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Headed
to prison today, activist explains nonviolent witness: By Joshua J. McElwee A young sailor walks through his nuclear submarine, headed for the engine room. As he winds through the tight, crowded corridors he suddenly finds himself standing next to a nuclear missile launch hatch. He reaches out an outstretched hand. Tentatively, he places it on one of the warheads. Click. Something changes. The destructive power of a thermonuclear detonation is no longer an abstraction. It’s real. His hand is touching it. Over the next few days, the sailor heads to his chaplain. He asks the same questions, over and over: What are we doing? How can we justify this? Fast-forward thirty years. That ex-sailor, Mark Kenney, reports today to Duluth Federal Prison Camp for a six-month stint for an act of civil disobedience at Offutt Air Force Base. He walked about ten steps onto the property of the complex with three others after a vigil there Aug. 6. The prison stint is the third Kenney’s served for protests at the base, which is the home of U.S. Strategic Command and responsible for the planning and targeting of the nation’s nuclear weapons. It’s a reality that is a far cry from what Kenney thought he’d be doing when he first enlisted in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear propulsion program in 1977. Yet, in a March interview at the Omaha, Neb., Catholic Worker, the 51-year-old didn’t express any regrets. Holding a thick, well marked copy of the Bible in his hand as he spoke in a deep, slow voice, Kenney said he thought peace actions like his are “the only way out” from the threat of nuclear destruction. Following is NCR’s interview with Kenney, which covered his journey to nonviolent resistance, how he views his upcoming jail time, and what it means for his wife and family. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. NCR: What happened to you when you touched that nuclear warhead? (To read the rest of this article go to the National Catholic Reporter.) For updates and support for Mark Kenney and contact: The Omaha Catholic Worker
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