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DAWN Moves Past Carol Moore

This past week, The DC Anti-War Network (DAWN) finally decided to move past the staunchly anti-zionist, libertarian Carol Moore. Over the last three years that I've been involved with DAWN, Carol has been involved with several highly notable and public interpersonal conflicts with other DAWN participants. She has in fact been the primary cause for several people leaving DAWN permanently, and these were good folks who were thoughtful anti-war activists and decent organizers.

Most recently she has decided to attack me, not only to myself and my friends, but to my employers. This is a form of stalking, and if it continues I will have to file for a stay away order with DC Superior Court. You can find more about Carol Moore on Wikipedia. Carol has also dug up a past joke of mine, which was politically incorrect and for which I have apologized in public at least four times. She has part of this incident on her Web page, and includes some incorrect analysis along with it. She is a troubled individual who has been involved with the local war tax resistance and protests against the annual AIPAC Conference. She is dedicated to her causes, but she is extremely difficult to work with. Whenever someone criticisizes her for the way she deals with others, they are labeled as anti-feminist or defending violent street tactics.

I for one am relieved that DAWN has permanently expelled her and severed all ties. I hope we will be able to rebuild DAWN now and move past this unfortunate chapter.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This is exicting DAWN can organize and do good work again...thanks Mr. Perry for posting this!
DC Peaches said…
I did belong to the DAWN list serve awhile ago. I don't know if the Carol Moore that you speak of held any of the responsibility for it or not, but I found the quality of the discourse not to be very encouraging as someone who was interested in joining the peace or anti-war community.

I eventually started my own blog and then joined someone else's and joined the small demonstration on the National Mall sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee that went along with their Eyes Wide Open exhibit, because I felt like it was something that I needed to do. I liked them because of their history in working for social and economic justice, and later because of their wholistic approach.

It seemed to me like the plethora of emails, rapid back-and-forth, and extended debate on minutae really didn't serve to build a constructive community, not to mention the anti-war movement that your group's members supposedly wanted to build.

At one point someone even made an argument about the fight against AIPAC, the US Israel Lobby, and anti-Semitism that he/she didn't even believe in to see how others would react.

Overall, DAWN's internal dialogue back then seemed to be overly self-obsessed, chaotic or grim. It was like you were still living in the immediate chaos of a terrorist attack.

I know I am a little critical in the preceding comments; I promise that I am not always this way, or if am sometimes, it is because I want better. As Al Gore is calling for now in interviews and in his newest book, I also seek an elevated dialogue for our country that is based on sound principles and recognizes our collective humanity, two things that the stuffed suits running our government (Congress in particular) have failed to recognize in their rhetoric and with their actions before recess



I am thankful that there are people out there speaking out against what they feel is wrong in their respective communities (and not simply become better consumers--and shop more, as George Bush told us all to do on either September 11 or a day or two afterward on in 2001. Considering what he said on that day, it is pretty unbelievable that it took so long for a large segment of our country's pupulation to catch on to the shear cynicism of this President and his cohorts.

Anyway, peace to you and yours and all those out there who read this.

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