{"id":12951,"date":"2009-07-24T13:34:44","date_gmt":"2009-07-24T18:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=12951"},"modified":"2009-07-24T13:56:19","modified_gmt":"2009-07-24T18:56:19","slug":"better-know-an-ivaw-board-candidate-cameron-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=12951","title":{"rendered":"Better Know an IVAW Board Candidate: Cameron White."},"content":{"rendered":"

I know you\u2019ve enjoyed the three deadbeats we have chronicled so far, Matthis<\/a>, Bonehead<\/a> and Kipling\u2019s retarded nephew<\/a>. (I forget his name, and am on a deadline.) Anyway, IVAW Members are getting to vote for 6 of 8, and those 3 all suck. And I know you have all been waiting anxiously for me to bash the next candidate.<\/p>\n

Well, not gonna do it. I wanted to. But, I actually like this guy. (Except his first name, which is my middle name, and one I have always hated.) But first, a little background.<\/p>\n

Obviously I would consider Ms. Coppa a friend. And I respect her. Yeah, the whole fluffy bunny and unicorn thing gives me a serious case of the monkey ass too, but she really is a nice girl, and a lovely person. One other IVAW member that I surprisingly like quite a bit is Logan Laituri. Logan served in Iraq, and then came to find his religious views did not conform with what he was doing. But, this is what impressed me about Logan:<\/a><\/p>\n

Laituri hoped to return to Iraq when his unit was called back to action. He wanted to serve as an unarmed noncombatant, as conscientious objectors have in previous wars. However, his request was denied; his commanding officers thought he was being dishonest and was trying to avoid service. Laituri said watching his unit deploy with out him was one of the most difficult moments in his life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anyway, that strikes me as the way to go about it. Logan showed up at The Sniper one time too, so major Kudos to him for that. I also like Jenn Hogg (my new email pal), Perry O\u2019Brien (from my home state of Maine), even former ED Kelly Daugherty. And obviously we\u2019ve attracted our fair share of refugees here now. But look, I disagree on the war, disagree on reparations, but I absolutely agree on their third plank: Full benefits, adequate healthcare (including mental health), and other supports for returning servicemen and women.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

So, I disagree with all IVAW on some issues, but the reason I *HATE* some of them is that the one point we should agree on I don\u2019t see some of them involved in. Matthis for instance, do you think he\u2019s helped a single one of our brothers and sisters? Hell no. Kokesh? He advises them to store piss in the fridge, and spouts crazy conspiracies when he mixes meds and alcohol. Bonomo or whatever his name is? He got schooling on our dime, and now spends his days shitting on all our friends in uniform.<\/p>\n

Now, make no mistake, I doubt Cameron White and I would be bosom pals, going golfing together on a Sunday morning. He\u2019s a bit\u2026.odd. Not bad mind you, I am a lot odd, but his life has taken him in a radically altered direction than mine.<\/p>\n

He served for 4 years in the USMC, leaving as a CPL after 2 OIF deployments. Right now he is \u201cstarting a 501(c)3 dedicated to alternative forms of assisting vets in dealing with combat trauma.\u201d And he belongs to:<\/p>\n

Veterans for Peace, Save Darfur Coalition, IAVA, Zen Peacemakers, Iraq Veterans for Progress\u2026Member Coordinator – IVAW-LA – Participated in several rally’s and gatherings, Camp Casey Alumni, Operation W.A.N.T and more.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So again, we might not have much in common. Here is his platform statement on his campaign:<\/p>\n

Having been a member of IVAW since late 2005, I have seen this organization go through many changes. There have been both successes and failures. Recently, many members have felt that the organization has lost its usefulness, or purpose. I don’t see it that way. I believe that we can capitalize on our success, regroup, restrategize [sic] and emerge from this next conference with a renewed vigor to strive towards our 3 points of unity. We need sustainability and we have many fresh faces with new ideas on how to get the message out and continue the work of bringing an end to the Wars and Occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. I want to see that that happens in the most efficient and useful way possible. That is why I am running for the board.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kind of heavy on boilerplate and light on specific points for my liking, but hard to argue with too much in there. But unlike every other candidate we have profiled so far, whether you like the means by which he goes about this or not, his dedication to his brothers and sisters in need is above reproach:<\/p>\n

My recent board or committee experience comes from my time as a Department Service Officer for the Disabled American Veterans, where I was on the VA committee to address the issues and concerns with OIF\/OEF veterans. I have also gained experience along the communication lines involved when I began the endeavor to start my own 501(c)3 and traveled to South America and began work on a project to build a Buddhist Monastery and healing center.<\/p>\n

\u2026 I have a good amount of contacts who work for non-profits that are geared towards assisting veterans. These include the Disabled American Veterans, National Veterans Foundation, Step Up 4 Vets and the IAVA. Also, I believe that being in Los Angeles, we have an untapped resource in the wealth and celebrity that exists here.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, like I said, we might not go golfing together, but I would absolutely love to grab a beer with this guy some time.\u00a0 Sounds like he leads an interesting life, and who among us doesn’t like to enjoy a frothy Guinness with a fellow veteran?\u00a0 Here is his IVAW profile:<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2007 he walked across the U.S.-Mexican Border in New Mexico on a Peace pilgrimage with his Zen Buddhist teacher Claude AnShin Thomas. (AnShin is a Vietnam Veteran, Zen Buddhist Monk, and author of: “At Hell’s Gates, A Soldiers Journey from War to Peace<\/a>.”)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He\u2019s not really a hippy, but he\u2019s got that kinda feel to him from his writing. Sort of like the Kung Fu: The Legend Continues guy (minus the rope around his neck and junk).<\/p>\n

Currently he is in South America coordinating efforts to build a spiritual center for healing and transformation. He is also working on a project in the United States to teach veterans alternative ways to deal with PTSD, such as meditation, yoga and art.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I got back from A-stan I went on vacation with a fellow squad leader to Belize. We went to Tikal and Guatemala, and climbed on the rocks in a blinding rain storm with the jungle all around. It was incredibly spiritual in a non-religious sort of way.\u00a0\u00a0 And, in a weird way, I felt like that day sort of cleansed me.\u00a0 I know that sounds weird, but I really would love to go back and spend a week just walking around that jungle.<\/p>\n

And I am totally down with other cultures and religions, particularly the various philosophical under-pinnings. Now, I might not go to an Ashram or anything, but I do like the thought that if someone needs help, and a higher being provides that comfort, or even a belief in a different source of inspiration, I welcome that aid to any of our wounded comrades.<\/p>\n

I tried\u00a0to see if I\u00a0could get some more info on some of the projects Cameron is running. I honestly am interested. Again, might not be the way I would deal with things, but this isn\u2019t really about me. So, Cameron, if you do read this, pitch in some of your stuff in the comments.<\/p>\n

But, if you are a IVAW member out there, I don\u2019t know that you could do any better than with Cameron on the board. He obviously has a depth of character and empathy about veterans which is sorely lacking in the other asshats we\u2019ve discussed already.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know you\u2019ve enjoyed the three deadbeats we have chronicled so far, Matthis, Bonehead and Kipling\u2019s … Better Know an IVAW Board Candidate: Cameron White.<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}