Category: Peace

Thinking about the People of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech

In 1992 Mathias drove me to Blacksburg for a Halloween party. That was one of the best weekends of my life. I cried on the way home to Richmond because I hated to leave. Most of the thanks for that heavenly few days is due to Mathaias Leppitsch. But meeting Ronda was also a really big deal. I’ll never forget the hand written letter from her describing how much she enjoyed my visit. Until that point I’d never felt loved so much as I did that weekend.

I loved Blacksburg so much I moved there the next summer. Why? The people of Blacksburg are awesome. The summer was so incredible I skiped the following fall semester of college.

Never have I met such a warm welcoming and fun group. It wasn’t just the click that I had been introduced to by Mathias and Martin but the whole town. Really. No joke. (Chapel Hill and Carrboro are close.) Every weekend jaunt up to the Bburg was an amazing time. I learned to really love life in Blacksburg. The people of this small town removed a giant black cloud from over my life.

I could write a pretty long chapter and maybe a book about my adventures there. Blacksburg was my oasis and safe haven. I left and returned to the New River Valley three times. The friendliness was so strong that friends of friends would lend you a place to lay your head even if they didn’t know you at all.

I miss Blacksburg once in awhile. Fortunately I’ve found another college town to call home. But no place will ever replace that beautiful Virginia mountain town.

Friends for Peace Photos

Computer Design Geek for Peace
The American Friends Service Committee has a really fun tool called Friends for Peace. You can upload an image of yourself holding a sign that has the words you choose before… for Peace.

Friends for Peace is a project of the American Friends Service Committee’s Wage Peace Campaign. Through Friends for Peace, people across the U.S. and around the world can put a face on the diverse majority who want to end the war in Iraq.

People from all walks of life now agree that invading Iraq was a mistake. Friends for Peace is a way to visually connect peace supporters and let everyone show a bit of their personality and individuality.

To join Friends for Peace, download one of our signs. Fill in a word or two that describes you (e.g. librarian, Red Sox fan, mother, etc.) and have a photo taken holding your sign.

So I made a sign with the words “Computer Design Geek for Peace”. Their wonderful online tool helped me put the words before the for Peace part then gave me a pdf to download. I printed out the pdf, took a picture of it with my MacBook Pro camera, then flipped it with Photoshop. The last part was nessesary because taking a picture of yourself with text is kinda like using a mirror for photography. Its all backward and stuff. Man am I a geek for peace or what.

All these pics end up on Flickr. There’s even a RSS feed of all the pics. Thanks to Ruby for showing me this neat activism tool.

One Million Blogs for Peace

On the right side bar of my blog I’ve put up a badge that links to a really interesting campaign. Its called One Million Blogs for Peace. Here’s some more explanation from their site. You can sign up here. Their blog is here.

The Concept
Between 20 March 2007 and 20 March 2008 (the fifth year of the war), we will attempt to sign up One Million Blogs for Peace. By signing up, a blogger is stating his or her agreement with The Pledge below. They will then be able to participate in various challenges launched by One Million Blogs for Peace. They will also be listed on this website with a link to their blog.

Bloggers may take The Pledge and sign up before the launch date of 30 March 2007 and will be declared an “Inblogural” (Inaugural Blog) of the movement.

The Pledge
I believe in the immediate withdrawal of all foreign combat troops from the nation of Iraq. I believe in using my blog, in whole or in part, as a tool toward this end.

Who’s Eligible
For the official count (toward 1,000,000), a blog must be based in the home country of a nation currently engaged in the Iraq War. As of now, those nations are: Albania, Australia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Additional blogs from other nations may list themselves as “Support Blogs”. While not counting toward the 1,000,000 count, these blogs will be eligible to participate in some of the challenges and will be listed in their own section.

Don’t forget to show up for a anti-war rally near you this Saturday March 17. Its the beginning of the fifth year of the war in Iraq. What a sad day… Find your local rally here at the United for Peace & Justice website.

Beyond Iraq: King is right!

America is so lucky to have had a human like Dr. Martin Luther King born among us. His work reaches way into the future and teaches us still. I’m confident many many future generations will benefit from his work.

When I listen to his speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence I want to cry. Not because of the horrors that he speaks against but because of the beauty of his soul. Dr. King was RIGHT! WAR IS WRONG!

Please read a transcript or listen to his Beyond Vietnam speech. It could so easily be said today and be called Beyond Iraq.
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MP3

Tomorrow during our time to honor this man think about how we may find peace in the world. He gave his energy and life so that we may find it.