Yoko Ono calls for December 8th to become a day of worldwide healing

[Human Torch]

John Lennon's widow calls for healing

Sun Nov 26, 2:39 AM ET



NEW YORK - Yoko Ono is calling for the anniversary of the death of her husband, John Lennon, to become a day of worldwide healing. In a full-page advertisement appearing in Sunday editions of The New York Times, Ono urges readers to mark the anniversary by apologizing to those who have suffered because of violence and war. "Every year, let's make December 8th the day to ask for forgiveness from those who suffered the insufferable," writes the former Beatle's widow, who signs the letter Yoko Ono Lennon.

Ono urges readers to take responsibility for failing to intervene on behalf of victims around the world. "Know that the physical and mental abuse you have endured will have a lingering effect on our society," she writes in a portion of the letter directed to victims. "Know that the burden is ours."

Ono was with Lennon when he was gunned down as he returned home from a recording studio on Dec. 8, 1980. The shooter, Mark David Chapman, remains in New York's Attica state prison. His fourth request for parole was denied last month. Of her own loss, Ono says: "I don't know if I am ready yet to forgive the one who pulled the trigger. ... But healing is what is urgently needed now in the world."

"Let's wish strongly that one day we will be able to say that we healed ourselves, and by healing ourselves, we healed the world."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061126/ap_en_tv/us_people_ono

[jeff30997]

1. Yoko Ono is an attention whore.

Screw you Yoko!

[Nikki Stone1]

3. Love those female slurs

Yoko Ono was a top experimental artist in her own right. She is an intelligent woman with ideas. I imagine she is sincere here.

[LeighAnn]

5. Yeah, but didn't she, like, break up the Beatles?

Just kidding!

[Nikki Stone1]

9. LOL!!!!

You know, it's always convenient to blame things on other people. Those guys outgrew each other.

[Triana]

46. The Beatles were having issues well before Yoko came along...

...according to the history on this site:

http://www.johnlennon.com/

So much for blaming the women for everything.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

6. Agreed.

Although I do wish she had just shut up when John was singing at concerts. Nothing nicer than watching him on stage and hearing "AAAYYYYIIIII."

But whenever I think I can't stand her, I make a point of remembering that John loved her, and that's all that matters.

[last1standing]

7. That has to be one of the most asinine posts I've ever read here.

Someone calls for healing and understanding, you then respond with "Screw you Yoko!". :wtf:

I guess there are idiots everywhere in life.

[PassingFair]

10. Puhleeze...

What the hell did Yoko ever do to you?

Or to anyone else.

She has never done anything horrible except to love John Lennon, as
far as I can see.

UNFORGIVABLE!

Screw YOU!

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. Calling for World healing is attention getting? Well I take that.

What is your problem?

[MonkeyFunk]

43. attention whore?

Can you name 10 times she's been in the news in the last 20 years?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

47. Yikes, you definitely have issues with Yoko Ono. However, I really believe she knows

quite clearly what John would have wanted and is doing what she can to make that happen, even in today's f***ed up world.


Good for her. MKJ

[H2O Man]

55. sad

[stevedeshazer]

63. Takes one to know one.

Geez....

[Bucky]

72. The audacity of that woman, trying to promote world peace! What a nerve she has!

I can't think of even one other performing artist who has as big an ego as she.

[Nikki Stone1]

2. In the Catholic world, Dec 8 is the feast of the Immaculate conception

Add that to John Lennon's murder and I see a new day off.

[dflprincess]

83. Dec 8 is also the anniversay of FDR asking Congress

for a declaration of war against Japan. (Imagine that, even though the U.S. had been attacked the day before, the President remembered he had to ask Congress for a declaration of war. What a concept.)

Another reason the day should be set aside for peace and reconcilliation.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

4. Anything to make up for the movie about Chapman.

Really, whose bright idea was it to give that asshole even more attention? His name is already connected to John Lennon forever, which is terrible all by itself.

[StraightDope]

8. Ah, Yoko.

You are past your expiration date.

