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New NYC Local WRL! The three letters brought back many memories 20 years gone: antinuclear work, against both power and weapons; antidraft organizing and counseling; war tax resistance; civil disobedience. I’ve always stayed active in some cause or other; sometimes as a small check-writer, sometimes more directly. But here I was, feeling the need to more actively resist the Bush putsch and his war, and suddenly a mailing arrives about a WRL local forming in Brooklyn. Such serendipity!
Our first meeting took place in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a neighborhood sufficiently activist that it used to be split into two congressional districts, lest we succeed in electing a change agent; it is in three now. Nearly 20 people from Brooklyn and Manhattan gathered, and it is clear from the introductions that most, like me, have been activists all along. I’m worried at the start: Most of us are my age and older; where are the kids? I realize that any work to the left of John Wayne is totally hidden by today’s media, so we don’t always know each other. Also, the Park Slope neighborhood, once so wealthy, working poor and bohemian all at once, has been priced out of most young folks’ consideration over the last 20 years. Our new WRL local has met three times so far, with e-mail contact between meetings, and there is a growing energy and excitement in the group. Our chosen name, Brooklyn/Manhattan WRL, encourages us to reach out to lots of different neighborhoods. After the first meeting some members leafleted a busy shopping area urging passersby to call Congress before it voted on the Iraq resolution. War tax resisters in the group will hold several introductory workshops. On October 26 about 30 held a vigil on the busiest corners in Park Slope. We had passers-by write peace messages on lengths of ribbon that were then hung around light poles and on a few trees., an idea sparked by a striking “ribbon tree” created at the October 6 Central Park demonstration. This is a project easily transferred to any neighborhood, and why not right here where “a tree grows in Brooklyn.” We’ve got a long list of other ideas for antiwar actions in the Brooklyn and Manhattan neighborhoods where our members live, so if you’re in New York City and want to get involved in Brooklyn/Manhattan WRL, call (718)768-7306, email: ruthbenn@juno.com, or check the WRL events website, which includes a calendar of our activities: www.warresisters.org/wrl_actions.htm. —Tony Vazquez |
WRL Homepage • WRL Programs • WRL Literature • WRL Actions • WRL Employment • About WRL
