The IVAW coffee house dilemma
The poor IVAW folks who are trying to influence the “GI resistance movement” have hit a brickwall called “the reality of operating socialist endeavors in a capitalist environment” – you have to make money;
My name is Seth Manzel. I am the Executive Director of COFFEE STRONG, a GI coffee house located outside of Fort Lewis. I am sure you are familiar with the coffee house movement of the 1960’s and 70’s, that helped to foster GI resistance against the Vietnam War. You may also be familiar with the modern manifestations of those coffee houses that attempt to promote resistance amongst today’s soldiers.
COFFEE STRONG at Fort Lewis, Different Drummer near Fort Drum, Under the Hood at Fort Hood and Off Base in Norfolk, VA were all created with a common goal; to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by fostering GI resistance. While we all operate independent of each other, and we all have different approaches to what we do, we all provide a comfortable atmosphere for soldiers to speak out against these wars.
A couple of years ago The Different Drummer closed down for lack of support. Right now, we are in jeopardy of loosing Under the Hood for the same reason. We are all fund intensive operations, but we all work in a field that can’t be done from anywhere else. GI resistance can only be effectively promoted at military bases. It is not something that can be done from Manhattan or LA as effectively as it can from the depressed neighborhoods that surround military bases.
This is what you can do. You can become a sustaining donor and support one or more of these coffee houses (especially Under the Hood). If you don’t have money, you can repost this and encourage others to do the same. If you live around these bases, donate your time. We all need experienced grant writers.
There is something very rewarding in seeing the political consciousness of soldiers develop. When they relate the deaths of their brother and sister soldiers, not with the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan but with the corporate greed that drives American politics, it is clear that our efforts are not wasted. We are all working every day to help these soldiers end the wars. These are the trenches that our movement can directly engaging the military from.
Yeah, so trying to operate their cafes where they’re not welcomed is confusing for the hippies.
Ya know what though? These were supposed to places from which they could help soldiers at Forts Hood and Drum. But since they turned them into meeting places for covens of socialists and anarchists, the money and support dried up. Wonder why? Might be because socialist and anarchists really don’t want to help anyone but them-damn-selves.
Adios, Under The Hood. Better luck next time.
Category: Antiwar crowd, Iraq Veterans Against the War
Like all liberals, they are stuck in the 60’s. They haven’t had an original idea since then. Everything they do nowadays is merely a repeat in some sort of vain attempt to recapture what they consider their glory years.
The world has moved on. Welcome to the 21st century. It’s a brave new world and they ought to try and live in it or succumb to one of Darwins Laws. Adapt and survive, resist and become extinct.
“from the depressed neighborhoods that surround military bases.”
You mean like some of the ones I was living in/near in San Diego (Point Loma), Hawaii (Pearl City, Aiea), and Orlando? Those “depressed” areas? Granted, some areas surrounding military bases suck ass, but far from all, or even most.
This is one of the good things about having an all-volunteer force. They won’t have a pool of draftees to put on auto-pilot for their cause.
NHSparky- Never been to Lawton, Fayetteville, Killeen, or Columbus have you? The immediate surroundings of most ARMY bases suck balls. Victory Drive, Bragg Blvd, Rucker Blvd to name just a few. Compared to AF or Navy bases, the majority of Army bases are straight up ghetto.
I’m so sad to hear this………..ok, not so much. But, but, but what will the lost little commies do without a place to hang out at all day long and think deep, deep thoughts and espouse the virtues of everyone having to stand in line for 8 hours to get a loaf of bread, or a pair of shoes that aren’t your size, but you take them anyway because you don’t know when a pair in your size will be available, but you will all be equal.
Notice how Seth doesn’t once bring up Soldier healthcare or helping them with legal issues.
Fuck IVAW.
I have lived in Lawton, Fayetteville, and Dongducheon, Korea. All of these areas, like every city in the world, have their shady areas but I actually enjoyed living in each of these areas.
What disappoints me is that many Soldiers complain about them without taking the effort to find alternatives in the area. With a little research and planning anyone can avoid just going to the same dive bar or strip club and have some actual fun. While I managed to frequent my fair share of these unsavory locations I also was able to go to OK City, Raleigh, and Seoul to offset this.
In the end wherever you live is what you make of it and referring only to “depressed neighborhoods that surround military bases” as if military bases are the cause of these depressions is narrow focused and ridiculous.
What Daniel said.
Daniel,
You make a good point. Outside the East Gate at Ft. Hood is lined with pawn shops and isn’t the most pleasant but there is Copperas Cove on the west end…no strip clubs as it was in a dry county (at the time)
The death of funding for groups such as these is liberal success. Had John McCain been elected their coffers would likely be filled to overflowing. I guess they can’t move right to protest Oba-re-losi and there is not much room to the left.
“NHSparky- Never been to Lawton, Fayetteville, Killeen, or Columbus have you? The immediate surroundings of most ARMY bases suck balls. Victory Drive, Bragg Blvd, Rucker Blvd to name just a few. Compared to AF or Navy bases, the majority of Army bases are straight up ghetto.”
