NEWS

Photo Credit: Paul Franz/Greenfield Recorder. Used with permission.

by Pat Hynes
WILPF US At-large Member

March 2023

If you walk around downtown Greenfield in Western Massachusetts, you will see signs abounding in the shop windows. Among them: PEACE, ART NOT WAR, FOOD FOR ALL NOT WAR, SOLAR NOT WAR, MAKE TEA NOT WAR.

Why have so many shop owners and institutions, including the Greenfield Library and Greenfield Community Television, agreed to offer their store windows and inside spaces for these signs?

“Because there’s nothing better than peace, John Lennon had it right,” said Mindy Vincent, owner of the consignment shop boutique, Hens and Chickens. Kelly Archer, proprietor of Lucky Bird Thrift, which sells “good quality, pre-loved items,” explained that “love of peace brings about a positive vibration, which carries forward, and Jeromy, owner of Laptop and Computer Repair, said succinctly, “I believe in peace.”

The inspiration for this project was the Turkish-American tailor, Mr. Hamdi, who asked me if he could put my sign, “Health Not War,” which I hold at a weekly peace vigil with 12-15 others on the Greenfield Common, in his Tailoring & Tuxedo shop. A week later when I asked him how his customers responded to the sign prominently displayed in his front window, he exclaimed - “They love it!” And thus started my trek down Main Street to other shops to find that 26 out of 30 shop owners welcomed a Peace sign in their window or inside wall.

I then worked with Greenfield’s copy and print shop, choosing a script lettering style in either blue or green and the sign size generally 8” or 9” by 12”, or smaller if needed, and materials that were waterproof. Store owners chose the color and size, and often just used Peace or created a clever message, such as “BREW BEER NOT WAR!”

My Op-Ed "Greenfield Shops for Peace" and reporter Mary Byrne’s article "Greenfield storefornt signs 'a natural way to start peace literacy'" featuring a photo collage and interviews with the shop owners were published the same day (January 30) in the Greenfield Recorder. Then, the Greenfield PTA asked a gifted peace educator of youth who is also on the Board of the Traprock Center for Peace & Justice to work with the Middle School youth on peace education.

Peace Literacy

Studies have found that “norms, rituals and values that favor peace joined with peace literacy taught to each new generation are most important for creating a peaceful society,” a society which resolves conflicts without resorting to violence. Our Greenfield Shops for Peace is one such value-laden public gesture.

Peaceful societies have always existed and exist now – they just don’t make the news. There are thousands of daily acts of social kindness and peaceful resolution of disputes among groups of people and countries, but none is as newsworthy as a mugging or murder or war.

For some, this may create the impression that aggression is natural for humans, especially males, given the statistics. Recently, we have been reminded that President John F. Kennedy, at the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, did not think so as he spoke at the American University commencement on June 10, 1963, saying:

I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war…. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable—that mankind is doomed—that we are gripped by forces we cannot control…. We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade--therefore, they can be solved by man… No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.

Creating a Culture of Peace

In his recent book, On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society, Lt. Col. David Grossman describes the methods for training our military and police and the evidence from WW II to the present of increased PTSD and suicide in soldiers from the moral injury of killing fellow human beings. He also emphasizes how war, killing, and violence are glorified in Hollywood films, video games, and TV, and amplified now in social media, thus “normalizing” them as accepted solutions.

So, what can we do to counter the power of military culture? My hope is that these signs will speak with a communal voice and inspire other expressions of norms and values such as in local music, films offered, art exhibits, drama, local library book exhibits and programs exemplified by the annual Jane Addams Children's Book Award that foreground peace and justice, and especially with the Greenfield schools offering peace education in creative ways.

Peace literacy—including the arts of listening, asking questions to achieve clarity and understanding, cultivating empathy and mutual communication; the skills of disciplined resolution of conflict and recognizing verbal and advertising manipulation; the history of successful non-violent revolutions—is as crucial as reading, writing and mathematics.  As Gandhi avowed, “If peace schooling were taken as seriously as military schooling, our world would be a much different place.”

Imagine – with peace education in grades K-12 of Greenfield schools, isn’t it likely that disciplinary incidents, among them disruptive behavior, fighting, bullying and skipping school would continue their downward trend, as reported in the January 14 Greenfield Recorder. Would that not be one of the most useful education skills for life that we could give students? Good for them and good for the society they inhabit and will impact.

Two other stellar peace initiatives to explore:

Young Peacemakers for youth grades 8-12 in Franklin County (western MA). Last year’s event was covered by our county newspaper. Most youth Peacemakers are recommended by teachers and other teen mentors for the annual event. The Traprock Center has applications that are sent to schools and model award diplomas, and other materials that any town or large city neighborhood could use. In fact, since the 2018 WILPF International Congress in Ghana that I attended, I have been working with WILPF Cameroon and they’ve used materials I sent to set up their annual Young Peacemakers program for February 2023.

