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  Scott Schaeffer-Duffy argues that the key to sustaining long-term campaigns against weapons producers is creativity and community.

First-hand: Raytheon Peacemakers

  • Scott Schaeffer-Duffy
    In 1991, during the first Gulf War, I joined an ad hoc demonstration to protest at president Bush's visit to the Andover, Massachusetts, Raytheon plant. Bush choppered in for a photo op of himself congratulating the workers for making the Patriot missile, while secular and religious activists did their best to rain on his bellicose parade.
    This was my first demonstration atRaytheon, but hardly my first protest. I participated in long campaigns againstthe Trident submarine, made by General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Con-necticut, and the MX missile, made, in large part, by GTE Corporation in West-borough, Massachusetts. I even had the wonderful experience, after hundreds ofvigils, seven acts of civil disobedience, and six jail sentences, of seeing the MScontract cancelled and the GTE plant converted into an office supply warehouse.
        But I did not return to Raytheon until 1997 when I helped organise the RaytheonPeacemakers. What prompted me was an article in the Boston Globe in which aRaytheon exec boasted that attacks on Iraq provided them with an economic boon.Their arrogance and connection to virtually the entire US arsenal, including Cruise,Hawk, and AMRAAM missiles, Paveway bombs, and depleted uranium Gattlingguns, made Raytheon an ideal focus for a disarmament campaign.

    Seven acts of disobedience

    A group of activists from Worcester, Massachusetts, began a weekly vigil atRaytheon's main gate between 6 and 7am, when the workers drove by for thefirst shift. Later on, we joined forces with members of Merrimack Valley People forPeace to organise seven acts of civil disobedience. These escalated from merelycrossing the property line with banners to more stark actions like pouring our ownblood on the Raytheon sign.
        On one occasion we draped a large ban-ner over their sign to rename the plant "Raytheon: Merchant of Death", while onthe Tuesday before Easter, we blocked traffic with another banner reading"Make this a truly Holy Week, DISARM RAYTHEON!". We even managed a lit-tle street theatre when we entered the property in suits, with badges, and clip-boards ready to perform a citizens' weapons inspection of the plant.

    Defending ourselves

    The Raytheon Peacemakers always represented themselves in court and used anecessity defence three times to articulate why civil disobedience is sometimes amoral and legal duty. The testimony of witnesses, like former US Attorney Gen-eral Ramsey Clark and Tara Thornton of the Military Toxins Project, exposedRaytheon's violations of international law and common decency. During one trial,Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit said, "Raytheon is doing the samething that Nazi Germany did, contributing to the killing of thousands of inno-cent people in Iraq. It should have been Raytheon on trial today."
        Many of the defendants shared firsthard experience from Iraq and other warzones with the judges and juries. The Raytheon Peacemakers received extensiveand fairly sympathetic media coverage, which often prompted discussion ofRaytheon in letters to the editor. We even put together a three-day peace walkfrom the Concord, Massachusetts, manufacturer of depleted uranium shells toRaytheon's Andover plant.

    Inspiring others to action

    Our efforts inspired another group to organise a tax day march from the InternalRevenue Service headquarters to Raytheon, sarcastically urging taxpayers to cut outthe middle-man since Raytheon receives so many federal dollars. Carrying huge pup-pets and colorful banners, this group marched to oppose "death and taxes". Sev-eral participants "crossed the line" and served thirty days in prison.
        At another time, Raytheon Peacemakers in Massachusetts organised a simultaneous protest with Raytheon Peacemakers inTucson, Arizona, where Cruise missiles are assembled. Events like this lifted ourspirits.

    Staying the course

    Unfortunately, a number of factors wore people down. The extremely early morn-ing weekly vigil was very hard to maintain with seven of the regular participants dri-ving an hour each way to get to Andover. The trials took an enormous amount oftime. The court started slapping us with unforeseen sentences like a year of super-vised probation including a 500-yard stay-away order from any Raytheon prop-erty and a hundred hours of humiliating "community service".
        Although we did manage to continue vigiling, albeit 500 yards down the road,the probation red tape did slow us down. For a while, only two local activists keptup the vigil.

    Re-energising

    But now, we are regrouping. The weekly vigil is growing and a new round of civildisobedience is being discussed, as well as creative actions which do not entailarrest, like the display of a hundred-foot banner reading "Raytheon kills children!"On 15 August, my wife and I are even joining an anti-Raytheon protest inDerry, Northern Ireland.
        The key to sustaining a campaign iscreativity and community. We need to stretch our imaginations, inspire others,and build supportive relationships. The horrible images of carnage from Iraq andAfghanistan are powerful reminders that the stakes are too high to let Raytheon,its workers, or US taxpayers, off the hook.
    Scott Schaeffer-Duffy is a founder member of the Raytheon Peacemakers group.
    Raytheon Peacemakers, Saints Francis & Therese Catholic Worker, 52 Mason St, Worcester, MA 01610 USA (email ThereseCW@aol.com).
    For information about the Raytheon campaign in Derry, visit     http://lark.phoblacht.net/raytheon.html
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