Michele Darr is This Week's Wings of Justice Honoree for Giving Her All to Bring Attention to National Guard Plight

WINGS OF JUSTICE

Michele Darr

In 1990, Michele Darr was a civilian living in Kuwait. Seeing the devastating effects of the American occupation firsthand, she says she vowed to make it her life's work to reach out to those in need of peace and healing.

Now a hospice caregiver and mother of six in Corvallis, OR, Darr continues to fulfill her pledge. She participated in a cross-country bicycle journey in 2007 with three of her youngest children to show how the world can begin to give up on oil.

Now Darr is taking it one huge step further. She's said she's willing to give up her life to bring attention to the way her state's National Guardsmen are being treated in U.S. foreign wars.

Darr has basically taken up residence in front of the Oregon statehouse since November 1, 2008. She's been fasting since then as well, holding a hunger strike until early December, when the governor begged her to eat something. Now she's living on vitamin supplements and water.

Darr and activists in nearly two dozen other states are challenging the legality of the Authorization for Use of Military Force, insisting that the federal government no longer has the right to deploy state-level troops.

Oregon officials, including the governor, have voiced objections over having their National Guard troops taken away from home, when the troops have traditionally stood in the defense of the state, not as combatants in foreign wars.

The National Guard deployments are not only challenged on legal grounds but also on moral ones. When soldiers sign up for the guard, they generally do so in order to serve their state on weekends. Instead they are often requisitioned by the federal government to serve two, three, sometimes as many as four overseas deployments.

Darr often talks about how heartbroken she is when she speaks with National Guard troops who have to put their children in foster care while they're serving abroad. In this way, the anxiety and stress felt by soldiers reverberates through the community. Instead of being used to maintain stability, the National Guard deployments tear communities apart.

This spring's deployment would be the state's largest since World War II: 3,500 troops. The deployment has already begun, but that won't stop Darr.

One thing that stands out when listening to Darr talking about the protest is that it's never about her. She acknowledges that, while it's tough for her to deprive herself of food, comfort, and family time, it's nothing compared to what our troops are facing. She says the same thing about the danger she is putting herself in by fasting and exposing herself to the elements, and in response to criticism that she's depriving her children of a mother figure.

Darr isn't just a rabble-rousing protester. She stands outside the state capitol building handing out information about HB 2556, a bill that would give Oregon's governor the authority to block the deployment of his state's National Guard. Darr is urging every citizen she speaks with to call their representatives and demand support for the legislation. She collects signatures on a petition each day in the freezing cold, sitting down only when she gets lightheaded.

"I'm willing to go all the way," she said. She added that she has signed medical orders to not be force-fed should she slip into unconsciousness. She has told interviewers that she won't stop fasting until the deployment is canceled. Darr has lost 58 pounds since November.

As Diana Greene, a BuzzFlash reader from Beaverton, OR, who brought our attention to Darr's story said, "Michele Darr deserves the Wings of Justice Award for putting her life on the line for peace."

We agree. Stay warm out there, Michele.

WINGS OF JUSTICE

Nominated by Diana Greene from Beaverton, OR. To see a full list of past Wings of Justice honorees, click here.