Archived: Feb 04, 2008

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> Editorial

Letter to the Editor - 2/4/08

I am writing in response to a Letter to the Editor printed in the January 28th issue by AJ Piwarun regarding the counter recruitment action organized by the Progressive Students of Milwaukee at the Klotsche center. This letter is littered with inaccuracies, slander and baseless accusations; I am writing you to clear up these inaccuracies and expose the baseless slander that Mr. Piwarun has spewed, as well as to present what actually happened that day.

Mr. Piwarun stated that the protesters were “holding signs that were intentionally designed to decrease morale for military reservists on campus.” This is untrue; the protesters merely aimed to present a side not often mentioned by recruiters. One sign referred to a Department of Defense study which found that 30 percent of female veterans reported rape or attempted rape during active duty. Of that group, 37 percent said they had raped more than once; 14 percent reported having been gang raped. Perhaps even more tellingly, a small study financed by the V.A. following the Gulf War suggests that rates of both sexual harassment and assault rise during wartime.

Mr. Piwarun also slanders the protesters by claiming they were “attacking those that defend [our] freedoms” and that they called those serving in the military “’murderers’ and ‘fascists’ in uniform,” implying that the protesters didn’t consider those serving to be people. What Mr. Piwarun failed to recognize was that the protest was not about the military in general or about those who serve and that there were numerous veterans participating in the protest. This protest was organized by the Progressive Students of Milwaukee - a group that works closely with veteran groups and actually has members who are themselves veterans – and attended by members of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Not a single protester attacked those serving (much less calling them “murderers” or “fascists”).

It is quite clear that Mr. Piwarun’s statements hold absolutely no merit, and that this libeling of political opponents while using the tired, empty rhetoric of “Support the troops? Support freedom? Support the occupation,” is nothing more than the lowest form of ideological grandstanding. Mr. Piwarun’s credibility is further tarnished by the recent scandal in which he was implicated regarding his illegal use of student tuition to further his own political ambitions with Students for Responsible Government (new student government party splitting off of SUFC, same issue interesting choice of words considering the circumstances surrounding its founding). It is quite clear that Mr. Piwarun doesn’t care about our freedoms, as he is so keen to break the laws upon which our society is founded, nor does he care about the sentiments of the troops, as he is so quick to attack those troops opposed to the war; his only care is that of furthering his own political agenda at any cost.

There is a reason that “politically liberal groups” (i.e. groups that are opposed to Mr. Piwarun’s agenda) have dominated the campus for so long. As he rightly stated, the line is drawn; we won’t stand for such dirty tactics.

There will be opposition; unlike Piwarun’s, however, ours will be legitimate.

James Lazar
Progressive Students of Milwaukee

> Comments

Daniel V. Bahr on Feb 04, 2008 at 01:26 AM:

Should anti-war groups spend time protesting military recruiting operations?

First of all it is anyone's right to do so. However, having the right to do something does not make it a worthwhile activity. How would you suggest Mr. Lazar that the military find new members? Do you not want to have a military? I consider myself to be much less conservative than is Mr. Piwarun. In fact, I typically support Democrats. However, in speaking with Mr. Piwarun about this incident he brings up some good points. The military needs to find new members. They have always needed to. Its silly and its a waste of time to protest their presence on campus. If students want to join they can, if they don’t like the military they don't have join. Any intelligent person knows what joining the military means. No one needs to be reminded of the facts and/or half-truths presented by a group of very biased anti-war activists/students. I feel that students should be able to obtain an unbiased viewpoint before deciding. Most probably do. It would be more productive for anti-war groups to protest political policy decisions of the Bush administration. This is an area that is much more ripe for the picking.

I will not give credibility to the discussion of alleged "scandal" by Mr. Piwarun's new STUDENT ORGANIZATION supposedly printing off organizational material on a shared STUDENT ORGANIZATION printer. Scandals typically involve some type of substantive action(s). I remember in last year’s election (2007) when the far left wing “Milwaukee Panther Party” handed out condoms (paid for with student segregated fee dollars) to corral votes. Clearly, this was a violation of IEC election rules and bylaws, not a scandal.

Even if Mr. Piwarun did in fact print out this material on the shared STUDENT ORGANIZAION printer for his STUDENT ORGANIZATION, (Its questionable whether he did this or not) it would not be a scandal. Further, it is not even clear if it’s a violation of the rules. He has a student organization and the printer is for student organizations to use. The upcoming SA elections are not ongoing. Whether or not he printed this material, it’s hardly “corruption” or a “scandal.” If you think it is you need to get a life. A more pertinent question to Mr. Lazar:

Would you show the same outrage if one of your far left wing friends took the aforementioned action described above? We both know that they have broken the rules before.