[MonkeyFunk]

13. Yeah.

peace is so 1968.

[StraightDope]

14. No, but Yoko Ono IS "so 1968".

:eyes:

[last1standing]

15. So she should kill herself because you say she's out of style?

Or maybe just box herself in her apartment and make sure no one can see her? Instead, why don't you tell us all just one thing Yoko Ono has done to warrant your declaration of hatred toward her?

[StraightDope]

19. I don't hate her, I just agree with the first reply to the thread.

She's little more than an attention-grubbing has-been. I'd say the same thing about any ex-celebrity who doesn't know when to STFU and get out of the limelight.

[last1standing]

21. Calling for peace is "attention-grubbing"?

I think I'll do some attention-grubbing, myself, tomorrow. :eyes:

Someone has a problem and I don't think it's Yoko.

[Nikki Stone1]

22. Is it possible that she is geniunely appalled by the same things we are?

The war in Iraq? The never ending war against "terror"? The race for every little nation to get nuclear weapons? The imperialism of PNAC?

Maybe she just gives a damn and uses her name recognition to actually get people thinking about these things. She's always been political; this is nothing new.

Look Springsteen. He's like, so 1980s to most people who don't really know his portfolio. And yet no one called him a whore and told him to go screw himself when he went and sang with the Kerry campaign.

[StraightDope]

26. Every nation SHOULD have nuclear weapons.

If every nation had nuclear weapons, you'd see a lot fewer wars.

If I had been posting on DU that far back, I most certainly would have said something similar. I fucking hate Bruce Springsteen, but then again, I hate anyone affiliated with New Jersey. Texas too.

Oh, and as for a reason why I dislike Yoko Ono, I offer the following:

"I don't know if I am ready yet to forgive the one who pulled the trigger. ... But healing is what is urgently needed now in the world."

How very hypocritical of her. She wants the world to forgive the violence committed in our name, but won't forgive Mark David Chapman? Hmmm...

[Nikki Stone1]

28. You hate EVERYONE from New Jersey?

Ok, then. That answers a lot of my questions.

:D

[last1standing]

30. You hate that she acknowledges her limitations?

I guess if she were to hide them from us that would be better. :wtf:

[Nikki Stone1]

31. He also hates everyone from Texas

if you read his post

[StraightDope]

37. Texas is a cancer on America, and we would be better off without it.

New Jersey is a toxic cesspool that hasn't produced anything of use since the Revolutionary Era. Oh, and thanks for assuming I'm a guy. Real nice of you. :eyes:

[Nikki Stone1]

40. ROFL!!!

:rofl: :rofl:

[laundry_queen]

68. Ya might want to adjust your profile then.

Y'know, if you don't like assumptions about your gender.

[StraightDope]

70. I happen to be transgendered.

I'll adjust it when DU provides an option for that choice.

[Nikki Stone1]

75. Yes, but why do you hate New Jersey?

Yeah, it's got its problems, but so does every other state. Not that I'm a big advocate for the Garden State, but Jeez!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

77. I find it disappointing that someone who is TG, who should understand bigotry, is bigoted

towards entire states.

Blind bigotry is blind bigotry, regardless of what it's towards.

[MH1]

34. Wow, that's a lot of hate.

Aren't you looking for that OTHER political forum...the one that begins with "f"?

:shrug:

[H2O Man]

59. "

[Bucky]

73. Well said, Straight Dope! How dare she have unresolved feelings about her husband's murderer!!

This obviously disqualifies her from ever speaking out on the need for healing. She's just lucky we let her enjoy the oxygen!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

76. Why exactly do you hate Bruce Springsteen? He's a good liberal. And wtf is your problem with NJ?

And what does my state have to do with TX?

Jesus I hate stupidity.

[stevedeshazer]

78. The subject line of your post should be tattooed on your forehead

as a reminder to everyone you meet of your hatred.

What an ugly, shameful sentiment.

StraightDope, alright. :(

[Javaman]

85. "Every nation SHOULD have nuclear weapons."

