Radio — Working against war and militarism in Winnipeg

[audio:http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/309700497-scott-neigh-talking-radical-trr-ep-91-nov-262014-working-against-war-and-militarism-in-winnipeg.mp3]

On this week’s episode of Talking Radical Radio, I talk with Glen Michalchuk, the chair of Peace Alliance Winnipeg, a broad-based anti-war and peace organization, about the long-term challenge of opposing war and militarism in Canada.

The direct violence committed and abetted by the Canadian state abroad has a horrific impact on those who bear its consequences — largely civilians, whatever the government propaganda says, and mostly non-white. But here in Canada, the amped-up Canadian complicity in war, empire, death, and destruction in the last 15 years is, tragically, more like a dull ache in the body politic — a source of nausea and a focus of dislike for the significant proportion of the population who oppose militarist adventures overseas, but largely dealt with by trying not to think about it too much. Even the Canadian participation in war and empire in the context of Afghanistan, which was the longest war in Canadian history and which a solid majority of the country opposed in its later years, generated only sporadic and fragmented active opposition.

Thankfully, there are a range of ordinary people who continue to do the hard work of actively opposing war and supporting peace-with-justice. Not all of these self-identify as “anti-war activists” or “peace activists,” of course, but some do, including Glenn Michalchuk. He speaks with me about the roots of Peace Alliance Winnipeg, its work to slowly build routine peace and justice events into the fabric of life in the city, its responses to the not-infrequent crises that militarism brings, and some reflections on his own more than three decades of working against war.

To learn more about Peace Alliance Winnipeg, click here.

Talking Radical Radio brings you grassroots voices from across Canada. We give you the chance to hear many different people that are facing many different struggles talk about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it, in the belief that such listening is a crucial step in strengthening all of our efforts to change the world. To learn more about the show in general, visit its website here. You can learn about suggesting topics for future shows here.

Talking Radical Radio is brought to you by Scott Neigh, a writer, media producer, and activist based in Sudbury, Ontario, and the author of two books examining Canadian history through the stories of activists.

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