Press Release: Monday, Oct. 29, 2018 Hilo Vigil against Hate & Violence
Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
further contact: Jim Albertini 966-7622 ja@malu-aina.org
“The focus of a Friday, Nov 2, 2018 Hilo Peace Vigil will be “An Urgent Call for No More Violence.” We urge people to come and join in solidarity to remember the recent victims of hate in the Jewish Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the grocery store victims of racist violence in Kentucky, and victims of violence everywhere, said Jim Albertini of Malu ‘Aina. The vigil will be on the sidewalk fronting the downtown Hilo Federal Building on Waianuenue Avenue from 3:30-5PM. Bring a peaceful sign if you want. Below is a leaflet I have drafted for distribution at the vigil. Please help spread the word. Mahalo. Jim Albertini
NO MORE VIOLENCE
An Urgent Call! At Home & Abroad!
“The choice today is no longer between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.” Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In recent days we have learned about the terrorist hate crime murders at a Pittsburgh Jewish Synagogue; the racist murders of two black senior citizens in a Kentucky grocery store, the mailing of more than a dozen package bombs to critics of President Trump; the grisly murder of a Washington Post journalist inside a Saudi Arabian consulate; the sending of US troops to confront fleeing Central American refugees at the Mexican Boarder, and the U.S. withdrawal from another international agreement – this one an arms control treaty with Russia.
What we haven’t heard as much about lately are the ongoing US wars (is it currently six or seven?) in the Middle East that have resulted in millions killed, wounded or made refugees, covert US “Special Ops” taking place all over the world, and the past US wars and regime changes in Latin America that have created chaos, violence, poverty and a vast number of fleeing refugees and asylum seekers.
What’s next? Who knows, but one thing is clear: More guns and bombs are NOT the answer. Unless we change our ways and turn away from hate and violence at home and abroad, humanity is headed down a path of violent self destruction. What we are doing to one another we are also doing to the earth. The violence that goes around comes around. That’s why climate disaster and nuclear war are the two greatest threats to civilization as we know it. Live aloha! Aloha ‘Aina! Malama Honua (Take Care of the Earth.)
All the moral giants of history were committed to truth and love and they were people with a vision of hope. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Truth will overcome Lies. Love will overcome Hate. Let us never give up!
The Choice is Ours: Nonviolence or Nonexistence
“Love Your Enemies!”
- Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties.
4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, etc.
5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Contact: Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
P.O. Box 489 Kurtistown, Hawai’i 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622. Email: ja@malu-aina.org
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Nov. 2, 2018 Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet — 893rd week – Fridays 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office
