The vigil Sunday night honored Rachel Corrie, not as an American, but as an activist who died in her nonviolent protest for peace. (Corrie was crushed by an Israeli Defense Forces bulldozer while kneeling in front of a Palestinian physician's home.) In its caption, The Chronicle misrepresented the vigil and its purposes. The vigil was meant to reflect on the causes of the cyclical violence in the region and solutions to ending this violence. We were not valuing Corrie's life over any other life lost in this cycle of innocent deaths, but were honoring her peaceful resistance.
As Corrie's parents stated before the U.S. House of Representatives, "When we fail to support and protect the internationals who resist non-violently, we also undercut the non-violent initiatives of the Palestinians." Perhaps if The Chronicle had sent a reporter, or at minimum had asked the vigil organizers about the vigil's purpose, it would not have misrepresented the vigil or reported inaccurate information.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.