HISTORY ...
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…Background to our Vigils
The Friday Vigil began just after 9/11/01 as a community statement against U.S. retaliation and has continued weekly since, with a little time out for Covid. Young people who joined us recently hadn’t yet been born in 2001! The wars that have continued in the years since have robbed our federal budget of the Social Safety Net so vital to the people of this country. With more than half of every tax dollar going to the Pentagon, there is tragically little for Education, Health, Environment and all the elements of Real Security.
Even the Pentagon, which has the largest carbon footprint on the planet, identifies climate change as a great threat to national and global security. Weapons endanger all life and are the greatest of insults to global climate systems. Costly weapons systems impoverish critically needed social needs programs. Peaceful conflict resolution is an urgent priority.
The Thursday Vigil began in January of 2022 at the time of Russia’s response to our 2014 proxy war using Ukraine to weaken Russia. U.S. mainstream media falsely claimed that we were helping Ukraine fight off an unprovoked attack by Russia. The current focus of this Vigil is to call for a Permanent Ceasefire in the Genocide of Palestinians by Israel.
In addition, we join in a series of annual Advent and Lenten Vigils sponsored by the Smilin’ Trees Disarmament Farm. These gatherings are held on Saturdays in those seasons from 11:30-12:30. We stand on Washington Street in front of the Bath Iron Works Administration Building. Contact us for more detailed information.
We also protest regularly at any “Christenings” of Naval Destroyers built and launched at Bath Iron Works. To learn more, see the “Conversion Project” also on this History Page. We continue to envision conversion of BIW production from a war economy to a peace, planet, and people economy. Stay tuned. Get involved!
The Conversion Project ... Why Bath Iron Works Must Convert
