Poor Peoples Campaign personal appeal

standupkc.org

I gave this speech on Monday Feb 19th at the KS state capital in Topeka, KS. The press was barely in attendance, though we had several people speak their truths to a room full of children, women and men with like minds and open hearts. We then proceeded into the capital building to deliver letters to our elected officials but we were mostly met with indifference and talking points. One representative went so far as to turn our visit into a photo shoot and rather abrasively called his intern into the room to take pictures, and told her to "plant yourself right here" pointing to the spot he wanted her in for this handshaking opportunity.

Here is the original transcript of my speech:
A Marine and his Honor
I shipped off to boot camp less than three months after my 18th birthday. At the end of an ominous bus ride through the swamps of South Carolina, we arrived on Parris Island. For the next three months my life was scarred by intimidation, psychological trauma and witnessing physical abuse. New recruits are sleep deprived and gorged on water to the point of inducing vomiting fits, while our Drill instructors are yelling in our ears that Jodi is back home banging our girlfriends, our sisters, and our mothers. I was introduced to colorism by our Lead DI who was a tall dark skinned man; I was "high yella, uppity nigger," and worse in his attempts to break me. I would say, “I was already self-aware and these games didn’t work on me” … but I'd be lying. I would like to say, "I stood up for those who were targeted as other than straight;" they suffered the worst verbal and actual physical torture in some cases. These fear tactics robbed us of our humanity. Studies show that military PTSD first occurs in basic training, as a self defense mechanism. I, like my brothers who made it through the crucible was stripped of my moral compass. I was turned into a weapon to be deployed wherever, whenever. The problem is killers with no enemies to fight on battlefields create enemies within, and the sad truth is that every day in this country 22 veterans commit suicide. With no defined enemies to fight, innocent family members, fellow servicemen and women, the surrounding civilian populations and even children often become the enemy of these killing machines. In 1994 I was deployed to Okinawa, and I was stationed on Camp Schwab in 1995 when a 12 year old girl was brutally raped by 2 Marines from my base and 1 sailor. A NY Times article written the same year states:
“Americans in Okinawa accounted for 4.2 percent of the population [in Okinawa] but 11.5 percent of felonies like murder, rape and robbery.”
A report which was prepared by the city of Nago in Okinawa tallies nearly 6,000 arrests of US military between 1972 and 2015. Those are only the arrests, how many crimes were not reported, how many military criminals were never caught? Right now the US spends 4 times more on the military than on housing, education, jobs and other basic human needs combined. As a husband, and full time father of two young boys and as a member of Veterans For Peace, I charge our government to repair the torn moral fiber of this country. I believe reviving the Poor People's Campaign can help this nation fulfill its original promise and loftiest goals to be a land where all men and women, regardless of race, religion or creed can live freely and in the pursuit of happiness.
Miles Megaciph
USMC 1992-1996

Видео Poor Peoples Campaign personal appeal канала Megaciph