Four Activists Act for Life
On Monday, March 17, 2003, Clare Grady, Teresa Grady, Danny Burns, and Peter DeMott poured blood on the walls of the military recruiter's office in Ithaca, New York. They prayed and read aloud statements for an end to war-making. They acted out of love for all people - the Iraqi people and the U.S. soldiers readying for war. The four were arrested and charged by the local District Attorney with felony criminal damage to property. On April 6th, 2004, the four defended themselves in a jury trial, spoke from their hearts, and after 20 hours of deliberation, the jury said it was deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial. Now, February 2005, as people around the country have increased their resistance to recruters and recrutment stations, the federal government is bringing charges for this same action.. The following is their statement... KILLING CANNOT BE WITH CHRIST! (St. Patrick) "Our apologies, dear friends, for the fracture of good order." As our nation prepares to escalate the war on the people of Iraq by sending hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers to invade, we pour our blood on the walls of this military recruiting center. We mark this recruiting office with our own blood to remind ourselves and others of the cost in human life of our government's war making. Killing is wrong. Preparations for killing are wrong. The work done by the Pentagon with the connivance of this military recruiting station ends with the shedding of blood, and God tells us to turn away from it. Blood is the symbol of life. All life is holy. All people are created in the image and likeness of God. All people are family, and everyone is loved by God. "Dr. Martin Luther King reminds us that"...we are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation, for those it calls "enemy," for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers {and sisters}." We come here today with pictures of Iraqi people -- mothers, children, those who have been the victims of U.S. bombardment and sanctions for the past twelve years. We also come here with love in our hearts for the U.S. service people, also victims of war making. We find hope in these dark times when sisters and brothers around the
world resist the spirit of hatred and violence, lift up prayers for
peace -- together with works for peace.
St. Patrick’s Day Four Speak the Truth: “Killing Can Never Be With Christ!”
With hearts, heavy with grief, yet swelling with hope, we send an update of the St. Patrick’s Day Four Trial in Ithaca, NY. This week as violence has escalated in Iraq, Peter DeMott, Daniel Burns, Teresa Grady, and Clare Grady, all of the Ithaca Catholic Worker, are standing trial in front of a jury of their brothers and sisters, during the most appropriate of weeks: Holy Week and Passover, for their March 17, 2003 witness at the Marine recruiting center in Lansing, NY.
“As our nation prepares to escalate the war on the people of Iraq by sending hundreds of U.S. soldiers to invade, we pour our blood on the walls of this military recruiting center. We mark this recruiting office with our own blood to remind ourselves and others of the cost in human life of our government’s war making.” (March 17, 2003)
With opening statements that moved many, including jurors, to tears, Peter, Daniel, Teresa, and Clare eloquently revealed not only the truth behind the deceit of the U.S. government, but also personal journeys of faith, resistance, and life-long commitments to nonviolence. We hope that their words and witness bring you hope in a time of madness; inspiration in a time of despair; and ultimately remind us that the only real power is love.
Daniel: “I have an infant son, now 17 months, at the time of the action he was four months. As I went into the recruiting center, I was thinking of him-as an Iraqi child, possibly about to be killed by bombs, as a young man – being recruited into the military and killed or asked to take a human life. We poured our blood in the place where our most precious ones- our children- are lured into a life of killing under orders- orders they must follow under the guise of duty.”
“We meant no disrespect to the flag when we poured blood on it. There has been blood on the flag before. The killing Native Americans bloodied our flag, slavery bloodied our flag. Our country dropped an atom bomb on a civilian city, killing 10s of thousands of innocent people and then three days later did it again and our public schools are still trying to justify it to our children. That bloodied our flag.”
Clare: “Going to the recruiting center was, and being here today is our humble attempt to follow Jesus’ call to pick-up the cross- to love one another as I have loved you. Also this week marks the 36 anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., April 4, 1968. He was a man who tried to follow Christ; a man who answered the call to pick-up his cross and follow…(He said) non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good; love is the only creative, redemptive, transforming power in the universe.”
“Where does Christ fit into all of this? I would say that Christ is the Beginning, the middle, and the End.”
Peter: “I would like to announce at the onset of this trial that while we knew that our action at the recruiting center would put us at risk of arrest and jail, I never for a moment believed that our action was either criminal or illegal. ON the contrary, I believe now, as I did then, that I had a moral obligation to act as I did insofar as my intent was to alert potential recruits and the broader public of the illegal unjust, immoral character of the war which was about to ensue. The lies, forgeries, and deception used by the Bush administration to gain the support of the American people for this war needed to be exposed and revealed to all…”
“Our feelings about depleted uranium have been confirmed. Veterans are coming back contaminated with uranium, will likely contract cancers and …(pause)…offspring with birth defects is a real possibility…the U.S. government refused to test these soldiers and they had to go to an outside source. Over 300 tons was used in 1991 and we’re doing it again. I met people sick with uranium poisoning when I went to Iraq last year with a Christian Peacemaking Team. We visited hospitals and met children dying of cancers.”
Teresa: “My intent was to be a sign of hope in very dark times. On 9-11 we lost a lot of our own citizens…and our government has taken advantage of people’s desire for recompense…that our pain and sorrow could be brought to another country if we attacked. That, to me, is horrifying”
“We have asked young people to kill and be killed for an illegal war! Killing…it hurts their being.”
“My son, Michael Thomas, is fourteen-years-old. If we don’t teach our children how to be hopeful, by speaking the truth and confidence about truth and God’s love, then we are not passing on life and the gift of understanding. God’s love is profound and can move mountains.”
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