Michael Prysner Explained

Mike Prysner
Birth Date:15 June 1983
Nationality:American
Party:Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL)
Residence:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma Mater:Florida Atlantic University
Occupation:Political activist
Blank1:Television
Data1:The Empire Files
Blank2:Publication
Data2:TeleSur
Blank3:Movement
Data3:March Forward!
Blank4:Spouse
Data4:Abby Martin
Allegiance: United States
Serviceyears:2001–2005
Rank: Specialist
Battles:Iraq War

Michael D. Prysner (born June 15, 1983) is an American socialist political activist. He is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq as a specialist.[1] [2] His duties in Iraq included ground surveillance, home raids, and interrogation of prisoners. According to Prysner, these experiences led him to take an anti-war stance.[3]

Education

Prysner is a graduate of Sickles High School in Tampa, Florida, and Florida Atlantic University.[4]

Military career

Prysner joined the army in 2001 when he was 17 and left the military in 2005.[5] He had basic training at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma.[6] After basic training he was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum New York. Prysner's company participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and he served there for 12 months. While in the army he attained the rank of corporal.[7] [5]

Activism

Prysner is the co-founder of March Forward!, an organization of active-duty members of the U.S. military and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that encourages active-duty service personnel to resist deployment and seek an honorable discharge by being a conscientious objector.[5] [8] [9]

In March 2008, Prysner was a member of a panel discussing the topic in Maryland.[10] [11] He spoke about his time in Iraq as a soldier and his personal views about the two wars. This address became known as the "Our Real Enemies" speech.

Prysner is a member of Party for Socialism and Liberation and A.N.S.W.E.R.[12] [13] In 2008, he ran a write-in campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida's 22nd congressional district.[14] [15]

In November 2011, Prysner was arrested in Occupy Los Angeles.[16] He was released after posting bail.[17]

On September 19, 2021, Prysner interrupted former U.S. President George W. Bush's speech in Beverly Hills, California.[18] [19] He demanded an apology for lying about weapons of mass destruction, connections to 9/11, and causing the deaths of a million Iraqis. He also stated "You sent me to Iraq." and "My friends are dead because you lied."[19]

Prysner is on the National Board of Directors for Veterans for Peace.

Media production

Prysner is a producer and co-writer for the program The Empire Files, with his wife Abby Martin. English-language Telesur canceled the show in 2018,[20] and it later moved to a web publishing model. Prysner, Martin, and other Telesur contract journalists had their funding blocked by the application of United States sanctions against Venezuela. Academic Stuart Davis cites the cancellation as an example of how United States sanctions hamper public funding of media production in Venezuela.

He performed the rap "Skit 6" on the album Soundtrack to the Struggle.[21]

, he hosted the Eyes Left podcast with former US Army Cadet and Afghanistan War veteran Spenser Rapone.[22] [23]

