Whatcom Peace & Justice Center in Bellingham, Washington
  • Home
  • Who we are
    • Blog
    • Press
    • Video
    • Archive of Newsletters
    • Financials
  • What we do
    • Learn with us
      • Timeline
      • Alternatives to Violence Workshop
    • Alternatives to Military Service
      • College opportunities
      • Opt-out of military recruitment
    • Whatcom Civil Rights Project
    • Resources for Community Use
    • Library
  • Get involved
    • Volunteer
  • 2022 International Day of Peace
    • Sponsor International Day of Peace
    • Peacemaker Awards
      • Nomination Forms
  • Donate
    • Become a monthly donor
    • Wish List
  • Home
  • Who we are
    • Blog
    • Press
    • Video
    • Archive of Newsletters
    • Financials
  • What we do
    • Learn with us
      • Timeline
      • Alternatives to Violence Workshop
    • Alternatives to Military Service
      • College opportunities
      • Opt-out of military recruitment
    • Whatcom Civil Rights Project
    • Resources for Community Use
    • Library
  • Get involved
    • Volunteer
  • 2022 International Day of Peace
    • Sponsor International Day of Peace
    • Peacemaker Awards
      • Nomination Forms
  • Donate
    • Become a monthly donor
    • Wish List
Search

MRAPs For Sale!: The Quiet Militarization of Our Lives Pt. I

5/28/2020

 
Author: Marii Herlinger, WPJC Intern
Too often, the topic of war is framed as either a thing of the past or as a primal activity only afflicting “underdeveloped” countries in places far away. Both of these assumptions are inaccurate. Worse, they perpetuate dangerous illusions of “safety” and “security” at home, while deflecting accountability from superpowers—like the United States—responsible for waging war on so many places. It is no accident how many people think of the military as a distinct and separate entity from their everyday lives. This veil we are under is a result of a grossly manipulated narrative(1) about what America needs defense against—and it has grave consequences.

In 2014, police in Watertown, Connecticut purchased a mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle with a retail price of $733,000  at the meager cost of $2,800. My sister bought her first used car at that price. And yet, a landmine has never been found in Watertown.(2)

Police forces in every state have the ability to procure such items through the 1033 program—or what the government so dreamily calls the Pentagon's Law Enforcement Support Office.(3) The 1033 program enables the Pentagon to distribute military equipment to local police departments per request. Items procured through the 1033 program are not released to the public, nor are the names of the agencies requesting them. 

The 1033 program is far from the only example of at-home militarism. Police departments have long prioritized military veterans in their hiring processes, a practice which the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program of the Department of Justice openly permits.(4)  Programs like COPS are bolstered by the guise that the military is our “great protector.” They assume that ordinary citizens will not think to challenge the notion of military training as helpful or necessary in law enforcement. The questions we need to be asking are: what kind of threats does the government foresee needing combat-trained officers for? What many atrocities could result from hiring officers with war PTSD? How can we address veteran unemployment without creating a funnel from the military to law enforcement? Programs like COPS fuel the narrative that a militaristic approach proves useful in domestic conflicts. As we are reminded from the long list of lives stolen and communities broken from police brutality, violence is never the solution. 

Other examples of militarism at home: the construction of military bases often dislocates entire communities(5), forcing them to leave the land where they once lived, danced, cooked, made homes, raised their babies, and laid their heads at night. Prisons, jails, immigrant detention centers, federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other structures of state violence perpetuate America’s long legacy of family separation and xenophobia. Bureaucratic complexities and high exposure criteria still bar so many downwinders (a term for those who live downwind of nuclear test sites and are thus subject to radioactive fallout) from receiving compensation. And, in the middle of a pandemic which has exposed the inadequacy of the American healthcare system, the Pentagon chooses to “honor” healthcare workers by authorizing expensive military flyovers. Meanwhile, the shortage of PPE in healthcare facilities is such that some hospitals have prohibited their workers from bringing their own masks since they cannot be guaranteed for everyone.(6) This is a serious misplacement of priorities.

How about honoring healthcare workers by supplying PPE and tests? How about replacing prisons and jails with life-affirming institutions? How about not creating populations of downwinders in the first place? How about severing the flow of equipment from the military to police agencies? How about creating a system of restorative justice that centers the needs of survivors of harm and prioritizes the health of the human body and spirit?

Picture
(Infographic “Healthcare Not Warfare Global Day of Action on Military Spending 2020” from The Global Campaign on Military Spending. For sources click the image above.)
When I refer to “the militarization of our lives,” I’m talking about how photographs of the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, could be mistaken for war zones. I’m talking about the reality that in far too many neighborhoods across America, kids can look out their windows and see tanks rolling down the street. I’m talking about the fact that the police can acquire MRAPs, combat gear, and military-grade equipment as if they are on sale at the mall.

We need a narrative shift and we need it now. The antiwar movement must include the constant acknowledgment that war abroad is inherently linked to war at home. Without active resistance to both, violence will continue to inform government responses to conflict across the globe and in our very backyards.

Here are some upcoming actions steps you can take to help fight militarism at home!

  • Join WPJC and student organizers from Shred the Contract, SUPER, and YDSA in this Community Caravan: A Day of Abolitionist Action, as they drive from the Whatcom Jail to WWU calling on university administration to terminate its contract with Aramark
  • Participate in a mutual aid project or fund (like this one or this one!)
  • Call Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey at (612) 673 - 2100 and DA Mike Freeman at (612) 348 - 5550 to demand justice for George Floyd who was murdered in a blatant act of domestic white terrorism
  • Protest for justice in Seattle for George Floyd, or attend the Vigil on Friday in Bellingham​, details below.

*This blog post is the first in an ongoing series of posts addressing the connection between militarism at home and abroad. More action items to come. 
Picture
1https://www.dictionary.com/e/misinformation-vs-disinformation-get-informed-on-the-difference/
2 https://www.newsweek.com/how-americas-police-became-army-1033-program-264537
3 https://www.npr.org/2014/09/02/342494225/mraps-and-bayonets-what-we-know-about-the-pentagons-1033-program
4 https://www.afsc.org/blogs/news-and-commentary/afscs-new-demil-school-chicago-youth-connect-militarism-home-and-abroad
5https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/chagossians-original-inhabitants-diego-garcia-face-us-government-court
6https://www.npr.org/2020/04/02/825200206/doctors-say-hospitals-are-stopping-them-from-wearing-masks

    Contributors

    We invite the WPJC community to contribute fact-checked submissions on local, national and global current events.  Linking to original sources and articles is required.   Submissions may be sent to office@whatcompjc.org for review. 

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Aramak
    Bellingham
    City Council
    Domestic Spying
    Law Enforcement
    Prison-industrial Complex
    Prison Labor
    Student Organizing
    Sustainable Food
    Whatcom County

    Archives

    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    June 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

The Whatcom Peace & Justice Center calls on our government and society to disavow policies of violence and seek a culture of peace.
  • Home
  • Who we are
    • Blog
    • Press
    • Video
    • Archive of Newsletters
    • Financials
  • What we do
    • Learn with us
      • Timeline
      • Alternatives to Violence Workshop
    • Alternatives to Military Service
      • College opportunities
      • Opt-out of military recruitment
    • Whatcom Civil Rights Project
    • Resources for Community Use
    • Library
  • Get involved
    • Volunteer
  • 2022 International Day of Peace
    • Sponsor International Day of Peace
    • Peacemaker Awards
      • Nomination Forms
  • Donate
    • Become a monthly donor
    • Wish List