully support, organize with, and engage in grassroots activism against all wars, even during the most difficult of times. The more we can do that, the more hope there is.
 
And because of our allies, friends, and grantees, we resist despair and remain hopeful. 
 
For peace and justice,
RESIST

RESIST began in 1967 when the "Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority" was issued to support draft resistance in opposition to the war in Vietnam. Since then we have provided initial funding to some of the most effective grassroots organizations across the United States. To support RESIST and grassroots groups organizing for peace and justice, please donate here.
 

  RESIST!
 
Legally Resist an Illegal, Unconstitutional, Checkpoint!

-When stopped by officers and asked to produce id:
   Useful Statements:
I have the right to travel. It is my right to film you. I refuse to exit the vehicle. No thank you. Respectfully, I choose not to answer any more questions. I do not have to answer you. No thank you, I intend to proceed. I have the freedom to travel unmolested. I want to freely travel down the road. I have every right to travel. I have every right to film you. You are not getting in this vehicle without a warrant. I plead the fifth amendment. No.

Counter-questionsDo I have to get out of the car? What is the purpose of this stop? What is your probable cause? What is your reasonable suspicion? What is your name? Am I being detained? Do you have probable cause? What is the purpose of this stop? Am I free to go? Are you refusing to allow me to go? Do you have an id?

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 We are told by many that we live in times of hope and change. This is true, but not for the reasons we usually hear.

 As a writer and an activist, I try to maintain an optimistic view of the world and of the power resident in people to change things for the better. I will admit, however, that when confronted with the ravages of war, the soul and body-destroying scourges of racism and sexism, the synthetic destruction of nature and the environment, and the disregard for the lives of children displayed by gun-loving, constitution-quoting extremists, this optimism on occasion wanes.

 When this happens, I think of RESIST and the waters calm. For the last 45 years, this organization has stood firm to a basic principle—that social justice in combination with peoples’ movements is an irresistible force for positive change. As we come off an election, we must not be beguiled by the “promise” that one of the parties-of-the-wealthy offers us. We must remember the clear admonition that RESIST has been sounding for years- that social change is about the efforts of ordinary people multiplying when they harmonize and organize.

 As I approach the Holidays and welcome family into the home, I think of the countless families who have suffered at the hands of power but also of the families who band together to help others. I am happy to substantially increase my contribution toRESIST this year to help the former and the help continue the work of the latter.

 Indeed there is nothing more invigorating than resisting illegitimate power.  There is nothing that induces more optimism than reading stories of theamazing groups which do so much on so little.  However selfish it might sounds, I must thank RESIST in part for keeping the flame alive in me.

 My check is in the mail.  If you have already donated, my personal thanks to you.  If you have not contributed recently, please join me and let’s make 2013 the single best year for social justice we can.

 For peace and justice,

 Romi Mahajan

RESIST Supporter

 259 Elm Street | Somerville, MA 02144 US

                                This block copyright Resist, Inc.


 


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