Fifth-Year Decries War and Violence

To the Editors:

One of the most frustrating moments of my Oberlin College career occurred this past Saturday when, at the end of a march and rally that protested war and racism, a young man stood up with a megaphone and loudly advocated violence toward human beings in the name of Socialist revolution. This man, who claimed to represent workers, evidently felt no qualms standing in the shadow of an image of Martin Luther King Jr., a person who gave his own life in non-violent protest, and advocating violence.
To the best of my knowledge, the march and rally were organized to protest war, particularly in the racist forms in which it has often occurred in the past and seems likely to occur in the near future. I also believe that this march was held in an urgent spirit of respect for the sanctity of human life in light of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
It was deeply disturbing to me that an individual or an organization could appropriate such an event to promote violence. I challenge the socialist groups and all political organizations on campus to embrace non-violence as a fundamental tenet of their programs. A violent revolution cannot make the world safe for workers any more than an American war can make the world safe for democracy.
However, if these groups must advocate violence and the killing of human beings, they should keep their violent beliefs out of peace marches.

–Caleb Stokes
Double-Degree 5th Year