 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Behind the Red Door at Franklin Mills MallBy Sandy FultonWhat's the "Army Experience?" According to the website of the Army Experience Center at Franklin Mills Mall, it offers "the latest in technology, interactivity and gaming. . . an unparalleled interactive experience, designed and built by the world's premier land force." "Land force?" Last I heard, the Army was a military arm of the US government, the same outfit that euphemized the word "kill" to "take out" and more recently to "neutralize." This high-tech, slick, ultra-expensive Army Experience Center offers young kids, including those coming from the nearby skateboard park and food court, a wonderful experience in learning the various ways to do away with an enemy by practicing vicarious killing—whoops, "neutralizing"—in gory video games. The whole Center is a game palace for death and destruction, the latest huckstering device for recruiting military cannon fodder.
But the military recruiters who run it (disguised in civilian-looking jogger suits) think of themselves as educators. Using tax money taken away from the federal budget for public education, they "educate" the young about exotic locales, the cushy military life, and the unlikely chance of being trained in something which might be worthwhile in a civilian career. Besides all these good things, the recruiters go into schools and poor neighborhoods—not to recruit, of course! Heaven forbid. No, they "educate" poorly performing students in a few basic skills like reading, drop-outs in how to pass a GED test, and both in the Army entrance exam. But they don't educate the young about endless fear, sleep deprivation, rape and murder of women soldiers, inadequate armor and equipment, electrocution from bad wiring, soldiers on roadsides with their legs or heads blown away, vermin, blasting heat and withering cold, food poisoning, lack of pure drinking water, bad officering, bad shelter, hostile stares from people who resent being invaded and violated. They say nothing of the rising epidemic of veteran and active duty suicides, or PTSD, head trauma, paraplegia, missing eyes and arms, and other lifelong crippling wounds. The curriculum used by the recruiters never mentions any of these. So a few planners decided to bring the missing pieces of learning to the educators and pay a call on the Army Experience Center at Franklin Mills Mall. VVAW's local contact, Executive Director of Delaware Valley Veterans for America (DVVFA), and VFP member Bill Perry, scouted out the mall three times, took surreptitious photos for location purposes, and a whole lot of co-planners began networking together. IVAW, VVAW, several VFP chapters from Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, Brandywine Peace Community, World Can't Wait, Grannies for Peace, and groups from as far away as DC and New York City responded to each other's phone calls and emails and came up with a plan. Some would come to the Center early and try to see what was in the videos. Others would go inside and "freeze"—stand still for several minutes. A date was set for the gathering, Monday, February 16, and the planners began going out to a few others who could keep it secret. There were a couple of other rules besides keeping the action confidential: wear no political gear on outer clothing and don't use the demonstration to do a "promo" of a particular group. The sole purpose was to make a planned, collective effort to save the kids inside the Army Experience Center and get the word out to high school journalists. As Secretary of DVVFA, I learned of it quickly from Bill and wanted to get in on the action. I'd been a Vietnam era recruiter and had resigned from the Navy because I couldn't stand the hypocrisy of recruiting. In the words of my resignation letter, I objected "to US foreign policy, specifically to the war in Vietnam." Since I'll be 73 next month I may have been the oldest one coming to this demo at the Army Experience Center. One of the youngest was young Jesse Hamilton, Iraq veteran and former Army drill Sergeant. He wasn't the only IVAW Iraq veteran at this action, and he also belongs to DVVFA, which, I'm proud to say, displayed an age spread of about 50 years last Monday. DVVFA turned out nine members for this event. Some of us have been active in other peace vet organizations, too, and here we are in alpha order: Sam Adams (Army, also VVAW), Pete Brunner (Marines, also VVAW), Robert Dennen (Navy), Sandy Fulton (Navy, also VVAW, VFP), Jesse Hamilton (Army, also IVAW), Al Kovnat (Army, also VVAW, VFP), Bill Perry (Army, also VVAW, VFP), Nancy Smith (Associate, also of VFP), Ray Smith (Army, also President of South Jersey Chapter of VFP). Surprisingly since it was a work-day, about fifty of us, mostly young, showed up between 11:00 AM and noon at sprawling Franklin Mills Mall, finding our way to the correct building thanks to Bill's directions and photos. He'd furnished a photo of the mall's huge Red Door, which (like the other enormous mall doors, Aqua, Green, Orange and Yellow) were conspicuous a mile away. Inside the Red Door I sauntered into the food court, where we were gathering. Final plans were made. In the bathrooms we removed our jackets and acquired signs reading WAR IS NOT A GAME taped to our backs. Two by two, with jackets back on, we went out into the rotunda, around the corner into the Army Experience Center, where I spoke with women from Grannies for Peace who were playing but not enjoying the bloody games, alongside a few youngsters. The secret was out. There was nearly one cop to every two "freeze" activists (20 or more cops to 50 activists). At the prearranged time of 12:05 PM we threw off our jackets and stood absolutely still. The plan was to do a "freeze" for five minutes, but it was shorter since the cops came by and threatened to arrest us if we didn't move out. Even so, we made our point, and my only disappointment was that no high school newspaper reporters had shown up. It turned out they had been overlooked, not even invited — but there will be a next time. It's the vulnerable high school kids who need to know what this place really stands for. As a former recruiter, I had to speak to the "educators." I dawdled out slowly, confronted a group at the entrance, and said, "I used to be in charge of all women's recruiting for the Third Naval District, but resigned because of the Vietnam War. Leaving a Navy career was my wake-up, and since then I've been protesting for peace. That's why I'm here." One young man replied, "You have that right," either a canned reply, or trying to convince himself that he had the "right" to lure teenagers and sub-teens into the killing profession. Most of the recruiters turned away, but I believe one of the women might have been sympathetic to us, because I detected a painful smile. Hopefully she'll be a new recruit for IVAW, as other former recruiters have been. Someone else in our group came up to talk to her, and I went hastily out into the rotunda since I saw Bill being forced outside the building through the Red Door (for the third time!) by Mall police — for taking photos. They were hurrying him along, so I stayed to speak with a policewoman. She was as young as most of the recruiters. I asked, "Why can't we demonstrate inside?" She said we had to leave because it was "private" property. I said, "Then, the Red Door is appropriate. Kicking out peaceful demonstrators reminds me of growing up in one of the Red States in the Deep South, and the Soviet Russia and Red China. It's funny, I thought our taxes paid for recruiting stations, didn't you? So how could they be private property? Seems to me they should rightly belong to whoever foots the bill. Which means they should be the taxpayers' property. OUR property." She had no answer, but it still seems to me like a good question. Today, February 18, 2009, Jack Kline, one of our DVVFA activists, a former Marine who wanted to be at the demo but had to be at work, sent around the current casualty report.
Nor can we ignore the latest count, from January 3 this year, of self-inflicted troop suicides in Iraq and Afghanistan. Suicide attempts have left 176 dead, 11 undetermined after investigation, and 16 pending investigation. The DOD doesn't count how many veterans kill themselves after returning home, but we from DVVFA, who have displayed the Sea of Tombstones at the Liberty Bell on commemorative holidays since 2005, know that this number is even higher. We see their faces, we know their stories—and often the ones who loved them. It means that thus far 215 Pennsylvanians have been KIA in both wars, plus tens of thousands of wounded and an indeterminate number of suicides. That was why peace veteran Bill Perry asked the most important question in an email to me after the demonstration: "And the Army Experience wants MORE?" Sandy Fulton is proud to be a member of VVAW and Delaware Valley Veterans for America.
|
