What follows are my opening remarks for the Socialist Party’s Free Speech Forum In Defense of Lynne Stewart (which went very well, thanks to those of you who attended):
On behalf of the Socialist Party, I want to welcome you to our Free Speech forum in defense of human rights attorney Lynne Stewart. This forum is cosponsored by the New York City and New Jersey locals of the Socialist Party, and the party’s Direct Action Tendency. We have a really great panel tonight, with a number of crusading legal activists.
Before we begin, I want to address the terrible events of last Thursday. The Socialist Party USA issued a statement, from which I’d like to quote in relevant part:
The recent tragedy in London that resulted in murdering and maiming hundreds of working people, is a deplorable and de-humanzing act…It is our responsibility as brothers and sisters of humanity to condemn these acts of aggression and the imperialism of our governments in waging a war that results in untold victims…The murder of civilian non combatants, whether it be by individuals, groups or States, cannot be supported nor defended in the face of such brutal reality.
You know, when I first heard about Thursday’s bombings, my first thoughts were of the million-plus people who poured into the streets of London in February of 2003 to protest the war plans of their government and ours. That war against the people of Iraq was carried out by our governments, without our consent and without our support.
Why is it that the “blowback” for our governments’ actions is inflicted on those who are least likely to support it? Likewise, why is it that innocent civilians in Iraq – who were not likely to be great supporters of the Saddam Hussein regime – must suffer from the bombings, the loss of basic human services, the curfews and police checkpoints of the United States’ and Britain’s state-sponsored terrorism?
We’re caught in the middle of this cycle of violence that enhances the standing and power of demagogues and terrorists at the expense of our liberty and peace. Tony Blair’s poll numbers have gone up since Thursday, while George Bush lies (follow me here; some time travel may be required) that preventing the terrorism that resulted from his invasion of Iraq is somehow the reason that he invaded in the first place and he uses this to justify the continuation of this stupid war. Meanwhile, every day that goes by where US troops occupy Afghanistan and Iraq, every US dollar that flows into Israelli military spending, every new act of aggression means more recruits for terrorist networks like Osama bin Laden’s.
The collateral damage of this tit for tat is the spilling of innocent blood, the curtailment of our freedoms and the closing of our society. Already, we have teenage national guard troops defending Penn Station and other transportation hubs by machine gun. We have random security checkpoints and invasive searches. We have detainment and internment of “questionable” illegal aliens. We have increased domestic spying. We have criminal charges for those who dare to defend the constitutional rights of suspects. I fear what comes next.
I doubt that any of our three speakers tonight [Lynne Stewart, Shayana Kadidal and Daniel Gross] actually own a car, and if they do, I’d be surprised to see one of those “patriotic” magnetic ribbons on the bumper…but our three speakers tonight are true American patriots, defending our constitutional rights against those who would strip us of them and call out “traitor!,” “security risk!,” “terrorist!”