"If every nation had nuclear weapons, you'd see a lot fewer wars."

Or a lot less nations...

[last1standing]

27. "Why won't any Democrats put their money where their mouth is?"

Ever hear that on this board? I know I have. Now here's your answer. Whiney hatemongers who can't appreciate a good thing because they can't understand happiness. These are the same people who are angry that the Dems won the house and senate because "they" haven't done anything (it might be because they don't have control yet, but still....).

And you're right about the sexism, too.

[Clark2008]

57. Yoko isn't exactly dumb - and she's a news junkie from what I

can remember, so I'm guessing she knows EXACTLY the score regarding the Neo-Cons and their fucked up "vision" of the world.

[MonkeyFunk]

33. Yeah

all those books she's written, those non-stop talk-show interviews, the constant press conferences. Gee, you can hardly go 2 or 3 years without seeing this attention-grubber in the news.

[acmavm]

36. She's talking about HER husband, the anniversary of HIS murder

(at which she was present), and a way to celebrate HER HUSBAND'S death.

And your connection to Lennon and history is?

[Matariki]

67. gotta love it. a 'never was' calling someone who's actually done something a 'has been'.

bully for you.

[uppityperson]

86. well, your name almost fits.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

11. More misogyny and racism around here

Yeah, all you people who attack Yoko, and blame her for breaking up the Beatles:

She did not break up the Beatles. They were sick of each other and had produced superhuman amounts of amazing music.

Yeah, she does do annoying screaming, or used to. That'a something against her. But it's minor. She's not perfect and none of us are perfect.

However, she does have more musical talent than Linda did!!! Linda had NONE.

She's an artist and she's weird. So what?

You people who attack her are no better than that old racist Al Capp who called her "Madame Nhu" in the movie "Imagine" when they were having the Bed In for Peace (yeah right, all oriental females are the same).

She also had an excellent education in Japan growing up. That included a musical education. John said he was inspired by hearing her play the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven on the piano. You cannot play all those arpeggios and be a musical idiot.

It takes several years of piano lessons and practice to play the Moonlight Sonata. I know of where I speak. I have played the piano since I was five years old and learned to read music. I had 12 years of piano lessons.

I suspect she's a lot smarter than she lets on. Maybe that's where the style of "Imagine" came from.

And she's using her power and influence to promote peace, just like she did when John was alive.

I think we should all play "Happy Xmas/War is Over" on Dec. 8th and throughout the Xmas season.

[Nikki Stone1]

20. That "screaming" was actually experimental music--seriously

The 1960s and 70s saw a great experimentation in music, inspired somewhat by John Cage and somewhat by the experimental art movement. Screaming was just considered an alternate vocal technique and I remember reading that Ono saw it as her reaction to her experiences growing up in post war Japan. And lest you think this is just silliness, it was the classically trained musicians, rebelling against the Eurocentric (especially Germanic) musical tradition that broke new ground with all kinds of unusual techniques, sounds, and events.

It's still going on, by the way. I met a classically trained musician who plays wire fences in Australia with a violin bow. Seriously. He's got a PhD I think.

[MuseRider]

32. Now that is awesome!

Wire Fences and bows. I love experimental music. That does not mean I want to listen to it again but you can find some miraculous innovations in some of the most difficult music to listen to.

[Nikki Stone1]

38. Yeah, the guy was an improvisor and said that he saw wire fences as string to play

He plays fences in all kinds of areas--deserts and towns etc--and he records his improvisations.

I know vocal improvisors in the experimental mold who scream, who hum, who talk, who make all kinds of weird vocalizations. There is something to putting together the unusual and unexpected that gets some interesting pieces going.

[MuseRider]

39. Again,

not to thread jack, but that is simply awesome. As a musician I am totally tied to classical performance and thinking about music out of the box like that is something I can appreciate but could never do. I have tons of respect for those who can.