Active Bystanders is a program offered by Quabbin Mediation that explains the values and skills that youth and others are trained in to become Active Bystanders in their schools and elsewhere. I think that Quabbin Mediation is open to being contacted by others across the country for sharing knowledge and possibly for a Zoom meeting.

Pat Hynes lives in Greenfield and is the former director of the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice. Continuing on the Board, she is helping build Traprock as an educational center in peacemaking. Pat is an at-large member of WILPF.

by Shilpa Pandey and Jan Conderman
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Coordinators —WILPF US

March 2023

Now that the annual United Nations CSW (Commission on the Status of Women) programs are once again in-person, WILPF US is glad to be resuming our two special CSW programs, Local to Global (for WILPF US members) and the Practicum (for college students). Our January eNews article describes these programs and explains the unique opportunity they present to build WILPF for the future. 

WILPF US invites WILPF members within the NYC area to meet our delegation! There will be a meet and greet that will include our Local to Global program participants, UN practicum participants, and WILPF international staff and delegates.

Here are the details:
Thursday, March 9, 2023
5-7 pm EST (2 hours)
Conference Room, Hampton Inn Manhattan Grand Central, 231 E 43rd St., New York, NY 10017

Questions about this event? Please contact the CSW Coordinators: Shilpa Pandey at emailtoshilpa@yahoo.com or Jan Corderman at jancorderman@msn.com.

A group of peace activists visited the White House on January 22, 2023, to deliver a letter to President Biden regarding the TPNW. WILPFer Vicki Elson is the woman on the right-hand side in the front row with the blue hat. Photo credit: Photo taken by Timmon Wallis and used with his permission.

by Cherrill Spencer
Co-chair, DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee

February 2023

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was born out of the deep concern of the world’s governments about the growing threat that nuclear weapons pose to human survival, the environment, socioeconomic development, the global economy, food security, and the health and welfare of current and future generations. It was initiated in a special UN conference in July 2017, and in order for it to come into force 50 countries had to sign and ratify it. That threshold was passed on January 22, 2021.

WILPF branches and at-large members celebrated the second anniversary of the treaty’s entry into force between January 20^th and 23^rd, 2023. Photographs from nine cities where WILPFers stood to ask President Biden to sign the TPNW (also called the Nuclear Ban Treaty) can be seen here.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, with the intent that they will eventually be totally eliminated; just having them sitting around is a dangerous situation. A software glitch or a mistaken radar scan could lead to missiles tipped with nuclear bombs being fired off to obliterate the cities of one’s enemies. They would respond in kind and it would not take long for civilization to disappear. We have to educate the public about this existential threat and press our politicians to stop sending our tax dollars to the weapons manufacturers such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin who make the missiles, submarines and military planes.

Below are reports from nine different cities where WILPFers celebrated the 2^nd anniversary of the entry into force (EIF) of the TPNW. I’ve ordered them from the coldest to warmest weather our members had to endure!

Burlington, Vermont (from Robin Lloyd)

Some 25 of us overcame cold and snow conditions to protest and celebrate at the Burlington International  Airport on the 2nd anniversary of the Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons. WILPF members Marguerite Adelman, Robert Ackland, and Robin Lloyd, and Laurie Larson, Catherine Bock, and Jane Hendley and others from PPS (People Peace and Security) and SafeLandingBTV  (and even Duncan Nichols from across the mountains) agitated at the entrance and then handed out leaflets and entered the building and convened in the mezzanine for more discussion and networking.

Detroit, Michigan (from Laura Dewey)

The Detroit Branch of WILPF participated in an event in Ferndale, MI, sponsored by the Detroit Area Peace with Justice Network, of which WILPF is a member. Twenty-five people, including two WILPF members, held signs on Woodward Avenue, a major artery, and drew numerous supportive honks from drivers.

The group then held a meeting in the Ferndale First United Methodist Church, where we celebrated the second anniversary of the TPNW and wrote letters to our US senators and representatives asking them to support the treaty. We were asked to pledge to do something to support the TPNW on the 22nd of each month. A statement by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in support of the TPNW was read to the group by Laura Dewey, chair of the Detroit Branch. A WILPF member living in Tlaib's district contacted her office and asked for the statement.

A short video of the vigil is on YouTube: 2nd Anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons vigil in Ferndale, Michigan

Here is a video of Laura reading Rashida Tlaib's Statement.
 

Portland, Maine (from Martha Spiess)

Several groups joined forces for a Portland, ME picket to celebrate the weekend of the Jan 22, 2023 2^nd annual TPNW entry-into-force. This same banner launched a statewide Nuclear Ban Banner Caravan, celebrating when the treaty came into force. WILPF member Christine DeTroy led that inauguration.

We still find many people who are unfamiliar with the #nuclearban treaty, ICAN or WILPF yet, but support the text right away!
 

