Nonviolence or Nonexistence

Mazin Qumsiyeh writes:

Here we are on the road again with the very colorful Wheels of Justice bus tour. The prominent slogan on the side of the bus is the most appropriate message for this week of violence. In big letters we have “Nonviolence or Nonexistence” visible for the thousands who saw the bus in the past few days. In addition to our usual talks, we pass generic strip malls with the usual burger joints, shoppers of made-in-China trinkets and cloths, and residents of motels named Cozy Inn, Snoozy Inn and Comfort Inn. Here and there colleges and universities pop-up and we table in front of student center and quads everywhere. Here and there church and school goers see us. People in sprawling housing developments as well as farmers and ranchers greet us. Along the way we get lots of thumbs up, honkings of approval, and peace signs. When we stop at diners or in parking lots of universities, colleges and schools, many rush to give us words of encouragment and an occasional donation to keep us going. We had over 20 talks in one week (at three churches, two community colleges, four universities, five high school classes, three demonstrations, one hour live TV program, a radio program, and informal gatherings at places like a Multicultural Center and a Catholic Worker house). We dined at Arabic restaurants owned by Palestinian Americans (including one whose brother was of the LA8 group recently cleared after nearly 20-year legal ordeal). We stayed at homes of activists and got inspired by those who do great work (ranging from daily demonstration in Corvallis to regular letter writing to the editor by an activist in Albany, OR). We post some of our public events at http://justicewheels.org and we hope you will join us or organize events for us. We like to stay busy and do 5-7 events a day (we can also split our team in case there is a conflict as we did yesterday when Mike Miles spoke in Portland colleges while I spoke in a high school and a Mennonite Church nearby). In all events, we bring eyewitness accounts to occupations, colonizations, and oppression highlighting the need to address these root causes of violence. Here is a 50 minute video of the Women in Black demonstration in Portland, Oregon where the bus was featured and both Mike Miles and I spoke:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2675207947729912526

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