[Nikki Stone1]

41. Someday. we'll have to do a thread about experimental music

There's so much to talk about. I know some really interesting musicians who improvise using experimental techniques and I'd love to compare impressions.

[MuseRider]

44. That would be great! n/t

[Triana]

51. She sings better can I can! I have nothing against Yoko

and she DID NOT freaking break up the Beatles. They were having issues months before she and John met and they didn't marry for a long time after that.

WHAT is it with people who always want to blame the women / wives of these guys for everything? They LOVE John or Paul but HATE their wives. Mysogeny doesn't begin to cover it. But, it's certainly an apropos start to the attitude.

[Clark2008]

61. Well... as a former teenybopper, I can honestly say that some

women hate the wives because they're jealous. :)

But, yes, as it relates to male fans and females who didn't have crushes on said musician, it does smack of mysogeny.

FWIW, I had a major crush on Pete Townshend, but I never hated his wife, Karen. I was jealous, but I figure if he loved her and I "loved" him, then I should love her. I'm such a hippie. :7

[Triana]

71. jealousy - must be it. It's all I can figure *shrug* (n/t)

[Matariki]

69. and big deal if she DID break up the beatles - they sucked

:evilgrin:

[bobbolink]

12. I was touched by this and wanted to respond with feeling.

But, looking at the hateful responses, all I can say is that DU is sad.

REally, this is just sad.

Time to do some soul-searching, folks.

:cry:

[MuseRider]

17. A perfect tribute

to a peaceful man from his wife who also held tight to peace no matter what anyone said. I honor her as well.

I have a performance that night. I will send my thoughts up to John and feelings out to Yoko who must still be suffering from that experience.

[last1standing]

18. Great post.

And a great idea for a tribute. Play well, my friend. :)

[MuseRider]

29. Why thank you.

I never thought I would ever read some of the things I read in the posts above. Dunno, when I read this I was first sad but then I had that warm feeling I always get when I think back to how important that movement was. She has continued to do the right thing and how anyone who even pretends to be left of center or for a peaceful world could say those things is more than I can understand.

I will play my best. Thank you. :hug:

[pinto]

24. Yes. Kudos to Yoko. Good to hear she's still around.

[Human Torch]

45. I remember the photos of Yoko from the night of Lennon's death...

...I believe she was holding on to assistant Elliot Mintz, and I've seldom seen such an expression of deep anguish in my life. Like the article says, she was there...right there...when Lennon got shot.

I admired Lennon's attitude toward the "world opinion" of Yoko. It was essentially "Fuck you, I'm the one who loves her and that's all that matters." And yeah, if you look up the word "conformist" in your handy-dandy Webster's Dictionary, you probably won't see a photo of Yoko. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in "Self-Reliance,"

These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.

People like to debate the issue of "soul mates"...do they exist, how do you know when you've found yours, etc. etc. etc. I think half of what pissed the world off about Yoko is that Lennon found meaning in his life outside of The Beatles...

...just like Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They all had wives and they all had other interests.

Yoko "broke up" jack shit. The band broke up. The band grew up. They wanted to conquer the world. They did. After that, what was left? Conquer Mars? What else did people want from them? A couple of decades of shitty Beatles albums from a band that was no longer into being Beatles?

Her sin is that she was instrumental in giving John Lennon 12 of the happiest years of his life. We should all be so guilty.

:patriot:

[MuseRider]

48. Perfect post.

I don't get the nastiness here. We should all be as lucky as John was with Yoko and she with him.

Love the Emerson quote. It is amazing how things never really change, we just keep repeating the things that do not work, hence the need to call for a day of healing once again.

I still say this is the perfect day to do the right thing and it is sorely needed for someone to speak out and she is the perfect one.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

50. OH...

John knew he'd married a strong woman and loved her for that.

Your post broke my heart and reminded me of the power of love. They faced the world together, for better, for worse.

