Hard Times for Good Causes

I have a weekly Bible Study with some of the guys from my school. One of the guys is a graduate of the university and teaches physics at the local high school. We know him through frisbee, and he joins us for our Thursday get togethers. He had something to share tonight. It seems his dad is going to be sentenced to a three to sixth month jail sentence. The crime: trespassing at the School of the Americas.

Formerly known as the SOA, in typical beareaucratic fashion it has been renamed and now falls under the moniker Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and is located in Fort Benning, Georgia. The school has come up on the radar of many a human rights group. Indeed, it was difficult to find information on the school amidst all the protest sites.

The renamed institute's official purpose is now:

...to provide professional education and training to eligible personnel of nations of the Western Hemisphere within the context of the democratic principles set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States ... while fostering mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating nations and promoting democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of United States customs and traditions.

I am a bit flabbergasted that the Army would have the audacity to pretend an emphasis on human rights. The record of abuses of graduates of the school is long and horrid. SOA Watch is one site which claims otherwise, and proudly stating that "We Are Going to Close the SOA!" Though they are a bit left-leaning for my tastes, I wish them luck. The school is, at a minimum, and egregious waste of taxpayer dollars. Closer to the truth though, it is our stamp of approval on state-sanctioned murder. I'd rather that were not on my conscience.

This from SOA Watch:

Over its 59 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. These graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people. Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, “disappeared,” massacred, and forced into refugee by those trained at the School of Assassins.

Not exactly a good track record. Still, this is old news for the most part. My point is not to call into question the SOA. That has been done many times, and much better than I could do in this space. Instead, I want to come at this one from a public relations angle. My friend's father is no doubt a bit perturbed that his protests are not getting anywhere. This is the third time he has trespassed; this is the reason for the pending prison term.

Yet, without a close link to the event, the school would have remained in the far reaches of my mind. There are two parallels that can easily be drawn that should serve to show the inefficacy of protests, at least at times.

The Libertarian and Green party presidential candidates were arrested in a mostly symbolic effort to draw attention to the nonsense surrouding the debates. Debates between two people who mostly agree are boring. Unfortunately, had I not visited the Libertarian website, I would not have known of the protest.

In like manner, every year there are protests outside the Minnesota state capital--as well as others--on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. My dear mother never feels we get enough press, and I cannot say I disagree with her. One would think that several thousand abortion foes marching in the snow would get a news story, and we do. Although, in an effort to show both sides, the cameras are inevitably filled with the handful of token protesters with their tired cliches of "my body, my choice".

The point of course, is the power the media has. Bloggers love to claim that we are changing this, but that is mostly rubbish. Dan Rather notwithstanding, the news media still runs the show most of the time. Without cameras, protests can be ineffective. Blogland is still but a fantasy realm, yet to wage a real war.

Still, it's worth taking a stand for the important things in life. We are not judged by the battles we win, but by the ones we choose to fight. Although the school may not be closed any time soon, that dear soul can rest peacefully behind bars, knowing he's doing something. One cannot but admire that kind of courage, and wonder where the rest of us are hiding our own.