anarchist_nomad (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
anarchist_nomad) wrote2009-11-09 09:30 pm
anarchist_nomad) wrote2009-11-09 09:30 pm
Day 37: PSA and Remembrance Sunday[*]
Hear ye, hear ye! Let it be known throughout the lands that the server with does carry my personal e-mail is currently non-functional!
Whilst not certain when precisely it went kaput[**], it was sometime around Friday afternoon. Thus, if you have sent me any personal e-mail in the past three days, please know that I have not seen it. The problem is known and being sorted by people I trust, so I assume that it will return soon... and that the long delay was caused by the existence of a weekend.
In the interim, if you need to reach me, feel free to use LJ messages, call my phone, text a text, send smoke signals, or ping my professional e-mail at Imperial College.[*]
Yesterday morning, my darling![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bunnypip and I woke bright and early to head into the city centre for the Remembrance Sunday services. This is the third year that I have been to the service.
The service takes place at the war memorial, just outside of St. Giles Church. For one hour before the official start of the ceremony, our band rings the bells half-muffled. It is likely the largest audience that I ring to all year long; when I go up to the tower, there is hardly a soul in sight... but when I emerge, the street is packed!
Oxford celebrates Remembrance Sunday with a multi-faith ceremony. It is still couched within a Christian framework, but there are speakers representing the Jewish faith, the Muslim community, the Hindu path, and the Sikhs. There is also an effort made towards gender balance, as two of the four representatives were women. I believe that 2007 -- the first year that I attended -- was also the first time that this multi-faith approach was implemented.[***] At times, the Christian overtones that permeated the entire ceremony were vexing to me... but I tried to remember that having any multi-faith ceremony is progress. I would wager that most places in England delivered a Christian-only service.
As usual, I had mixed feelings about the service itself. Parts of it were very good, talking about the need for peace, condemning acts of violence, and honouring conscientious objectors. Other parts were much more militaristic and focused on honouring the fallen warriors. I see the two as quite at odds -- if you focus the grief on war, the underlying message is peace; if you focus the grief on the honour of dead soldiers, you pave the way to further wars.
In particular, I was struck by the sharply militaristic tone of the Sikh speaker. This just illuminates my own ignorance of the Sikh faith. Whereas the Hindu speaker said things like: "Let us pray together in a spirit of solidarity... that we all remain steadfast in our respective faiths to maintain principles of Satyagraha, non-violence, and peaceful protest; that peace may reign supreme on earth and that peace may abide with us always and forever", the Sikh's comments were more along the lines of: "We once again gather to remember the BRAVE Men and Women from all corners of the world and faiths that have fought in the numerous conflicts and battles. We give thanks for their BRAVERY, COMMITMENT, and LOVE. It takes a brave mother, father, wife OR husband to send their partners to the battlefield." I kept staring at the Sikh's forehead to see if he was actually a Klingon.
As one could expect, there was a highly militaristic presence at the service, with a march by various wings of the armed forces after the formal service had ended. This included some very young children marching in army uniforms. May as well get a head start and remember the fallen soldiers of twenty years hence now, whilst they are still living, eh?
Later in the day, I returned to St. Giles to do our usual Sunday evening service ringing. This was done, as always, with the bells unmuffled. I make a point of doing the evening ringing as well on Remembrance Sunday. In some way that I cannot well articulate, it feels appropriate to make the return to our usual, unmuffled, joyous ringing. This is how we ring nearly all the time, of course. It is the half-muffled ringing that is special. Nonetheless, the return from the mournful music of the muffled bells is important to me, and so I always participate.
I think I need to listen to a medley of anti-war music now.[****]
[*] In that order.
[**] That being, of course, a highly technical term!
[***] See what a good influence I am!
[****] Fortunately, I have plenty to choose from!
Whilst not certain when precisely it went kaput[**], it was sometime around Friday afternoon. Thus, if you have sent me any personal e-mail in the past three days, please know that I have not seen it. The problem is known and being sorted by people I trust, so I assume that it will return soon... and that the long delay was caused by the existence of a weekend.
In the interim, if you need to reach me, feel free to use LJ messages, call my phone, text a text, send smoke signals, or ping my professional e-mail at Imperial College.[*]
Yesterday morning, my darling
bunnypip and I woke bright and early to head into the city centre for the Remembrance Sunday services. This is the third year that I have been to the service. The service takes place at the war memorial, just outside of St. Giles Church. For one hour before the official start of the ceremony, our band rings the bells half-muffled. It is likely the largest audience that I ring to all year long; when I go up to the tower, there is hardly a soul in sight... but when I emerge, the street is packed!
