if( inline_cta_text_356034 !='' ){ As someone with veterans and service members in her family, she’s grateful for the chance to support About Face’s work day-to-day through operational upkeep, grassroots fundraising, and whatever needs doing. I watched an older white woman in a “Joe Biden Sucks, Nancy Pelosi Swallows” T-shirt gleefully dancing to Michael Jackson’s falsetto (“But the kid is not my son!”). Yet, tellingly, the closest we came to outing ourselves—before later pulling off our disguises to expose black “About Face: Veterans Against The War” shirts—was during the national anthem. “Their blood is on your hands. Thousands of them participate in groups like Veterans for Peace and About Face: Veterans Against the War. About Face Veterans Against The War. }. Still, a little caution is in order before canonizing a crew that, lest we forget, has neither won nor opposed a generation’s worth of unethical wars that shouldn’t have been fought. He goes on to emphasize that Biden enabled the war and also awarded the “man who caused the war.” He is referring to the Veterans Day ceremony of 2018, when Biden presented President George W. Bush with the Liberty Medal for his “support of veterans,” according to About Face: Veterans Against the War. Michael Thurman, 32, is an active member of the anti-war veterans’ organization About Face: Veterans Against The War (formerly called Iraq Veterans Against the War). Please lift up our voices. “Veterans from across the country have been messaging me this week, asking about the organization, who to contact, how to find people in their communities, what I am doing to organize a group here, how to donate, and on and on.”. jQuery("#inline_cta_btn_356034 a input").css("background",inline_cta_bg_color_356034); Portland was just one epicenter of protest that week, but the city made headlines for the deployment and behavior of agents from the Department of Homeland Security. Notably, such rates of anti-war sentiment exceed those of civilians, something for which there may be no precedent. They define its meaning, its symbolism, and its proper use, not to speak of whom it represents. As police riots swamped cities from Portland to Rochester, New York, veteran volunteers continued to show up — documenting police misbehavior on video and sometimes serving as a liaison between protesters and police. var inline_cta_2_button_text_356034 = ''; #DropTheMIC #VetsVsHate #VetsOrganize #EndTheWars #DecolonizeThisPlace. What I do know is what my favorite rock star, Bruce Springsteen, used to repeat before live renditions of his song “Born to Run”: Remember, in the end nobody wins, unless everybody wins. For our small group of multi-war/multi-tour combat veterans, it was hard not to wonder whether many of these flag-and-weaponry enthusiasts had ever seen a shot fired in anger or sported Old Glory on a right-shoulder uniform sleeve. } David was beaten by federal forces in Portland on Aug. 26, just three days after Jacob Blake was shot and nearly killed by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin in front of his children. The crowd, after all, was vanilla. McPhearson’s successor as VFP director, Garett Reppenhagen, was among those arrested for climbing the flagpoles at the BOK Center to raise a Black Lives Matter flag. inline_cta_text_356034 = '
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'; tn_keyword: ['donald-tru', 'george-flo', 'military-i', 'us-militar'], tn_pos: 'rectangle_1', As vets were doing so in mid-September, the LA Wall’s main organizer put her own body between LAPD and protesters, suffering a leg wound from a rubber bullet. But veterans have also played an active role in the uprising led by the Movement for Black Lives. cta_2_check_356034 = true; if( inline_cta_url_356034 !='' ){ For Reprints and Permissions, click here. “Should American taxpayers from lower-income areas be subsidizing the lifestyles of the rich and famous?". Noting that organizers had formed a “Wall of Moms” between protesters and police, he said that there should be a similar wall of veterans supporting Black Lives Matter. About Face: Veterans Against the War, New York, New York. From marching in the streets to forming human walls of protection around protesters, veterans are playing a quiet but important role in demanding racial justice. “Trump 2020: Fuck Your Feelings” was a fan favorite. inline_cta_url_356034 = 'https://www.thenation.com/donate-website/?sourceid=1020084'; In order to comment, you must be logged in as a paid subscriber. In Tulsa, Oklahoma during Trump’s June 20 visit, About Face and VFP were there to provide on the ground training for the local “Unify Tulsa” coalition — along with Grassroots Global Justice, Climate Justice Alliance, It Takes Roots, BlackOut Collective and the Ruckus Society. Then there was the powerful visual statement of Marine Corps veteran Todd Winn, twice wounded in Iraq, who stood for hours outside the Utah state capitol in the sweltering heat in full dress uniform with the message “I Can’t Breathe” taped over his mouth. jQuery("#inline_cta_2_356034").html(inline_cta_2_text_356034); David had asked them, “I still honor the oath I took. If Joe Biden ever takes the helm, expect these former flag officers to go mute on this country’s forever wars waged in Baghdad and Baltimore alike. For more information, visit our Privacy PolicyX, A military veteran against Trump in Washington, DC. It includes veterans groups on the left, like About Face and the Working Families Party-affiliated Vets For the People, as well as the Republican-leaning “Veterans Coalition” convened by the Lincoln Project. By using this website, you consent to our use of cookies. magazine_button_text_356034 = ''; Our struggle is, at least in part, over who gets to define patriotism. var cta_1_check_356034 = false; This coverage portrays veterans as all on one side of the uprising that began on Memorial Day with the death of George Floyd. About Face: Veterans Against the War 995 views. Schrader earned a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Hawaii and is the author of Fight to Live, Live to Fight: Veteran Activism After War. To become a member of About Face: Veterans Against the War, valid proof of service is required. var inline_cta_2_bg_color_356034 = ''; N.Y.C. By signing up to receive emails, you agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation's journalism. Postal Service” rally in upstate New York on Aug. 19, Army veteran Colleen Boland wore a “Wall of Vets” T-shirt and told the crowd: “I am here today to say [that] the nation’s veterans are here to fight for