Victory Drive is cleaned up. You’d be hard pressed to find a strip club with in 10 miles of the gates. Lawton, s**thole that it is, is much nicer now that 20 yeras ago. Fayettenam? Again, not alot of bar fights between MPs and Airborne going on anymore. Same can be said of Killeen. The Army is cleaning up it’s image and so are the communities around it. Are they perfect? Nope. Alot nicer then when I joined in 1983.
Matt–the same could have been said about Great Lakes (Waukegan, IL), the 32nd Street base in San Diego (they don’t call it “Nasty City” for nothing, and a few other places–but newsflash–they ARE improving, and a lot of it has to do with the services taking better care of their own and keeping the junior enlisted from falling into the pitfalls that junior people are prone to falling into.
I hate the thought of “loosing” such an awesome source of posts.
I too, have been to many of the bases mentioned. And in the 80’s Ft. Hood was exactly as described, but CC was pretty as were the other places near post. Never been to Korea…Fayetteville, a lot nicer now than it was then…OK same. But also Ft. Detrick, APG. They were okay areas. VA Beach as well. It is all relative
in my book.
You get out what you put in. Always. Nice post, Daniel.
“Victory Drive is cleaned up. You’d be hard pressed to find a strip club with in 10 miles of the gate”
That’s the saddest thing I’ve heard since Meg Whitman won the CA primary…
Daniel,
Agreed. Nice post! There were always bad sections around Navy bases, but I, too, went in search of better places to visit and drink. It wasn’t that hard once you got just a few miles (and sometimes less) from the main gate.
Dr. Chiroux wrote:
“there is not much room to the left.”
Well, Bobby Whittenberg is starting a revolution, but he won’t tell anybody how.
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=19810
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=19758
I admit when I drive down Victory Drive nowdays I do feel a little bit sad all those spots I spent so much time in are gone.
Are our young soldiers better off now then when we were the kids rolling out the gate on Friday night? I guess so. I remember looking at our Platoon Sergeant, an old man who had to be at least 35, AND had been in Vietnam, thinking that I’ll never be that old, cranky, and hateful.
Speaking of coffee house fail, whatever happened to the Coffee Party? You know, that progressive from-the-grassroots effort to counter the Tea Parties?
Why, it’s like nobody cared to join, despite high profile hagiography from the mainstream press.
This plea is downright stupid. It’s a volunteer military. That means that virtually all “gi resistance” will come from the sh!tb@gs and those who can’t emotionally or physically cut it. Worse, it opens some with PTSD to be exploited and manipulated… The crazier the better for ISO/IVAW. The intellectuals who may resist and not be screwups dried up when the draft ended back in the 1970s. Overall, this means that ISO/IVAW is seeking screwups to serve as their military poster children as well as PTSD cases not to help, but to exploit… Shameful… Casey Porter also had a good observation about them not even trying to pretend that they want to help those who don’t “resist” their voluntary enlistments.
They just have a really shitty business plan. I wonder if they concerned themselves half as much with their product as they do their propaganda they might not have to close down…oh wait these are not real businesses. I am glad that people like this are as incompetent as they are. They always seem to be dependent of someone who is successful to make ends meet.
These shitholes for cowards going broke is not a bit different than Airhead America going belly up. If no one wants to hear the story, they ain’t gonna come. Now, I would wager that if someone opened up the place next door to UTH, and offered indoor rifle range shooting while tossing back shots of Jack, George, n Jim, that it wouldn’t not be in danger of failing. Why in hell should the public support a dead mike if it can’t make it on its own?
Can’t the base commander make these places ‘off limits’? Or the CSM? Seems to me such a subversive place should be on the off-limits rosters and publicized.
Or do they do that anymore?
Nah, no point in making it off limits; that’d only draw undue attention to it. The “off-limits” list at the units I was in was basically a list of places non-NCOs were guaranteed to check out. If you were ever on duty on a Friday night at Pendleton, you could pretty much set your watch by the inevitable phone call from shore patrol, letting you know they had PFC Dipshit in custody at the Tijuana border crossing.
Looks like the customers of UTH voted with their wallets. I’ll take my coffee agenda-free, thanks.
It’s my understanding that Ft. Hood does not take them seriously and doesn’t want to legitimize them through any action. Also, they really do not attract too many Soldiers these days from what I hear.
I’m surprised they haven’t received stimulus funding…
F*ck Under the Hood and these other coffee houses– get your Joe at BK anyway, it’s cheaper too. (Frickin’ left/libtards… )
Not only are they beggin, it seems they need “grant writers” – with experience. Grant Writers? They want their crap Funded? With tax receipts?
That would be an ACORN function, no doubt.
I’m sure obambi will get somebody on that.
My son was at Rucker for 5 or 6 years. It’s just not
A metropolis of money – but I wouldn’t say it’s ghetto.
He was also at Ft Bliss. Now that’s ghetto.