Rain and the Rhinoceros

Ever since I took a class with legendary peace activist Marv Davidov I’ve been following the “cluster bomb” debate. It seems a big step forward was made yesterday when the UK decided to not only ban cluster munitions from the military but also ban the US from storing stockpiles on UK soil. Read the story here.

According to a recent article a senior United States official said that cluster bombs are not bad when used responsibly. Of course, cluster bombs are bad precisely because they cannot be used responsibly.

For those of you who don’t know:

“Cluster bombs are small explosive bomblets carried in a large cannister that opens in mid-air, scattering them over a wide area. The bomblets may be delivered by aircraft, rocket, or by artillery projectiles.The CBU (cluster bomb unit) 26, which was widely used in Laos, is an anti-personnel fragmentation bomb that consists of a large bombshell holding 670 tennis ball-sized bomblets, each of which contain 300 metal fragments. If all the bomblets detonate, some 200,000 steel fragments will be propelled over an area the size of several football fields, creating a deadly killing zone. Because the fragments travel at high velocity, when they strike people they set up pressure waves within the body that do horrific damage to soft tissue and organs: even a single fragment hitting somewhere else in the body can rupture the spleen, or cause the intestines to explode. This is not an unfortunate, unintended side-effect; these bombs were designed to do this.

Because cluster bombs disperse widely and are difficult to target precisely, they are especially dangerous when used near civilian areas. In addition, they are prone to failure: if the container opens at the wrong height, or the bomblets don’t fuse properly, or their descent is broken by trees, or they land on soft ground – they may not detonate. With a high dud rate estimated to be 10 to 30 percent, unexploded cluster bombs lay on the ground becoming, in effect, super landmines, and can explode at the slightest touch. They have proven to be a serious, long-lasting threat, especially to civilians, but also to soldiers, peacekeepers and bomb clearance experts. Children, who are sometimes attracted to the bomblets’ bright colors and interesting shapes, represent a high percentage of victims.” Bombies

Cluster bombs have been a favorite of the United States dropping them on Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq. It is estimated that 400 million people live near unexploded cluster bombs. In Israel’s offensive against Lebanon in 2006 they were extensively used as well. In recent years, Norway has led an international effort called the “Oslo Process” to ban the weapons and nearly 100 countries have signed on, but the United States has again refused to sign.

When I told people I was taking a class with veteran anti-war activist Marv Davidov, I received a variety of responses. From coffee shop junkies who informed me that “Marv is a legend” to my own father who said “Oh yeah, who hasn’t heard of Marv Davidov?” Indeed, anyone from Minneapolis and probably any long-time peace activist will know the name Marv Davidov. Noam Chomsky reflected on Marv’s life saying, “Marv’s dedication and courage have been demonstrated in a way that has led to the creation of a community of committed people, whose ongoing activities have been an inspiration to others.”

Besides my Nain (Grandma in Welsh), Marv was the first person to introduce me to active nonviolence. In a class co-taught with Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Marv recounted, full of personality, his “oral history” of activism. After coming home from war in Vietnam, Marv became an outspoken critic of the Minneapolis-based weapons manufacturer, Honeywell. He led a campaign known as the “Honeywell Project” that directly confronted the company’s manufacturing of cluster bombs. I remember when Marv brought in his exploded “bomblet” from a cluster bomb. He told us that he used to carry it everywhere he went. Marv’s story of his fight against cluster bombs was compelling and left us all wanting to carry on his tradition. Today, Alliant Techsystems manufactures these bombs and you will still see Marv’s face out at the site at the once a week vigil.

After my class with Marv I had the opportunity to spend time with him while we campaigned together for, in his words “the second coming of Paul [wellstone],” his hero Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer for US Congress. I also had the opportunity to spend a weekend with him traveling by van to Goshen for a peace conference.

Today, according to an Associated Press article, 48 countries meet in Oslo, Norway, not least because of the work of Marv Davidov, to discuss a drive that will call for the end of the use of cluster bombs.

To hear this makes me think of Marv and his legacy. It also makes me think of how fortunate I am to have studied nonviolence under such a living legend. Most of all, however, when I think of Marv I don’t think of his legendary character. Instead, I think of the Marv I have known – the man who loves to the talk shit, swear, and smoke cigarettes; the man who was the first to jump in front of every camera at every protest in order to speak out against injustice. When I think of Marv I begin to laugh because he is one funny son-of-a-bitch. Marv’s legacy will endure, of course, and one day my baby boy will live in a world without cluster bombs. I thank Marv for this.