Let me answer that for you with my opinion honestly: I DOUBT IT!

Daniel V. Bahr

Steve Jones on Feb 04, 2008 at 08:48 AM:

The military is a volunteer military. No one is forced to join. Do you really believe that you are going to persuade someone to not join the military by holding up signs with questionable statements on them?

Your trying to convince someone who is ready to serve their country, and even risk dying for it to preserve your freedoms, not to join the military. If you can persuade them not to join, you should really think about becoming a car salesmen, because that is an extremely hard pitch to sell, especially with the questionable statements that the protests make.

What you should be doing is protesting the politics that are behind the military, not the military itself. If your upset with the way the military is operating, write to your congressmen and senators, and express this resentment to them, not to the recruiters, who mind you, serve their country as well.

I am in agreement with Dan Bahr.

Steve Jones

Johnny Rotten on Feb 04, 2008 at 11:18 AM:

Steve, I loved your work with the Sex Pistols and Neurotic Outsiders.

You may want to ask yourself the following: If these tactics are such a waste of time, why can't right wingers like AJ Piwarun ignore them?

Also, you are right that no one is forced to join the military. However, many people ARE forced to remain in the military after their contract expires.

Lastly, it is in the interest for our politicians to continue to be an occupying force. It is not in the interest of the youth who sign up, hoping to serve their country. Talking to the politicians is preaching to the choir. They already know the true nature of U.S. imperialism.

Allyson Wartick on Feb 04, 2008 at 12:19 PM:

"There is a reason that “politically liberal groups” (i.e. groups that are opposed to Mr. Piwarun’s agenda) have dominated the campus for so long.”

So.... we have an agenda, and you guys are the oppressed, right?

I don't get why people can't see that both sides here are fighting to preserve what they believe about the country.

There will be opposition, both sides, of course. We have opposing viewpoints, go figure! They're going to clash and each side will do what they can to prove that they're really the right ones, but in a student body as apathetic as UWM, I have to wonder who really cares anymore.

Go back to high school and stop beating each other up with this repetitive and childish stuff. If you have an agenda to run, then get out and run it.

Editor Editor!! “Mr. Piwarun” wrote something that offended my sensibilities!

Who cares? A conservative speaks out, and the world is supposed to stop turning? So much for free speech! Excuse us for voicing our opinions, I didn’t know that freedom of speech doesn’t apply to conservatives. Silly me, I’ve only been on campus one semester and I apparently haven’t gotten all too hip yet.

You protest, and you're "exposing the imperialist right" blah blah blah... we go out and counter protest, and we're "racist sexist homophobic..." and the mantra goes on and on.

I respectfully disagree, and I plan to just go about my business working for the apparent "vast right wing conspiracy"... I'm not trying to take over the world, I just want to make sure that my constitutional rights and freedoms are upheld to protect what I believe in.

Aaron Jeske on Feb 05, 2008 at 02:28 PM:

So I'm still left with the unanswered question as to why these recruiters were targeted. If the "liberally minded groups" would get their heads straight then they would realize that protesting good, upstanding marines for crimes that other recruiters have committed they look like nothing more than a bunch of anti-military/war protesters that are about a dime a dozen these days.

Daniel Ginsberg-Jaeckle on Feb 07, 2008 at 01:55 PM:

To Aaron Jeske and Dan Bahr,

So you don't understand our tactics. I wouldn't expect either of you to. Here's a couple suggestions: (1)Read a book; (2)Get involved with organizing.

Once you two prove yourselves to be well read in the basics of community organizing and prove to be credible organizers, than maybe we can open debate to you on our decided tactics.

Until then, it's pretty laughable that all you do is make comments. What I want to see is for you two to try to counter our counter recruitment with some action. Like I said before, I'd love to see that get started!

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Daniel V. Bahr on Feb 08, 2008 at 08:21 PM:

Mr. Ginsberg-Jaeckle,

Please, if you want to change the way the military operates, then you need to change the policies. To change policies, you need to change elected officials. I have worked for years to elect people who I have felt would implement solid government policies. Many of them have won. Some have lost. One thing is clear, the methods I use are obviously superior than yours. Further, as I am about to graduate with a Masters Degree in Political Science and Non Profit Management, I am proud of ALL the reading I have done. I do not need to demonstrate anything to you. You are not the only one who organizes. This is clear from the number of people in public office who share your fringe viewpoints. The fact is, whether they be Democrats or Republicans there are not many people in office who do. As anyone can see, your "tactics" are VERY ineffective.