Join Us! A carpool/caravan will be leaving OKC from Joy Mennonite Church at 1pm and returning by 4pm.
GI Rights Hotline - action to inform deploying troops of their rights
[October 17, 2007] - Tomorrow, the troops of the Oklahoma National Guard that are being deployed to Iraq will be sent off with a lot of flags, patriotic music, and tears of family and loved ones. The event will take place in Norman at the Lloyd Noble Center from 2-3pm.
Volunteers and supporters of the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline plan to be outside the event as attendees arrive, to respectfully offer our help for those who do not want to go.
The details of exactly where we will be situated outside the LN Center are pending discussion with local authorities, but we will be leaving at 1pm from Joy Mennonite Church in OKC, 504 NE 16th (corner of Lincoln and 16th, just south of the Capital). We will leave to return to OKC at 3 pm.
Anyone is welcome to join us, but we ask that participants respect the very critical need to stay on message at this demo. There will be lots of hurting folks there, so we want the message to be really clear---"We love your loved ones in the Army. If they don't want to go to Iraq, call us as we might be able to help."
And even with this very clear message, we'll need to be prepared for angry folks to misunderstand us and lose their cool. Basically, we feel it is important to be there, but we need to be very mindful about the best way to be there. In any event, we will be nonviolent and non-confrontational.
If you want to meet us there, please be sure to check for updates on our web site (okgirightshotline.org) before leaving. As we have additional details nailed down, we will post them there.
You can also call 405-615-2700 between 1pm and 2 pm if you have questions or need directions.
The Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline is funded and operated by the Oklahoma Center for Conscience, with support from Veterans for Peace, Catholic Peace Fellowship, Joy Mennonite Church and the Religious Society of Friends. The hotline can be reached at 405-231-1138 (calls taken live Mondays 10-4; other times leave message) or email help@okgirightshotline.org.