Oxford celebrates Remembrance Sunday with a multi-faith ceremony. It is still couched within a Christian framework, but there are speakers representing the Jewish faith, the Muslim community, the Hindu path, and the Sikhs. There is also an effort made towards gender balance, as two of the four representatives were women. I believe that 2007 -- the first year that I attended -- was also the first time that this multi-faith approach was implemented.[***] At times, the Christian overtones that permeated the entire ceremony were vexing to me... but I tried to remember that having any multi-faith ceremony is progress. I would wager that most places in England delivered a Christian-only service.
As usual, I had mixed feelings about the service itself. Parts of it were very good, talking about the need for peace, condemning acts of violence, and honouring conscientious objectors. Other parts were much more militaristic and focused on honouring the fallen warriors. I see the two as quite at odds -- if you focus the grief on war, the underlying message is peace; if you focus the grief on the honour of dead soldiers, you pave the way to further wars.
In particular, I was struck by the sharply militaristic tone of the Sikh speaker. This just illuminates my own ignorance of the Sikh faith. Whereas the Hindu speaker said things like: "Let us pray together in a spirit of solidarity... that we all remain steadfast in our respective faiths to maintain principles of Satyagraha, non-violence, and peaceful protest; that peace may reign supreme on earth and that peace may abide with us always and forever", the Sikh's comments were more along the lines of: "We once again gather to remember the BRAVE Men and Women from all corners of the world and faiths that have fought in the numerous conflicts and battles. We give thanks for their BRAVERY, COMMITMENT, and LOVE. It takes a brave mother, father, wife OR husband to send their partners to the battlefield." I kept staring at the Sikh's forehead to see if he was actually a Klingon.
As one could expect, there was a highly militaristic presence at the service, with a march by various wings of the armed forces after the formal service had ended. This included some very young children marching in army uniforms. May as well get a head start and remember the fallen soldiers of twenty years hence now, whilst they are still living, eh?
Later in the day, I returned to St. Giles to do our usual Sunday evening service ringing. This was done, as always, with the bells unmuffled. I make a point of doing the evening ringing as well on Remembrance Sunday. In some way that I cannot well articulate, it feels appropriate to make the return to our usual, unmuffled, joyous ringing. This is how we ring nearly all the time, of course. It is the half-muffled ringing that is special. Nonetheless, the return from the mournful music of the muffled bells is important to me, and so I always participate.
I think I need to listen to a medley of anti-war music now.[****]
[*] In that order.
[**] That being, of course, a highly technical term!
[***] See what a good influence I am!
[****] Fortunately, I have plenty to choose from!
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Fear our 1337 RE-education!
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(They still remind me of Klingons, though...)
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(I must have met my first Sikh at about the same time I started watching ST:TNG)
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I wanted to put out a sign that said: "Quiet please. Brainwashing in progress."
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Whilst I know that the lives we lead would be very different without the sacrifices made by previous generations, I really feel uncomfortable supporting any acts of war, no matter how brave the men who fight on our countries behalf :-(
Anyway enough rambling. Meant to ask about the weekend- things still ok? Did my travel plans fit in with things? Email me and let me know where I should head once I arrive in Oxford etc. Looking forward to seeing you! x
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No-one said anything though, which is an improvement on the guy who once stopped me in the street to moan about my white poppy and ask me if I'd rather the nazis had won *eyeroll*.
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Gods, I'm *SO* envious, I'd love someone to try that shit on with me! Bring it on, etc.
Kind of disappointed nobody's asked me about my white poppy yet, I was looking forward to directing people towards Friends' House.
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But please don't get lynched between now and Saturday![*] That would be B-A-D! *grin*
I've been a pacifist since 1990 or 1991; during the first Gulf War I was fifteen and able to think about these issues intelligently for the first time. My pacifism has been shaken at times during the intervening years... but has ultimately stood firm.
As for this weekend? Yes, things are still definitely a-OK! Am very much looking forward to seeing you again! *bounces happily* Have just fired off a logistical e-mail to you. Let me know if you don't receive it, or if you have any questions!
See you soon! *big hugs*
xx
[*] Or any other time, really!
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Any chance I could get you to share your collection of anti-war songs? I'm always interested in hearing more.
On an unrelated note, I was thinking of you while I was in Washington DC. There is a set of change ringing bells in the old post office tower, and there's a local group that makes use of them. I took a bunch of pictures, not just because I thought they were really neat, but because I thought you'd like to see them. I'll post about it when I get them uploaded to Flickr.
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Confused? So am I, but oddly enough, Sikhs and Quakers seem to get on really well. Indeed Southall Friends' Meeting for Worship takes place in the local Sikh Grurudawara.............
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In their favor, though, their religion emphasizes living one's everyday life in a sacred manner, rather than rejecting the secular world; unlike the other religions around them, Sihkism prescribes very similar roles for men and women; and they require "community service", usually in the form of feeding the hungry, by every adherent. Furthermore, they don't proselytize ;-)
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On the other hand I'm glad I took the Brownies, although I stuck with what I've always been taught that Guides walk sedately rather than marching.