Tag: Glenn Paige

100 new peace activists, Part 1

Posted on by kathiemm

By Kathie Malley-Morrison & Anthony J. Marsella

Be not afraid!  You are not alone! There are thousands of advocates and activists across the world who are bringing conscience to the struggle for peace and justice. They are willing to endure the dangers of speaking for peace and justice, wherever human and legal rights are violated by people in power.

In the face of abuses and oppression, we recall the iconic peace and justice leaders of the past, including Mohatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Samuel Gompers, Caesar Chavez, Larry Itliong, Rachel Corrie, Philip & Daniel Berrigan, Glenn Paige, Hedy Epstein, and Malcom X. Peace advocates like these are testimony to the enduring human quest to resist oppression and to claim liberty, even when the cost is life itself.

This is the second list of living peace and justice advocates and activists we have compiled and published to celebrate Reverend Martin Luther King’s enduring contributions to peace and justice.

We are eternally grateful for Rev King’s efforts to free people and nations from the brutal oppressions of governments, nations, societies, organizations, and individuals who support racism, prejudice, violence, and war.

We have chosen to demonstrate our responsibilities and commitment to Rev King by identifying another 100 living peace and social justice leaders and models, starting with 50 new names. You will recognize many of the names, while others have not yet received the  attention they deserve. 

Please help us make the lists grow. The list will include emerging local community activists as well as some who have already attracted media attention. Although our current lists include mostly journalists and academics, we welcome people from other disciplines.  Please use the comment section at the end of this post to nominate a wider range of peace and justice activists.

  1. Abu-Nimr: Mohammad Abu-Nimr 
  2. Adams: Glenn Adams 
  3. Arbuthnot: Felicity Arbuthnot
  4. Arrigo: Jean Marie Arrigo
  5. Arredondo: Patricia Arredondo
  6. Awad: Murbarak Awad
  7. Baez: Joan Baez 
  8. Barber: Reverend William Barber 
  9. Barnat: Ilyad Barnat 
  10. Bassett: Larry Bassett
  11. Belle: Deborah Belle
  12. Bigombe: Betty Oyella Bigombe
  13. Blackmon-Lowery: Lynda Blackmon-Lowery
  14. Blume: Art Blume
  15. Bowen: Kevin Bowen
  16. Bretherton: Diane Bretherton
  17. Bryant: Brandon Bryant
  18. Burghardt: Tom Burghardt
  19. Cacciatori: Joanne Cacciatori
  20. Campos: Pam Campos
  21. Caputi: Ross Caputi
  22. Carruthers: Charlene Carruthers
  23. Chappell: Paul Chappell
  24. Chomsky: Avi Chomsky
  25. Chossudovsky: Michael Chossudovsky
  26. Christie: Daniel Christie
  27. Clark: Ramsey Clark
  28. Connolly: David Connelly
  29. Cox: Lynell Cox
  30. D’Andrea: Michael D’Andrea
  31. Dunbar: Edward Dunbar
  32. Correia: Antone De’Jaun Correia  
  33. Degirmencioglu: Serdar Degirmencioglu
  34. Drake: Thomas A. Drake
  35. Fihn:  Beatrice Fihn
  36. Finklestein: Norman Finklestein
  37. Flowers: Margaret Flowers
  38. Fox: Matthew Fox
  39. Furtado: Michael Furtado
  40. Gagnon: Bruce K. Gagnon
  41. Giffords: Gabrielle Giffords
  42. Gillotti, Michael Gillotti
  43. Goldberg: Whoopi Goldberg
  44. Green: Paula Green
  45. Hall: Mitchell K. Hall
  46. Handwerker: Steven E. Handwerker
  47. Haney: Craig Haney
  48. Hazare: Anna Hazare
  49. Hines: Denise Hines 
  50. Jackson-Lowman: Huberta Jackson-Lowman

This is a somewhat condensed version of a post that appeared today on Transcend Media Services.  Part 2 will appear 2/19/2018 on this blog.

Celebrating Rebellion and Revolution (the Non-Violent Variety)

Posted on by kathiemm

by Kathie MM

This week, citizens from all over the United States celebrated the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, “written by the rebelling fathers of the United States”. Symbolic of the long-ago battles, fireworks lit up the skies and enactments of various forms of resistance filled the parks.

I chose to celebrate the day by giving thanks to rebels and revolutionaries who resist violence non violently, adhering to the principles of non-killing advocated by Glenn Paige.

In particular, I honored a young girl who wrote one of history’s most important books, a book with the power to promote empathy and compassion and to energize readers to fight prejudice, cruelty, scapegoating, and passive obedience to unrighteous authority.

I am talking about the mesmerizing diary of Anne Frank, the young teen writing her story while hiding with her mother, father, sister and four other people in a neglected factory annex in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands and genocidal pursuit of Jews.

Anne’s tale of coming of age in that annex under such dire circumstances is engrossing, inspiring–and heart-breaking because we know that shortly after her last entry, German and Dutch police stormed the annex and seized the eight inhabitants plus two of the Dutch men and women who made it possible for Anne and the others to avoid becoming victims of the Holocaust for more than two years.

