|
Meeting Notes
Iran-Iraq Work Group Meeting, December 14, 2007
The group met at the First United Methodist Church. Oneonta, NY.
Present: Chris Brown, Chris Brunner, Jonathan Collett, Ken Fogarty, Dave Grodsky, Paddy Lane, Suzanne Miller, Eddie Rodriguez, Walter vom Saal
Letter re: Congressional responses: Dave had prepared a draft of a letter to the editor concerning congressional responses to our newspaper ad. Ken brought suggested changes. We discussed some of them and then delegated Dave, Ken, & C Brunner to finalize the wording, send it to Ed Lentz ASAP for his signature, so he can send it out. They will confer Sunday evening.
Vigil list: Chris Brown volunteered to compile a list of all the vigils in the area that could be written up and handed out to interested folks.
Engaging the public: We discussed how the one-on-one conversations with people in a less threatening environment--without signs that take a strong position--are the most fruitful in terms of being able to invite people to reconsider their positions. Where are public places that tables could be set up in the wintertime to do this? Christopher will investigate the county building in Delhi; Paddy will inquire about the walkway from the town parking lot to Main St in Oneonta. What are other spaces we could investigate?
What are some things we could do in the near future to engage more people in our issues?
The Norwich group may revive showing films at the Norwich Morrisville campus.
Two ideas were proposed for the Oneonta area:
An Iran campaign, which would include a petition that people would sign and also a sign-up sheet for other things people would be wiling to do regarding this issue. Paddy brought a draft of a half-page fact sheet about Iran that could be handed out during petitioning. Walter volunteered to work on editing the material. Rather than spending money on a newspaper ad (it would cost more than double the price of our last ad), we could post it on the CfD website and send a letter to the editor describing it.
A panel of speakers to help raise the profile about Iran, possibly Iraq Veterans Against the War--not only for public education purposes but also to help recruit new activists to make war issues more visible in the community. There was a panel in Ithaca recently which inspired this proposal --it drew 100 people and generated much energy for tackling issues of Iraq/Iran wars. One speaker was Prof. Beth Harris, who had just come back from a trip to Syria and Jordan--her analysis was excellent, and she included personal stories of refugees. The other speakers were: IVAW member Michael Blake, whose talk was very moving; Peter De Mott spoke about his action at Blackwater and his trial; the Randy Kuhl office occupation group also shared their experiences.
Beth Harris would have been available to speak here up until Jan 20, but folks decided that this doesn't give us enough lead time. We'll look to do something similar in late Jan or early Feb or as soon as possible. Ideas for speakers are welcome. It would be good to get students involved.
Upstate Antiwar Network: Paddy, Dave and Christopher reported briefly on the strategy session held in Syracuse on Dec. 1. About 30 people attended from cities all over upstate NY--weather prevented others from getting there. The group plans some form of direct action encompassing varying degrees of risk on the 6th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. Most of the day was spent brainstorming--ideas were shared on what the message would be, who are we targeting, types of actions, who is our audience, etc. A major event will be held in Washington DC and there will be activity around the state and probably in Albany during the 2 weeks surrounding the March 19 anniversary. Activities are being planned in DC and also on state and local levels. One thing that the Dec. 1 group spent much time on was clarifying that direct action is not merely civil disobedience, but could include a variety of actions and support for those actions encompassing varying levels of risk.
Notes taken by Paddy Lane
|
