Clare Grady wrote this letter while imprisoned in the Justice Center in Syracuse for an action she took part in at the Hancock drone base on June 28th, 2012.
Dear Judge Giddeon,
Warm greetings from a very cold cell. As I prepare to go before you today, I write a few words about why we go to Hancock Air Base. We come saying clearly with our words and deeds, that we will not be complicit with our government's War Crimes. We come to Resist the use of Killer Drones. Killer Drones kill the innocent, violate National Sovereignty, terrorize and bully smaller and weaker nations and people, almost always people of color. Their use is illegal, violating the Supreme Laws of our Land. We are all responsible for the crimes of our government. To the extent that we allow our government to kill whoever it wants, when ever it wants, however it wants with not accountability, we send the message here and around the world that if you are the biggest bully, you can act above the law.
My observation here at the Justice Center, where I am jailed, is that women are doing time for open container, dirty urines, and theft to support their drug addiction. Our jails and prisons are filled with men and women, 2.3 Million of them, mostly poor, disproportionately people of color. Their offenses cannot be compared to those of the leaders and commanders of this country and military, the largest most powerful in the world. Our military kills the innocent with impunity as a matter of policy, and spends Trillions of dollars, stolen from our children and future generations, to maintain it's superpower status.
The corollary I see is that to the extent that we fail to hold ourselves and our government accountable for the Big crimes of Mass Murder and Grand Theft, we will continue to scapegoat others here and around the world, those most marginalized already, people of color and poor people. We will continue to profile, target, criminalize, imprison, torture and kill them as a matter of policy.
Let us undergo a revolution of values that seeks Peace with Justice not War, that puts humanity first, not the gods of militarism, racism, and greed. I hope we help each other in such a revolution, because we are all in this together.
Thank you, and Blessings upon you.
Clare Grady
Dear Judge Giddeon,
Warm greetings from a very cold cell. As I prepare to go before you today, I write a few words about why we go to Hancock Air Base. We come saying clearly with our words and deeds, that we will not be complicit with our government's War Crimes. We come to Resist the use of Killer Drones. Killer Drones kill the innocent, violate National Sovereignty, terrorize and bully smaller and weaker nations and people, almost always people of color. Their use is illegal, violating the Supreme Laws of our Land. We are all responsible for the crimes of our government. To the extent that we allow our government to kill whoever it wants, when ever it wants, however it wants with not accountability, we send the message here and around the world that if you are the biggest bully, you can act above the law.
My observation here at the Justice Center, where I am jailed, is that women are doing time for open container, dirty urines, and theft to support their drug addiction. Our jails and prisons are filled with men and women, 2.3 Million of them, mostly poor, disproportionately people of color. Their offenses cannot be compared to those of the leaders and commanders of this country and military, the largest most powerful in the world. Our military kills the innocent with impunity as a matter of policy, and spends Trillions of dollars, stolen from our children and future generations, to maintain it's superpower status.
The corollary I see is that to the extent that we fail to hold ourselves and our government accountable for the Big crimes of Mass Murder and Grand Theft, we will continue to scapegoat others here and around the world, those most marginalized already, people of color and poor people. We will continue to profile, target, criminalize, imprison, torture and kill them as a matter of policy.
Let us undergo a revolution of values that seeks Peace with Justice not War, that puts humanity first, not the gods of militarism, racism, and greed. I hope we help each other in such a revolution, because we are all in this together.
Thank you, and Blessings upon you.
Clare Grady
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