OntheWilderSide

Update 5/22/2008 11:49pm: Charges dismissed. Case over. Susan McKeon and Peace won. Update and video here.

Dear Friends,

I hope everyone will come to the Cohalen Court Complex, Suffolk County
District Court at 7:30 Thursday morning the 22nd to support the two
peace people arrested at the time of the demonstration recognizing the
4000 American soldiers and million Iraqis dead.

I was arrested for reading the names of the dead soldiers along with
twenty or so other people. When I refused to leave and stop reading, I
was arrested for criminal trespass. I was not even wearing the famous t
shirt.

Don Zirkel was arrested when he refused to take his anti-war t shirt
off while eating in the food court. He was not distributing flyers or
reading names. He was eating while wearing a peace t shirt.

My arraignment will be at 8:30 which is why we are asking people to
come at 7:30. Don’s is at 2:30 and people are being asked to come at 1:30
for Don’s arraignment.

I plan to be there all day.

People should be there with t shirts and signs outside in the parking
lot. We will meet in front of the District Court.

I plan to put the war on trial by asking for a jury trial.

Tomorrow I have to make my plea “not guilty”, and be fingerprinted. We
will wait for my arraignment in room D11 on the first floor and then
go into the court when called so I can make my plea. I am asking people
to leave the signs outside and remove t shirts when we go into the
court so that I am not charged with contempt. We will give out press
releases outside and discuss the criminality of this war.

In New York State, unlike New Jersey and California, malls are
considered private property not public space. It is time to change this law.
It is immoral that while two or three American soldiers die everyday,
and scores of Iraqi civilians, we are not allowed to call out their
names in the mall so that as one mall security officer said,”we like to
create a pleasant shopping environment for our customers.” How pleasant
is the war. They want us to keep shopping and put our moral sense on
hold.

I believe that it is time for us to be non-violently and civily
uncooperative with this war. Following the way of Gandhi and Dr. Martin
Luther King, I believe there is a higher law that I adhere to.

The soldiers have not been treated well either in the way they were
supplied in Iraq, their pay, their medical treatment, the hostage taking
known as stop-loss,the denial of just disability and educational
benefits, and this is a small part of the victims of the war. The Iraqi
people did nothing to us; had nothing to do with 9/11 and they are ravaged
and suffering with the occupation. While the war goes on, we are
expected to ignore it and keep shopping. I read the names of the dead as
adherence to this higher moral law. We have to save as many precious
lives as we can by stopping this war as soon as we can. I will not be the
last to do this. I am not the first. Thank you John for inspiring me.

Much Love,
Susan McKeon-Steinmann

Time: Wednesday May 21, 2008 at 6:51 am

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