Think of the risks faced by those stalwart supporters bringing food, beverages, clothing, medicines, books, magazines, newspapers, week after week, month after month.

Anne’s diary bears witness to the horrors of one of the not-to-be forgotten episodes of man’s inhumanity to man, a horrifying example of what people who feel angry and mistreated can be led to do by power hungry leaders with a skill for identifying scapegoats, promoting anger and hatred, and stirring up prejudice.

The diary is also a testimonial to goodness, a reminder that there are always good people who will risk everything to resist evil and rebel against cruel and unjust authority—as indeed did the patriots who turned to warfare to free themselves.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of Anne’s diary is that it memorializes not just Anne but also the brave souls who fought to protect them– Victor Kugler, Johannes Kleiman, Miep Gies, and Bep Voskuijl.

It seems likely that, in part, the loyalty of such friends was what made it possible for Anne to write, while hiding in the Annex:

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

 

 

BEWARE THE “CIDES” OF JULY ©

Posted on by kathiemm

by Anthony J. Marsella, July 4, 2017

 Shakespeare’s oft quoted lines from Julius Caesar are well known. They are used often in conversations to remind us of the perils lurking among auspicious and inauspicious dates and places: “Beware the Ides of March.”

The lines are notable for the 15th day of Caesar’s death at the hands of those he trusted, even as he alienated their friendship. And who can forget the immortal lines: “Et tu, Brutus!” These the final mournful gasp of knowing in one’s final moments, a friend’s betrayal.

“Ides” refers to the fifteenth day of March, May, July, or October. The “Fifteenth” day was considered a day to pay off all financial debts owed.  Perhaps, however, it was also a day for personal debts of gratitude and appreciation to be repaid, lest we forget obligations to those who cared for us.  The “Thirteenth” day was used for similar purposes for the other months. “Ides” is much more complex. For my purposes, however, it is a poignant departure place for writing about “Cides,” the “Act of Killing.” 

“Cides” (Root: “Cidium” refers to the act of killing), is a term joined with many nouns to describe the intentional, deliberate, extermination by killing, murder, and slaying. The tragedy is so many things are subject to killing. “Aye, that the rub!”

I began to think of the many “Cides” following various words; in the process, I became aware of how many terms there are preceding “Cide,” and what this means for us as we use the terms each day. Too, often perhaps, we use the terms without thought or their implication.

I decided to create a graphic display to call attention to the collection of terms, rather than writing a long prose article. It is coincidental, perhaps, I prepared this article on July 4, 2017, Independence Day, the USA celebration of its founding. Coincidence! How many have died for independence?  How many have died because of the USA’s existence?

Chart 1 displays some terms associated with “Cides.” It is, in some ways, a lexicon of killing. “Killing, murder, death,” they have become commonplace across the world.  Have we become habituated to killing?

 CHART 1:

A LEXICON OF “CIDES”

  Is there a method in this piece? “Yes!”  The method is combining iconic literature, words and meanings (i.e., theoretical l lexicography), socio-political commentary, and graphic display.  Is there a purpose in this piece? “Yes!” The purpose is to share an awareness of killing, and its omnipresence in our lives.

“Killing, murder, slaying” is committed by individuals, couples, groups, societies, nations, groups of nations (allies). It is an act done for a thousand reasons, often under the aegis of “justified.” The criminality of the act, the illegality of the act, and the immorality of the act, is too often subject to controversy and debate.  In the end, something has died.

In a recent paper, entitled “Total War: Weaponizing and Exporting USA Popular Culture” (Marsella, A.J. [2017]. Transcend Media Service, March 27, 2017. https://www.transcend.org/…/2017/…total-war-weaponizing–and-exporting-usa-popular-culture-1/ I pointed out how many different ways there are to kill, many of the ways subtle and insidious. But the consequence and the motives are the same (e.g., wealth, power, position, hatred, envy, control).

A 50-year lifetime friend and colleague at the University of Hawaii, Professor Glenn Paige (1929-2017), devoted much of his life to promoting “non-killing.” In his books and talks, Professor Paige illuminated the consequences of killing, and the potential of embracing a ‘non-killing” philosophy and ideology. We spoke often and long. Here’s to you, Glenn! Here is to halting “killing, murder, slaying” everywhere.

Let us make July 4, more than a celebration of independence, let us also make it a day we pledge to stop killing in all its obvious and nuanced forms.

May our nation, on this important day, celebrate the “ideals” of our creation, and vow to halt the “violence, killing, and murder” now prevailing. Regardless of source, motive, or rationale, let us “Beware the “Cides” of July/. “ Let us do so for all days, months, years.

Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D.                                                                                                     Emeritus Professor,                                                                                                                         University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 ajmarsella@gmail.comtapestry. .

Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., a  member of the TRANSCEND Network, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. He is known nationally and internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 15 edited books, and more than 250 articles, chapters, book reviews, and popular pieces. He can be reached at marsella@hawaii.edu.