Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Golden Rule crashes Fleet Week, peacefully

"We're not being jerks and trying to force our message onto anyone."

On Saturday (October 14), Fleet Week was in full swing at San Diego Bay.

Broadway Pier

Crowds lined the waterfront from Tuna Harbor north along the Embarcadero to watch Navy and Coast Guard vessels and helicopters performing in and over the water. More waited in line to tour Broadway Pier, where sailors sporting sidearms and semiautomatic rifles guarded access to the amphibious transport ship USS Anchorage, troop transports, churro vendors, tanks, bubble tea stands, and pieces of heavy artillery on display.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Outside the pier entrance near the foot of Broadway, demonstrators with Veterans for Peace handed out flyers calling attention to the Golden Rule, a 34-foot sailboat serving as an unofficial entry in the ongoing parade of military might.

The boat, which was the flagship of a thwarted 1958 attempt to block nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands, is on its second tour of San Diego, having previously visited for a 2015 peace conference.

"Obviously you've got a certain demographic who's coming out for an event like this," admitted Sean, one of the veteran activists handing out flyers calling for goals such as a peace treaty with North Korea, a diversion of tax dollars from military spending to more local concerns like homeless veterans subjected to the ongoing hepatitis A epidemic, and a cessation of showy events like Fleet Week that the group says misleadingly attract youth to volunteer for service.

"Still, we're not being jerks and trying to force our message onto anyone," Sean continues. "I'd say the response has been a mix between interest and neutrality, nothing really negative."

Helen Jaccard is the Golden Rule’s project manager and was part of the two-boat demonstration on the bay Saturday.

"We're responding to the desensitization that's going on that makes it seem like war machines on our streets and in our waterways is just a normal thing," Jaccard said.

"The people that seem to be most receptive to our message are the servicemembers on shore mingling with the rest of the population. Veterans for Peace is military veterans interacting with active duty military, and they listen," she continued, adding that most of the feedback the group has received at a total of five Fleet Week celebrations (including past stops in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles) has been positive.

The Golden Rule will remain docked in San Diego throughout the winter, with various other outreach projects planned for the coming months.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Digital Currency Wave Hits the Shores of San Diego

Next Article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest

On Saturday (October 14), Fleet Week was in full swing at San Diego Bay.

Broadway Pier

Crowds lined the waterfront from Tuna Harbor north along the Embarcadero to watch Navy and Coast Guard vessels and helicopters performing in and over the water. More waited in line to tour Broadway Pier, where sailors sporting sidearms and semiautomatic rifles guarded access to the amphibious transport ship USS Anchorage, troop transports, churro vendors, tanks, bubble tea stands, and pieces of heavy artillery on display.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Outside the pier entrance near the foot of Broadway, demonstrators with Veterans for Peace handed out flyers calling attention to the Golden Rule, a 34-foot sailboat serving as an unofficial entry in the ongoing parade of military might.

The boat, which was the flagship of a thwarted 1958 attempt to block nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands, is on its second tour of San Diego, having previously visited for a 2015 peace conference.

"Obviously you've got a certain demographic who's coming out for an event like this," admitted Sean, one of the veteran activists handing out flyers calling for goals such as a peace treaty with North Korea, a diversion of tax dollars from military spending to more local concerns like homeless veterans subjected to the ongoing hepatitis A epidemic, and a cessation of showy events like Fleet Week that the group says misleadingly attract youth to volunteer for service.

"Still, we're not being jerks and trying to force our message onto anyone," Sean continues. "I'd say the response has been a mix between interest and neutrality, nothing really negative."

Helen Jaccard is the Golden Rule’s project manager and was part of the two-boat demonstration on the bay Saturday.

"We're responding to the desensitization that's going on that makes it seem like war machines on our streets and in our waterways is just a normal thing," Jaccard said.

"The people that seem to be most receptive to our message are the servicemembers on shore mingling with the rest of the population. Veterans for Peace is military veterans interacting with active duty military, and they listen," she continued, adding that most of the feedback the group has received at a total of five Fleet Week celebrations (including past stops in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles) has been positive.

The Golden Rule will remain docked in San Diego throughout the winter, with various other outreach projects planned for the coming months.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19
Next Article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.