I joined Robert Greenwald's network of independent field producers for
Brave New Films. They produced Outfoxed, Unprecedented, Walmart: The
High Cost of Low Prices, and many other politically engaging films.
Yesterday, I worked with Dan Lohaus to document the confrontation
between the Vets and Fox News. Dan's documentary, When I Came Home,
won the Tribeca Film Festival 2006. This was such an amazing
experience, I thought I would share the videos and the email thread
with Robert Greenwald with the professors and administrators who helped
make this possible. Thank you all!
I put on my brown military thermals, my chocolate chip cammies, my
black
bandana and my black boots. I was off to represent for my father, my
uncle, their army buddies and all the people in my life that I knew and
didn't
know who had served this country and in some way, often the same way,
got the
shaft from it. Most of them are Black, like me. My home state,
Texas, is practically one huge military base. It's my patriotic duty,
as
the daughter of a Vietnam War combat medic, to pick up my weapon and
fight for
the cause. I grabbed my gear and went into friendly warrior mode to
help
these vets broadcast their story. And believe me -- their stories are amazing.
There's Harold -- most people would not suspect him as homeless because
he
carries himself with such dignity and determination. He rides the
train
to sleep and keep warm between his job and school. He launders his
clothing and is groomed. He is intelligent, lively and articulate.
He is doing what any man is supposed to do -- work and educate himself
-- yet
he cannot find a home.
There's James -- a 77-year-old Korea vet with a cane and steel-gray
Cherokee
eyes who gets choked up and teary when he recalls the action he endured
in
combat. He's 77 -- how long has he been fighting for respect, benefits
and a home?
Carol has found homes for over 80 veterans, but there are thousands
more.
They are still on the street because the Veterans Administration is pathetic and probably
just as
hard to fight as the war that got them into this situation. They're on
the subway and under bridges because they're tired of fighting.
My father served 20 years,
including Korea and Vietnam. He had two open heart bypass surgeries,
prostate cancer, radiation burn from prostate cancer, diabetes, gout,
lupus,
congestive heart failure, hypertension, several angioplasties and an
arteriectomy, and undiagnosed and severely undertreated post-traumatic stress syndrome. He was
declared 100% disabled, but he had to choose between his retirement
pension or
his disability pay. Though he served his country, saw action, saved
lives
and struggled at many times afterward to stay alive, he and all other
veterans
were not entitled to both their pay for serving and their compensation
for
being disabled. I imagine it hard to wear those colors after suffering
those indignities. But he'd put out the flag on Independence Day, and
is
buried at Fort Sam Houston. In his honor, I wear his uniform and
camouflage.
I've already been thinking very intensely about what it means for me to
be an
American in a country that has not always been fair to my kind. I
studied
the Vietnam War and American literature with
Professor H.
Bruce Franklin and for the first time, in 3D, experienced and
understood my
father's experience. I sobbed in horror and sorrow when I fully
comprehended why my father was so troubled, and how sad I was that I
did not
get it sooner. Years wasted because our country sends many poor men,
especially men of color, to the frontlines of war. Then only to be
spit
out to waste away without so much as a home or help to address the
psycho-spiritual damage war has caused. My catharsis of understanding
was
so powerful, I am sure that it also released my father of some of his
burdens
in the afterlife.
And I'd just spent Christmas break watching the ground-breaking and
life-changing documentary series, Eyes on the Prize, about the
Civil Rights Movement. I'd seen it as a child with my father. At
age 14, it made me join the NAACP to keep fighting. It made me want to
make more such documentaries. Seeing it again, it cleared my
perspective
of my place in the continuum of struggle. Many people in poverty join
the
military as a way out, not to worsen their circumstances. Veterans'
issues
are another prism in the fight for civil rights and access to
opportunity.
The freedom of speech they fought for entitles me to wield my camera
and
document the truth, from my worldview. But the News Corporation
security
detail insisted that we stay behind their property line. One guard was
particularly fond of only saying, "Step back, Miss," though there
were several other cameramen and reporters. I was not sure if I was being
singled out for gender, color, or both. Perhaps all of the above,
since,
sadly the directive was always given by the only Black male guard.
Perhaps he hasn't read any Frederick Douglass in his lifetime and been
enlightened, but I nonetheless stood my ground.
There was the back and forth between the producers with Carol and the
veterans:
"Thank you for your service... blah blah blah... I'm
sorry, you have to have an appointment... yadda yadda..."
"Could you step back, MISS!"
"Yes, we'll take the petitions... you can't come...
blah blah..."
They walk off without the petitions. They come back to get the
petitions. No, nobody can come up and talk to Bill O'Reilly. Or his
receptionist. Nonetheless, I am grateful that alongside us, MSNBC and
The
Daily News came out to cover and support their story. I just got off
the phone
with Carol. She's getting lots of calls. It's like Dan's film, When I Came Home, all over again. Maybe this time, many many
more vets will find a home because of the media attention.
Dan and I left exhilarated, and the vets departed hopeful. After
watching
Dan's film and our report on the event, I believe that this is the
beginning of
another major movement in the fight for true democracy. If the
political
anti-war logic is not compelling enough, then we'll force them to look
at the
aftermath of the vets when considering the total cost of war.
Walking back to the train station, hungry, I wondered what it's like to
live as
a homeless veteran. At that moment I didn't have to stretch too
hard. I grabbed the small handful of loose change in my pocket that I
pilfered from my roommate's coin jar. I belong to another American
underclass who have their own set of bureaucratic institutions to slay
--
full-time college students. My school's administrative error delays my
registration, which delays my financial aid, which leaves me
temporarily
insolvent. I counted the change and I counted my blessings. I
do have a roof over my head, an education, and food at home. I have a
family and support system that would never leave me homeless, no matter
the
state of the economy. Riches are not solely money, so no matter how
challenging things may be for the moment, I will not forsake those who
struggle
with no absolutely no resources. Just like how I'll pay back my
roommate's
quarters and dimes when my relief comes, I'll keep fighting to get
what's owed
to my father and other vets.
MSNBC: Homeless Vets Petition Delivery to O'Reilly on
Countdown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eievV4WiADM
FOX Denies Entrance to Veterans Demanding an Apology from
O’Reilly —
WITH VIDEO
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/27414-fox-denies-entrance-to-veterans-demanding-an-apology-from-o-reilly-with-video
Robin Laverne Wilson is a Rutgers-Newark student. Posted February 2008.
