Changing this situation is of a higher moral order than a pleasant shopping environment. – Susan McKeon Steinmann (pictured below, on right in green print top)
Message from Susan McKeon to Wilderside readers is here.
K: It is my understanding that Don Zirkel, the 80 year old deacon who was arrested for wearing an anti-war t-shirt to the Smith Haven Mall, and Susan McKeon Steinmann will both appear in court at the Cohalan Court Complex in Central Islip on Thursday, May 22nd. There is a big callout below for Susan which states a gathering at 7:30am and 8:30am arraignment for her. I believe that Don Zirkel is at 2pm, and am not sure if there is a reason that his callout was not part of the announcement to the peace community. I think that the circumstances of their arrests were different, and that they may have different approaches to their court dates.
Hope people will come to both. You are not supposed to bring signs or t-shirts with messages to court. But, they are okay in the parking lot.
Below is the announcement from the peace community:
Come show camaraderie and support for two fellow peace activists arrested at the March demonstration at Smith Haven Mall. This was a demonstration to protest the war in Iraq as the 4,000th death of an American soldier was reached. It also marked the killing of one million Iraqis. Susan McKeon Steinmann is being arraigned in Court on May 22 at 8:30 AM. She was arrested for reading the names of those American soldiers killed in Iraq at the center of the Mall.
Please join us as we gather in the parking lot of the Court at 7:30 AM. Please bring signs and wear “the t shirts”. Please remember not to bring and signs or wear the t shirts into the court room. But, please DO join us IN the court room in support.
AND…..Let’s put the Iraq War on trial in the parking lot…..bring your anti-war messages and t shirts and join the LI peace community in saying that the war is wrong, the war is criminal…not the peace activists arrested at the Mall. REMEMBER!!! The war is what this is all about. It is because of this unjust, illegal and immoral war why Susan let herself be arrested.
The Suffolk County Court can be reached by taking Sunrise Highway to the Southern State Parkway . Go north/west onto the Parkway. It will be the first exit. The sign should say Courts. From memory I believe you make a left turn when you get to the end of the ramp. Then make a right into the parking area.
Please see Susan McKeon’s statement below. This is a deep reflection of the times.
Thanks for your support.
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Statement on Arrest at Smith Haven Mall
by Susan McKeon Steinmann
Since the demonstration at Smith Haven Mall protesting the war on the occasion of the 4,000 death of an American soldier almost 100 more troops have been killed.
That means 100 more families will have to live their lives with grief at the death of a husband, father, wife, mother, son or daughter. Each of these individuals was precious to their families.
Each of this individuals had smiles and potential, enjoyment in life and dreams that are now gone for them and their loved ones. The machine of war has taken them. I might add that it is a war whose rationale has changed numerous times often after the perpetrators of this war have been caught in yet another lie.
In American history there have been times when injustice has had to be struggled against by non-violent civil disobedience. Without the citizens of this country getting involved in changing policies and laws we would still have segregation, women would still not be voting and unions would still be outlawed in most places. That is because we were conceived of by the founders as a democracy. The democracy was exclusionary yes, but the history of our country has always been the people working to push the boundaries back and extend the democracy.
We are at a time where an elective war is being fought by private contracting companies making millions, and soldiers who are treated with much less concern. Some have been stop-lossed two and three times. They have been put in the middle of an unwinnable war which hurts our nation and makes us less safe. In many cases they are denied the medical care and benefits they need when they come back. If they get wounded and cannot complete their contract, they must pay education money back.
While this goes on, most of our country’s citizens make no sacrifice, but go shopping and struggle with a faltering economy to do so. It is ironic that the mall personnel told me that they wanted to create a “pleasant shopping environment” for their customers. It is immoral that I was arrested for reading the names of the dead publicly aloud in the mall. Does society want to shove this horrendous loss under the rug while we all go about our business.
This war needs to be brought to a speedy end. It damages our reputation in the world, erodes our moral fiber, kills innocent people and bankrupts our economy. Changing this situation is of a higher moral order than a pleasant shopping environment.
The Iraqis did nothing to deserve this war. They were innocent of 9/11. Hundreds of thousands are dead, wounded, millions refugees, and yet day by day we ignore it and do not express our outrage at this loss of precious human life.
Sometimes there is a higher law. I think saving human life is a higher law. We must bring this war to an end. We must speak out. We must resist going along when we know the path is a wrong one.
Many of these soldiers and Iraqi citizens will have their whole lives irretrievably destroyed because of these unwise, callous, and evil decisions. As an American citizen, and as a person who truly believes in the sanctity of human life, I chose to speak out. Reading the names of the dead should be a moral duty so that going to war becomes not an adventure or political football, but something that is not even considered as an elective theory to reshape other countries.
Memorial Day is coming up. What better way to remember the dead in this war than to publicly say their names. They existed, they sacrificed for what they thought was right for them. Can we do any less to stop the pointless loss of life. There is a song current that says it well “Who will be the last to die for a mistake.”
Susan McKeon Steinmann
Related posts:
Where to send funds to support demonstrators here.
Letter from Susan McKeon Steinmann to Wilderside here.
Filed under: activism, Anti-War, Iraq, local, Long Island Politics, Peace, Political Websites, progressive politics, US Politics, war Tagged: | 000 soldier t-shirt, 4, Don Zirkel, peacesmiths, Smith Haven Mall, Suffolk Peace Network, Susan McKeon
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