Washington, DC (from Vicki Elson)

See photo at the top of this article. On Sunday, January 22, 2023, the group attempted to deliver a letter to President Biden in hardcopy but the guards at the White House gate wouldn’t even touch the envelope, so it was sent by email. The letter had been signed by over 100 national, state, and local organizations and calls on the President to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW or “Nuclear Ban Treaty”).

Full text of the letter and a list of organizations who have signed it is available at this link.
 

Philadelphia, PA (from Tina Shelton)

Our Philadelphia branch stands with the peace groups of Philadelphia to say “No to Nukes” and to end all wars. On January 22, 2023, WILPF members joined Brandywine Peace Community in uplifting the second Anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons coming into effect.

Standing in the eaves of the Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia, activists held signs, remembered activists Kay Camp and others, and tolled the bell for the 68 nation states that have ratified the treaty. The gathering ended with a march around the Liberty Bell. WILPF members also continue to push for divestment through the Divest Philly from the War Machine campaign.
 

Asheville, North Carolina (from Ellen Thomas)

WILPF US, Veterans for Peace, and Physicians for Social Responsibility members gathered in Pack Square in Asheville, NC, on Saturday, January 21, 2023, to celebrate the second anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 
 

Livermore and Monterey Counties, California (from MacGregor Eddy)

MacGregor reports that she attended the Tri Valley CARE’s demonstration at the gates of the Lawrence Livermore National Lab at 9 am on 20^th January. Scott Yundt gave her the big banner that you can see in the slideshow photo for her attendance at a Monterey County celebration later in the same day!
 

Tucson, Arizona (from Felice Cohen-Joppa)

On January 23, 2023, twenty activists held signs and banners outside Tucson’s Raytheon Missiles & Defense plant to mark the 2nd anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  In April 2020, the Pentagon gave Raytheon a multi-billion dollar contract to develop and produce the long-range stand-off (LRSO) missile, an all-new nuclear-armed cruise missile to be launched from the wings of warplanes. This work that is happening in Tucson is in violation of the spirit and letter of the TPNW.
 

Peninsula/Palo Alto, California (from Judy Adams)

Our Peninsula/Palo Alto branch holds an hour-long vigil every Friday at noon at a very busy intersection in Palo Alto, but to celebrate the 2^nd anniversary of the EIF of the TPNW we moved our action to the King Plaza in front of Palo Alto City Hall. Our co-sponsor on January 20^th was Fridays For Future (FFF), an international environmental action group, who holds weekly demonstrations on the Plaza.

We set up information tables with lots of information on the TPNW and the TPNW petition to the President and US Senate. We had a loudspeaker system and three speakers: WILPFer Cherrill Spencer on the history and status of the TPNW; the FFF co-coordinator on the alignment of environmental and nuclear issues; and a local Peace Center activist with powerful words about our responsibilities to disarm. He also closed our event with his Peace Dance.

We arranged a circle designated as “Ground Zero,” and participants silently occupied it as if a nuclear weapon had exploded nearby. They were asked to focus on what action they would take for the Treaty. The signal to end the “die-in” was Sharat Lin’s Peace Dance. You can view a video recording of the whole event on the WILPF US You Tube channel or at this URL.
 

Thank You and Reminders from DISARM

Photographs from these nine cities where WILPFers stood to ask President Biden to sign the TPNW (also called the Nuclear Ban Treaty) can be seen here. 

Your DISARM/End Wars Committee co-chairs thank all the WILPFers who went out to public areas to help publicize the TPNW, and remind everyone they can write to their Congressional reps from the comfort of their living rooms via this link, and can sign a petition to the President and Senate at this link.

If you would like to join our committee please write to disarmchair@wilpfus.org.

by Ellen Schwartz
WILPF US Mini-grant Committee

February 2023

WILPFers, did you know that your branch can apply for a grant of $250-$2500 to carry out a project? Our aim is to build WILPF programs starting at the branch level. We have provided funding for webinars, plays, lectures, conferences, study groups, and also for actions, like the ongoing, multipart collaboration between the Earth Democracy Issue Committee and the Vermont Branch to measure and publicize the pollution of waterways by military bases.

We have three annual funding cycles: the next deadline is Feb 15 (coming right up!), and after that, June 1 and October 1. Because this program is available only to issue committees and branches, we have been publicizing the application submission deadlines on the Branch listserv.

However, we realize that the full membership of every branch may not be receiving or reading the information, so we want to make sure you are all aware of this opportunity. YOU might have an idea for a project for your branch. Bring it to a branch meeting – we’d love to help pay for it! Here's how to apply! 

If you’re not a WILPF member, that's easily fixed. No branch near you? Not so easily fixed, but not impossible – here’s where look for the nearest branch, or start one yourself.

And finally, you can take your idea to one of our Issue Committees and see if they are interested in working on it with you.

Questions? Contact Ellen Schwartz (ellen@nicetechnology.com) or Barbara West (barbaraw@myfairpoint.net).