Personal life

Prysner is married to journalist Abby Martin.[24] [25] They have two children.[26] [27]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Vigil . Ariana E. . War Echoes: Gender and Militarization in U.S. Latina/o Cultural Production . July 10, 2014 . Rutgers University Press . 978-0-8135-6933-8 . 172 . August 13, 2021.
  2. Book: Levinson . Nan . War Is Not a Game: The New Antiwar Soldiers and the Movement They Built . November 10, 2014 . Rutgers University Press . 978-0-8135-7113-3 . 227 . August 13, 2021.
  3. Web site: Veterans Group Calls on Military to Refuse Deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq - Salem-News.Com. www.salem-news.com. 13 November 2018.
  4. https://www.floridabulldog.org/2023/01/ron-desantis-accused-torture-at-guantanamo-when-he-was-navy-jag/ Dan Christensen, “Ron DeSantis accused of illegal acts of torture against Guantanamo detainees when he was a Navy JAG officer”, Florida Bulldog, January 2023
  5. https://beverlypress.com/2013/01/activists%e2%80%99-anti-war-fight-continues/ Aaron Blevins, “Activists’ anti-war fight continues”, Beverly Press Park Labrea News, January 17, 2013
  6. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/07/12/military-news/ Military News, Tampa Bay Times, July 22, 2001
  7. http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/the-stream/the-stream-officialblog/2014/4/4/-beyond-140-iraqwarvetmichaelprysnerontheforthoodshooting.html “'Beyond 140': Iraq war vet Michael Prysner on the Fort Hood shooting”, Al Jazeera US, April 4, 2014
  8. Web site: Mike Prysner. 2021-10-19. jacobinmag.com. 19 August 2021 . en-US.
  9. Web site: Suicide Is Anything but Painless Military Suicide Research Consortium. 2021-10-19. msrc.fsu.edu.
  10. Decker. Stephanie. Paul. John. 2013-01-01. The Real Terrorist was Me: An Analysis of Narratives Told by Iraq Veterans Against the War in an Effort to Rehumanize Iraqi Civilians and Soldiers. Societies Without Borders. 8. 3. 317–343. 1872-1915.
  11. Book: Iraq Veterans Against the War. Winter soldier, Iraq and Afghanistan : eyewitness accounts of the occupations. 2008. Haymarket Books. Aaron Glantz. 978-1-60846-060-1. Chicago Ill.. 567850640.
  12. Web site: "Antiwar Sentiment in the Military Is Stronger Than Ever.". 2021-10-19. jacobinmag.com. en-US.
  13. http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/05/03/news30.asp Hassina Leelarathna "Los Angeles Lankans protest UN interference", Daily News – Sri Lanka, 3 May 2011
  14. Web site: Staff. Liberation. Congressional candidate, anti-war vet Michael Prysner takes on workers' issues – Liberation News. 2021-10-19. en-US.
  15. Web site: Johnson. Khari. August 26, 2008. Low turnout at Denver protests, Delray Beach Congressional candidate still shows. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
  16. Web site: Univision 34 Los Angeles. Univision. Local. Univision. 13 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120424023458/http://univision34.univision.com/noticias/local/article/2011-12-02/indignados-quejas-abusos-lapd?refPath=/noticias/estados-unidos/noticias/ . April 24, 2012 . dead.
  17. Web site: 16 complaints filed about Occupy LA raid. Southern California Public. Radio. 7 December 2011. 13 November 2018.
  18. Web site: Iraq Vet Disrupts George W. Bush Speech. 2021-09-19. Empire Files. Youtube. September 24, 2021.
  19. Web site: Sabah. Daily. 2021-09-21. 'You lied about WMDs': Iraq war veteran blasts Bush in public. 2021-10-19. Daily Sabah. en-US.
  20. Book: Sanctions as War: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives on American Geo-Economic Strategy . 2023 . Haymarket Books. 978-1-64259-812-4 . 69 . 1345216431. Davis . Stuart .
  21. Web site: Skit 6 by Lowkey. BestEverAlbums.com. 13 November 2018.
  22. Web site: Eyes Left Podcast. 2021-10-19. SoundCloud. en.
  23. Web site: 2018-09-25. Interview: Mike Prysner And Spenser Rapone, Hosts Of 'Eyes Left'. 2021-10-19. Shadowproof. en-US.
  24. https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1809/S00012/us-sanctions-shut-down-the-empire-files-with-abby-martin.htm US Sanctions Shut Down 'The Empire Files' with Abby Martin
  25. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/08/antiwar-military-veterans-afghanistan-iraq-biden-troops "Antiwar Sentiment in the Military Is Stronger Than Ever." An interview with Mike Prysner
  26. Mike Prysner: Early Sunday @AbbyMartin: gave birth to our child. She went into labor marching 9mos pregnant all day with #BlackLivesMatter in Beverly Hills., twitter.com, June 2, 2020
  27. 1621281832133357569. MikePrysner. On Sunday @AbbyMartin gave birth to our second child :) Abby & baby are doing great and I'm in awe of how amazing they both are . Mike Prysner. 2023-02-03. 2023-04-13.

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