On March 7th, my Family and 20 or so other people protested drone warfare in front of the main gate of the Battle Creek Air National Guard base in Michigan. In 2013, the base was named a Reaper Drone Operating Station and should be operational any day, if not already. Weaponized drone operators are dropping bombs from my backyard.
We stood in the mud on the side of the four-lane highway from Noon to 1pm. A few of us held signs with slogans like "Stop Drone Warfare" while others offered conversation to each other or waved at honking cars. One father and fellow protester brought fresh-popped popcorn, which he passed out in little blue bowls to the few children that were present. In between piling kernels in their mouths, the kids stomped in the water and slid on the ice behind us that had accumulated at the base of a mountain of plowed snow.
This wasn’t the type of protest that drew the media or police in riot gear. The only law enforcement present was a lone Sheriff’s deputy who was on hand to escort us across the highway from the muddy field we parked in to our assigned area. He stayed just long enough to see the bulk of us across and then drove off with a nod and a wave. The only pictures taken – outside of the ones the group took themselves – were by a pink haired woman who slowed down in the median to snap a few pictures with her camera phone.
"Who said we weren’t going to get any press," I said as she drove away.
Continue reading “Drone Warfare: Death Delivered From a Location Near You”