Matthis & Samantha

The We Are Not Your Soldiers Tour made its debut trip to Philadelphia this past week. In four presentations in two urban schools approximately 90 high-school students saw the “Collateral Murder” video with commentary from Ethan McCord. Anti-war veteran and war resister Matthis Chiroux and World Can’t Wait Steering Committee member Samantha Goldman discussed with the young adults what these wars are really about along with giving students a sense of how they can resist. At both schools, word about the tour (along with orange We Are Not Your Soldiers bandanas) spread throughout the student body, inducing one teacher to bring her small class to join the presentation. Students who were not getting the tour in their class came in to say hi, to get a bandana or a shirt and to say no more military recruiters, expressing disappointment that their class was not getting to hear the anti-war vet.

Before this tour, the students (primarily low-income minority youth) did not have access to this anti-war message. Many of them have people in their lives who are in or were in the military. The We Are Not Your Soldiers Tour was brought to the youth because their teachers, both social studies educators, were exploring concepts relating to war in their class and had learned about the tour at a socially-conscious teacher gathering a couple weeks prior. The teachers also were worried that some of their students had expressed interest in enlisting. With the exception of a few, none of the students knew what Wikileaks was and none (except one) had seen the film “Collateral Murder.”

Each class began with an introduction in which questions were posed such as “how many of you have been approached by a recruiter (or have seen ads, etc.),” “how many of you have a family member in the military,” “how many of you have thought or are thinking about joining” and ”how many of you have been told in the ads or by the recruiters what they are being recruited for?” Then “Collateral Murder” was introduced and shown. This was followed by discussion in which Matthis shared his personal experience. The presentations ended with discussion around resistance to recruiters.

Throughout the time we were there the students asked a lot of insightful and important questions. During the video, some asked if what they were watching really happened. In the morning, students asked a lot of questions about repression including whether they could get arrested for showing the film or wearing the T-shirt. In the discussion, students asked what would happen if recruitment stops – how would that affect our safety. “Because of Osama Bin Laden’s murder are we going to be attacked?” one student asked. “Would there be a draft?” they wondered. One student asked if the military ever does anything good. They were really fascinated by Matthis and his personal experience. They wanted to know why he joined the military, what he did in the military and how he came to be a resister. Many students had questions about PTSD and its symptoms. Some shared about how their family members who were in the military don’t talk about it.

In each class, some students walked into class “disruptive” but when the film came on they were silent, captivated by the horror they were watching. This engagement lasted through the discussion. The youth were very shocked about what they saw in the video, especially the fact that there were children there. They called it scary, disgusting, heartless and it elicited some nervous laughter. In the afternoon one girl got teary-eyed and when her friends made fun she said, “Don’t laugh at me for crying. This  is sad.” One male student made a very true statement about the video, saying, “This is not a good advertisement for the military.” Matthis’ point of being less of a man for having joined the military really resonated with students, nodding at what he was saying about losing your humanity in doing these acts. They were moved by both the video and Matthis’ further testimony to these outrages being daily occurrences and his use of the word genocide. It affected them that their government was just killing people in a neighborhood and it changed how they viewed the war. They could see the impact and they, for the most part, definitely didn’t want to be a part of it.

When asked what they would say when approached by the recruiters the following responses were given: “What it says on that shirt (Military Recruiters Get The Hell Away from Me),” “walk away” and “these wars are morally wrong.”  Some students said they would tell their friends not to join the military. They shared that they would show them the video and tell them facts including the rate of rape within the military. The message on the bandannas and T-shirts greatly resonated with the students, and they saw wearing them as an act of resistance.

Here is an endorsement from one Philadelphia teacher of the tour:

We Are Not Your Soldiers had an impact in that the majority of these students will be prepared with facts and confidence to say no to the recruiters as a key part of stopping these wars. But perhaps more importantly they came away thinking about recruitment in a whole different way, seeing the importance of talking with their friends about it and resisting it in a variety of ways. One could feel the anti-war buzz that had been generated as students proudly displayed their bandannas or got a shirt and talk filled the hallway. Materials were so popular that there were no bandanas, shirts, or buttons for the last class. There was appreciation for being told the truth with passion and respect from teachers and from students. In the afternoon students applauded after both presentations and Samantha was stopped on her way out by two young men who thanked her for coming and talking with them. Teachers described the tour as empowering, the video as frightening and the discussion as engaging.

With such questions and content the discussions could have gone on much longer. The tour has left but the conversation has just begun. The teachers plan on doing follow-up including surveys and one hopes to bring the tour back for his morning classes before the end of the year. Thirty students eagerly signed up to be more involved. At the end of the day you could feel the power this generation holds in its potential for stopping these wars; the rebellious spirit and sense of justice the youth have that this tour uniquely taps into.

Thanks to the supporters who contributed to the $6,000 fund drive that kept us operating: enabling the printing of fliers, sending out e-lists, production of Collateral Murder DVDs for teachers, keeping up a website and phones running.

We want to get materials such as the bandanas and T-shirts that students are asking for to help them resist at no-cost to them. This requires more funds. A donation of $70 will allow us to bring bandanas to the class that did not get them. A donation of $140 will provide bandanas to two Philadelphia classes that we will visit before the end of the year. A donation of $500 will enable us to give away 50 T-shirts to young resisters.