Stop War Where it Starts:

Join us for a
Peaceful Protest at Canada's #1
War Profiteer, L-3 Wescam
Monday, November 20, 2006
Burlington, Ontario

 (Print flyer for Nov. 20 by clicking here)

Peaceful Legal Rally, Street Theatre,
and Nonviolent Civil Disobedience

Why Protest L-3 Wescam?

L-3 WESCAM promises to change the way you see the world. When you see the world through the targetting sites of a Hellfire missile, everyone is an enemy: refugees, school children, wedding guests &endash; all of whom have likely been killed with Wescam technology. On November 20, help Wescam employees see the human destruction caused by their products and ask: What if Wescam Targeted Poverty and Pollution, not People? What if they produced technology to shoot down heart disease, not Hellfire missiles?

 

On Nov. 20, join us in a nonviolent effort to transform L-3 Wescam to civilian-only production

Some elements of Nov. 20:

 

The lines will be very clearly drawn between what is considered a "legal" rally and what area will involve civil disobedience on this day.

To prepare for the November 20 gathering, trainings in nonviolent direct action and creative forms of protest are being organized this fall in Peterbororough, Kingston, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, St Catharines, Hamilton, Guelph, and London. To get involved contact us at: (416) 651-5800, tasc@web.ca, www.homesnotbombs.ca

 

BASIS OF UNITY FOR NOVEMBER 20

While for any two people the definition of nonviolence can vary greatly, Homes not Bombs asks that folks participating in this demonstration agree to a basis of unity based on openness and respect towards all we encounter:

1. No violence, physical or verbal. By physical violence, we mean pushing and shoving police, disagreeable bystanders or Wescam employees. While we may be pushed back by them, our hands will be down and at our sides in a non-provocative fashion. Because we want to show respect for the humanity of anyone who may oppose us (police, private security, Wescam employees, passersby), we refuse to humiliate someone or sink to the level of name-calling. Our opponents are often divided from the best parts of themselves: our willingness to call opponents names or yell at them simply increases the distance between us and reduces the chance for dialogue.

2. No Property damage. We are there to transform Wescam, not destroy it, so we are not there to break windows, overturn cars, or paint graffiti. We are there to conduct inspections, to engage in dialogue. We may not agree with the property fetish that destroys our culture, but that is not the central focus of this protest! (In the past we have used chalk on the sidewalks and driveways and planted grave markers in the ground, and encourage this type of non-harmful acvtivity!))

3. No Weapons or anything that could be used or perceived as a weapon (i.e., no knives, guns, or other weapons (real or "toy" variety), unless they are part of street theatre in which case we can announce this ahead of time so no one is caught off guard.

4. Maintain an atmosphere of calm, determined resistance to war. We often find that singing, rather than chanting, can create a very calm atmosphere. We may not like the fact that there are people there wielding weapons, but they remain human beings worthy of our respect. We simply choose the tools of love and nonviolence. We don't run, since that may increase tensions and scare our opponents. We take our time, greeting each person as a sister or brother.

Homes not Bombs: Canada should build homes, not blow them up

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