We have finished our spring semester We Are Not Your Soldiers visits and will soon be sending you a detailed report on the month of May, in particular. This spring We Are Not Your Soldiers is proud to have accomplished the following presentations:
- Various colleges in the NYC public system: 5 classes
- Various NYC public community colleges: 5 classes
- Private NYC college: 1 class
- A New Jersey college: 1 class
- A North Carolina community college: 3 classes
- A meeting of Florida college activists
- A Philadelphia high school: 2 classes
- A NYC high school: 4 classes
- One podcast
We share with you some excerpts from a term project written by a NYC college student based on what she had learned from an earlier presentation to one of her classes.You can read Kedeshia Cassanova’s full poems and artist statement here.
…There is a common sense idea that “the military exists to protect our freedom.” But as an African American who grew up in New York and is now aware of slow violence and structural abuse, this is a phrase that made me really question its meaning. Classrooms, TV commercials, political events, and recruiting stations all use this phrase to promote the military. However, we must take a deeper look, I’ve discovered. After all, whose freedom is it? What is protected? Who does it affect? My poems “The Recruiting Process,” “Basic Training,” “Active Duty,” and “Veteran” are to enlighten anyone through the real emotional experience of a soldier whose trauma begins by the very first moment they seek the chance to enlist. I also discuss that over time, they end up being traumatized, disappointed, and abandoned.
These poems were written for young people and anyone from minority communities, who are considering enlisting in the military. The purpose of these poems is to question the attractive appearances and exaggerated benefits made by recruiters, especially amongst communities where I am from. I watch how the military targets low-income communities and young people who are searching for an easy way out and are not sure about their plans for the future. The “We Are Not Your Soldiers” veterans motivated me to write this series of poems also. Their accounts made me notice things that I had never realized before about the structural abuse we face from the military. The We Are Not Your Soldiers website includes the Smedley Butler quote, “For a great many years, as a soldier, I had a suspicion that war was a racket, not until I retired to civil life did I fully realize it.” This stuck with me the most, because I believe it is a very powerful quote that sums up one’s experience. I tried to fit it best in my poem because I think it speaks volumes and makes a very important point that you are aware of things when you become a veteran. It is from my last poem but that quote is a foundation for all of them…
Thank you, Kedeshia, for your artistic rendering of these issues!
We’re also sharing a just-finished video of Rosa del Duca sharing her story (with another NYC college class) of why she enlisted in the National Guard and her struggle to leave via applying for conscientious objector status.
Please note: The $1000 gift match offer continues for donations made to We Are Not Your Soldiers. We have 40% to go to reach the total needed to cover expenses for the fall semester.