safe and secure voting for our black and brown brothers and sisters.” Wall of Vets now boasts 22 chapters across the country, and Dan Nisevich serves as its executive director. They see it as theirs—and only theirs. inline_cta_button_text_356034 = ''; var magazine_text_356034 = ''; tn_ptype: 'article', We can guess though, since the late Tom Petty’s family quickly denounced the use of his rock song “I Won’t Back Down” at the rally. Recall, for example, that Saint Mattis resigned his post not over his department’s complicity in the borderline genocide underway in Yemen or pointlessly escalatory drone strikes in Somalia, but in response to a mere presidential suggestion of pulling US troops out of the quicksand of the Syrian conflict. To become a member of About Face: Veterans Against the War, valid proof of service is required. Most were careful to stay out of the limelight. It was June 20 and we anti-war vets had traveled all the way to Tulsa, Okla., in the midst of a pandemic to protest President Trump’s latest folly, an election 2020 rally where he was to parade his goods and pretend all was well with this country. If you liked this article, please donate $5 to keep NationofChange online through November. var is_user_logged_in = getCookie('SESSname'); cta_1_check_356034 = true; Schrader is excited to offer the inaugural Veterans’ Voices class to UCI students. There were early signs of a shift among those post-9/11 boots-on-the-ground types. Over the months that followed, multiple peaceful demonstrations were met with similar “nonlethal munitions,” tear gas and the so-called “kettling” of protesters, which involves surrounding them with large cordons of officers to control their movement. if( inline_cta_2_bg_color_356034 !='' ){ Frequently sharing space with Old Glory were images of (often military-grade) weaponry, skulls (one wearing an orange toupee), and anti-liberal slogans. About Face: Veterans Against the War, an anti-war veteran’s organization, identifies the man as Michael Thurman, an Air Force veteran and conscientious objector that is a member of the organization. ABOUT FACE: VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR: NEW YORK FOREIGN NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION: WRITE REVIEW: Address: 676 Elm Street Law Offices Of Elizabeth Reinhardt Suite 300 Concord, Penn 01742: Registered Agent: About Face: Veterans Against The War… jQuery("#inline_cta_2_module_356034").addClass("tn-inline-cta-module"); Nor did deliberately visible veteran’s gear offer any salvation from the instantly jeering crowd, as the rest of us were being escorted to the nearest exit and tossed out. tn_articleid: [356034], At its first notes—we were still waiting in the arena’s encircling lobby—our whole team reflexively stood at attention, removed our hats, faced the nearest draped flags, and placed our hands upon our hearts. tn_author: ['danny-s'], targeting:{ Conservatism has made 'social' a dirty word. } Thus was born ContinuetoServe.vet, which now has dozens of members and works closely with D.C.-based Black organizations. Today’s rising doubt and opposition has three main components: retired senior officers, younger combat veterans, and—most disturbingly for national-security elites—rank-and-file serving soldiers and National Guardsmen. And thousands of veterans have formed a Frontline Election Defenders team to use skills honed in the military to protect polling stations and post offices. var inline_cta_2_font_color_356034 = ''; Truthfully, America’s “thanks for your service” hyper-adulation culture has never been more than the thinnest of veneers. Nervous joking then ensued about the absurdity of wearing the Trump “camouflage” that had eased our entrance. if( inline_cta_2_button_text_356034 !='' ){ Their combined membership is in the tens of thousands. cta_2_check_356034 = true; I couldn’t help but wonder how those artists would feel about the way the Trump campaign had co-opted their songs. magazine_text_356034 = 'Subscribe today and Save up to $129.
'; var magazine_button_url_356034 = ''; } Hopping metal barriers and penetrating a sizable line of cops and National Guardsmen seemed to ensure a fruitless trip to jail, so into the under-attended indoor rally we went, to—successfully, it turned out—find a backdoor route to those flagpoles. “And we will not stop in our support of the BLM movement until all citizens are treated equally.”. inline_cta_2_font_color_356034 = '#ffffff'; }else{ EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. We are Post-9/11 service members and veterans organizing to end a foreign policy of permanent war and the use of military weapons, tactics, and values in communities across the country. “Today many will be asking you to take a moment of silence to honor our fallen brethren. The exchange went as follows: VETERAN: I’m an Air Force Veteran, here with an Army Veteran. The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is 5798617. Long before other veterans mobilized, the 35-year-old organization Veterans For Peace, or VFP, has been wrestling with how they can best support Black lives. inline_cta_2_font_color_356034 = '#ffffff'; Many of the 89 former defense officials who expressed “alarm” in a Washington Post op-ed over the president’s response to the nationwide George Floyd protests, as well as other retired senior military officers who decried President Trump’s martial threats at the time, had widespread name recognition. } tweet; This past month ... formerly known as Iraq Veterans Against the War. cta_2_check_356034 = true; He also sits on the board of directors for Veterans for Peace and About Face: Veterans Against the War. However much we veterans reputedly fought for “our freedom,” that freedom and the respect for the First Amendment rights of anti-war, anti-Trump vets that should go with it evaporates with remarkable speed in such situations. The first crew, those senior officers, have received just about the only media attention, even though they may, in the end, prove the least important of the three. You may unsubscribe or adjust your preferences at any time. In the month since George Floyd’s death, I’ve gotten nearly 100 messages from servicemen saying they were ready to quit. The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is 3811097. if( magazine_button_bg_color_356034 !='' ){ And it still remains an open question whether the array of activist groups that About Face and Veterans for Peace have so recently stood in solidarity with will show up for our future anti-war endeavors. 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