Long live love. :cry: :pals: MKJ

[Sugar Smack]

79. I love Yoko Ono

and I loved your post!! :hug: :yourock:

[shanine]

80. Beautiful post, John speaks for himself

still. The website johnlennon.com has some great videos that Yoko has put together to share with us. I was especially moved by "Mother", so raw, so honest and so vulnerable, yet strong enough to bare his soul. The crowds from "Give Peace a Chance" videos gives me chills.

[pinto]

23. Grapefruit

The tree reaches a height of around 20 feet, and bears small white flowers. The fruit normally has a bright yellow peel with a pale flesh, and ranges in size from four to six inches in diameter, although some varieties are more oval in shape. The tree is highly versatile, comfortable in a wide range of soils, from acidic sandy clays to the alkaline soils of California. In recent times, sweeter varieties have been introduced, in addition to pink-fleshed fruit favoured for brightening up the breakfast table or salad bowl.

[Nikki Stone1]

25. :smile:

:)

[pinto]

42. :smile:

:-)

[stellanoir]

35. I've enormous respect and admiration for her and will happily

dedicate that day to peaceful thoughts.

It's no fun being cast as a dragon lady, "and all (she) is sayying. . .is give peace a chance. . ."

She doesn't need attention either. She's had enough for sure.

Bless her soul.

[VaTF1]

52. And she has lived in anonimity,,,,

Never needing a stage to take a political stand, or seek celebrity because of a last name she carries. Imagine a day, when not a bullet is fired in our streets, on a warfront, or thru the depression of a suicide. To have one day, when we discovered nothing but total peace.

My hat is off to a lady who loved and admired John, as many of my age did.

[stellanoir]

60. welcome to DU

This is a lovely and most inspiring line. . .

"Imagine a day, when not a bullet is fired in our streets, on a warfront, or thru the depression of a suicide. To have one day, when we discovered nothing but total peace."

I share and heartily endorse this concept and believe despite appearances to the contrary, it is wholly possible in our lifetimes.

[undeterred]

49. Why don't we just stay in bed all day?

That's really effective.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

53. Well, it might be ineffective if you did it. Obviously, you noticed when John and Yoko did it.

Very cool. :yourock: MKJ

[undeterred]

54. Yes, and I asked, what's the point of that?

[Lars39]

56. They used their celebrityhood as a platform for the message they

wanted to convey.

[H2O Man]

58. It was

their commercial for peace. They made a neat "Wedding Album," too.

Yoko is a kind and decent lady. Two of my nephews work for her, and they have nothing but good things to say about her. Everyone who knows her when she is in these parts in the summer really likes her.

[Lars39]

62. The name escapes me right now, but there was an HBO program

about them that was wonderful. She has my utmost respect.

[H2O Man]

65. I've always thought

her sense of humor was outrageous. I've admired her since she first started being seen with John. And she made him happy. Can't beat that.

Years ago, when they had the Dream Street Farms near the hamlet of Sidney Center, she sold a cow at the NY State Fair for some huge amount. I remember a lot of the local farmers just shaking their heads. But I'll tell you -- those old farmers were good judges of character. A phoney person couldn't pull the wool over their eyes. You know, a person can't really put on airs on a hay wagon, or in a pasture with cow pies scattered like land mines. Everyone I knew really liked them both a lot.

[rman]

81. What's the point of drawing attention to yourself in order to promote

world peace? How come you even have to ask that question?

[Name removed]

66. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MonkeyFunk]

74. Almost 40 years later

and you're still thinking about it, so I guess it had SOME impact.

[VaTF1]

82. And his "spirit" still lives within us.....

All one has to do is watch a video clip of Julian Lennon, and it is like John is still with us. The resemblance is striking, and it can tend to take one back to a time when artists were not afraid to call out for action against the war in VN. I know that John's works and memories will live with me until my last breath.

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

64. My kinda gal...

She can pick a date, too! The 8th is auspicious - Feast of the Immaculate Conception and, in Lyon, the beginning of the annual "festival of light", l'Illumination! That is the day everyone puts rows of votive candles in their windows, and the city sponsors elaborate lightshows by great artists in every arrondissement, painting the buildings with light and color. It is truly maginificent, and guaranteed to be excruciatingly cold, but no one cares, because the sights are so dazzling, and the ice cream so tasty!

