IVAW Northeast Winter Soldier Hearings, Rochester NY, October 4, 2008
I had never been to Rochester before, and as I walked into Monroe Community College I was surprised to see the large gathering and high energy of the activists there -- members and supporters of both IVAW and the Campus Antiwar Network. The two sessions, one devoted to background of the war and the other devoted to soldiers' testimony, we both well received. The IVAW members were particularly eloquent, including an active duty soldier who spoke about his developing antagonism to the war and his growing difficulty as a gay in the military; and a recently released ex-soldier who spoke in trembling horror about the brutal person she had become during her days in Iraq.
The high point of the day was the march to the VA. IVAW had wanted to protest at the VA, to complain about the many problems vets experience getting needed treatment, but then hesitated because the Rochester VA was closed on Saturday, the day of the event. Eventually, they decided that this was a good reason to focus the protest there, since Saturday closure was one of the many complaints vets had about the service they receive. Between 200 and 300 people marched over a mile to the center, heard a moving speech by a Vietnam vet who has had to deal with that very facility over the years, and marched back, blocking a main road and chanting continuously the whole time. Instead of being exhausted, everyone who participated was energized by the spirit of the day, and by the promise that further - hopefully successful - action would be taken to open the VA on weekends and improve service for the veterans in Rochester.
I had never been to Rochester before, and as I walked into Monroe Community College I was surprised to see the large gathering and high energy of the activists there -- members and supporters of both IVAW and the Campus Antiwar Network. The two sessions, one devoted to background of the war and the other devoted to soldiers' testimony, we both well received. The IVAW members were particularly eloquent, including an active duty soldier who spoke about his developing antagonism to the war and his growing difficulty as a gay in the military; and a recently released ex-soldier who spoke in trembling horror about the brutal person she had become during her days in Iraq.
The high point of the day was the march to the VA. IVAW had wanted to protest at the VA, to complain about the many problems vets experience getting needed treatment, but then hesitated because the Rochester VA was closed on Saturday, the day of the event. Eventually, they decided that this was a good reason to focus the protest there, since Saturday closure was one of the many complaints vets had about the service they receive. Between 200 and 300 people marched over a mile to the center, heard a moving speech by a Vietnam vet who has had to deal with that very facility over the years, and marched back, blocking a main road and chanting continuously the whole time. Instead of being exhausted, everyone who participated was energized by the spirit of the day, and by the promise that further - hopefully successful - action would be taken to open the VA on weekends and improve service for the veterans in Rochester.
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Thank you for coming to the event and helping make it the success it was.
~Polly Miller
www.rochesteragainstwar.org
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