The Smedley D. Butler Brigade of the Veterans for Peace hosted and organized the Saint Patrick’s Day Peace Parade in Boston this year.  When its request to march with the Allied War Veterans in the ‘traditional’ St. Patrick’s Day Parade was denied, as it has been in previous years, the organizers pulled a permit, and reached out to other groups!  The William Ladd Chapter of Veterans for Peace came from Maine, New Hampshire’s Chapter, and the Colonel Jeffrey M. Luce Cape Cod Chapter of Veterans for peace marched to the music of the Leftist Marching Band, with some family members carrying enlarged photos of their loved ones who had been lost to war, to honor their memories.  The Military Survivors Family organization marched as well.

St. Patrick was a man of peace, and would probably not smile at the tanks bristling with guns marching in his name; but I hope the joy and life and music of the St. Patrick’s Day Peace Parade would make him smile!  In fact, a stand in for St. Patrick marched, chasing the “snakes” of racism, sexism, and greed away!

Occupy Boston, Occupy Holyoke, Occupy Quincy, and Occupy Everywhere answered the call as well.  Colorful banners, Occupy drummers, and giant puppets marched in the bright sun.

The LGBT community marched, the group that most closely rivaled the Veterans for Peace in size.  Their joy at being in the parade, together, and marching was a joy to behold.  JoinTheImpactMA had a wonderful banner and decorated trolley.

Several churches marched in the Peace Parade as well.  Among them were the Wellesley Friends Meeting Quakers, The Peace Abbey, and Theodore Parker Church of Roxbury.

The only political party to join in the march was the Green Rainbow Party.

Richard Smith and his wife Ann drove at the head of the parade in an open convertible, with a joyous and very senior member of the Veterans for Peace, Severyn Bruyn, leading the way!

More than a thousand revelers marched through the streets of Boston to joyful drumming and the playing of a brass band, with most bystanders making the peace sign and applauding.

Article by Deborah Sirotkin Butler

St. Patrick’s Day Peace Parade bigger this year with addition of Occupy, other groups

The alternative parade was larger this year, with the addition of supporters of the Occupy movement, a faith group, and a labor group, said Cole Harrison, 58, a spokesman for Massachusetts Peace Action.

Steve Demetriou, 56, a member of Occupy Maine, came to the Peace Parade from Portland.

“[The Parade] is great,” said Demetriou. “A lot of solidarity and a lot of common issues is here. The establishment doesn’t want the boat rocked, and that’s what we’re here to do.”

ttp://tinyurl.com/73gbbld

Southie’s Green Day

Meanwhile, Occupy Boston occupied South Boston, marching in the alternative St. Patrick’s Day Peace Parade for the first time. A Veterans for Peace organizer said a judge has ordered that the Peace Parade must keep a mile between it and Boston’s “traditional” St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

http://tinyurl.com/7kblth9

Occupy Arlington kicks off with great weather, a good crowd, and many concerns for which to advocate

No tents. No rain and cold. But a lot of community enthusiasm, as 45 people stood in a circle in front of the Jefferson Cutter House on a gorgeous Sunday, March 18, and took turns at the mic to tell why they were part of Occupy Arlington.

The group, which marched from Town Hall to Arlington Center, was organized by Lynnette Culverhouse, a town resident who teaches math in Cambridge.

“I want have people talk to each other,” she said. “I would like to see people have a voice.”

http://tinyurl.com/6s46l98

OWS Is Not Over, Expect The American Spring

Occupy has been gathering steam for the American Spring. Just like our counterparts in other countries, we will continue to fight for our rights. We are not afraid to stand up to the corporate bullies and the politicians they’ve purchased. We will continue to demonstrate the power of non-violence in the face of unchecked violence; we will continue to work for healthy, self-sufficient communities; we will take a stand against injustice, inequality, and the oppressive forces that have slowly taken away our rights and stolen our government.

http://tinyurl.com/7tujp9r

Foreclosing on the commons

Call it feudalism, corporatism or the American way: the rich elite in the US have turned economic exploitation into something of an art. The top one per cent in the United States now control a quarter of the nation’s wealth, double the unhealthy share they held 25 years ago. But while their ability to control legislatures and presidents is impressive, the propertied elite may have let greed get the best of them. In their quest to redistribute wealth from the labouring classes to the idle ones, they have been a bit too successful: the exploited are waking up.

All it took for this stirring from slumber was the criminal collapse of the global economy and, for many in the US, the loss of the very roof over their heads – and the knowledge things weren’t going to be tangibly better anytime soon. Indeed, the foreclosure crisis is still sweeping the United States, with millions of people being thrown out of their homes every year. And yet, presented with a seemingly popular platform to political power – houses for working families, not bailed-out banks – the political class sides with its financiers, to the point that the fraud of electoral politics is now about as obvious as the fraud being perpetrated by the financial industry.

http://tinyurl.com/72h2gbr

Occupying Democracy: A Moral Revolution for Social Justice

The moral principle of revolutions is to instruct, not to destroy. -Thomas Paine, “First Principles of Government,” 1795.

Thomas Paine’s words, written 217 years ago, capture the core purpose of the Occupy movement.

The movement, at its heart, instructs us to honor one another and to ensure that government policy and our justice system reflect that ethic. It asks us to return to our founding principles.

http://tinyurl.com/72gktua