It is traditional on this night to cook up some good 'n' smelly onion soup, and drink hot spiced wine with lemons. Some of the big marching bands show up and rock the rues with their big drums and people congregate in public places until the wee hours.

So we can just incorporate Yoko's big idea into the whole thing, have peace-themed installations and even declare one entire year dedicated to the cause of peace. What fun the artists will have with this remarkable proposition!

[OzarkDem]

84. Its a great idea

to take the usual publicity that surrounds the anniversary of John's death and use it in a positive fashion to raise awareness of the tragedy of the Iraq War.

Its something John would be very much in favor of. If he were alive today, he would be raising a lot of hell about the war.

[Hidden Stillness]

87. I Always Support Yoko

This is such a strange, unpleasant thread, like the thread last night from the woman-hating bigot, dressing it up as an expose of "horrible hateful women," and getting many of the usual bigots to join and wallow in their hypocrisy, as if the mob were now "winning." On this Yoko Ono thread, we get the usual, "she broke up the Beatles," "who the hell does she think she is, she must have forgotten for a second that we hate her," "unlike me, she has contradicted herself during her life," etc., attacks.

First of all, anyone who knows anything at all about the Beatles knows, as has been mentioned on this thread, that they were drifting apart and even fighting by 1968, and that on different occasions, both George and Ringo had quit for a short time, and had to be coaxed back. They were so far apart musically and socially that, at one point, they were going to add Billy Preston to the group to try to get their cohesive feeling back, but it was too late and there wasn't enough interest from any of them. The thing that really broke them up, and led to the worst fighting and lawsuits, was when this bastard Allen Klein was brought in to be their manager at the end. A hard, mean, count-every-penny bastard who alienated everyone eventually, totally un-Beatle-like, Klein was fired by even the three Beatles who thought it was a good idea at first. They were probably doomed as soon as Brian Epstein died, and they had no more center, no discipline, no reason to go on being Beatles. Blaming the women, when there were all kinds of reasons, is depressingly familiar, and always revealing.

The fault-finding with Yoko for calling for this commemoration is equally weird, and phony. There is criticism of her because she is not stereotypically "perfect," and has mixed feelings about John's murderer...

Of what possible value would there have been for a "day of healing," if we had all already been "perfect" and had no faults? What is it that would have needed a solution, and who would have needed to join the effort? These things can have value only to those of us, broken in the world, who try to make things better but don't know how anything really works; you can only do the best you can. After all, John also started off as a mean bastard who used to beat girlfriends, cheat on them, and give them no resepect. It was Yoko and feminism who made a good human being of John, and John and Julian were even re-establishing a relationship at the end. Who would be stupid enough to "criticize" John for having been a bigot once, and working hard all those years to get rid of it? That isn't the "fault," the "hypocrisy"--that is the gem, the purpose of the whole thing!

Everything we do on this Earth can only be flawed, because that is all we are, but it only has value if those very people, the ones who have flaws, want to lift themselves and everything else up, and start again, elevated. You aren't supposed to be "perfect," only to work to be good; a problem is only solved when the ones causing it--us--are made aware and start to change. It does no good if only those who weren't the problem to begin with, observe the solution.

Further, I think no one more than Yoko has the authority to try to establish this kind of thing. Not only because she was the survivor of the attack that took John, but also because she already has called for and gotten one such response of this type--a few days after the murder, on Sunday afternoon, there was a ten-minute silence, observed by millions of people around the world, and even shown live on TV, for the cause of peace, and to remember John. The world needs many solutions, and anything that can get some progress rolling, on any front, is welcome news to me.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

88. Hidden Stillness. Amazing post, your screen name fits your writing. Kick.

Too late to R, I'll kick for that touching tribute to Yoko and John's connection and how it helped both of them and all of us.

:toast: :kick: MKJ