Tag: Non-Violence

Are Non-Violent Protests Legal?

Legal in the sense of the law and statutes…..not morally.

The nightly news says it is not but the reports.

Let us think back…..Does anyone remember Ferguson?

The site of massive protests in 2015 over the killing of a black man by police…it is in Missouri in case there is any confusion

We all remember the visions of heavily armed police looking like a invading army as they faced off against protesters demanding justice and accountability…..

It was a moment that could have turned the tract of social justice in this country….instead states across the nation have passed 54 different restrictions against peaceful protests…..

…

states have introduced at least 154 bills or executive orders to restrict peaceful protest, according to a HuffPost analysis of the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law’s tally, a new report from PEN America, and interviews with free speech experts. So far, 54 have become law. More than two dozen ― including the Louisiana measure, which is awaiting the governor’s signature ― are pending.

These new restrictions on peaceful protest are not directly linked to an uptick in less-peaceful tactics over the past week. In fact, many of the current protesters have condemned actions like brick-throwing and looting, blaming the worst offenses on agitators who don’t share their anti-racist goals.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anti-protest-laws-free-speech_n_5ed958c3c5b6a11919831bb3

That is right!

Instead to looking for ways to bridge the gap between the police and blacks…states spent their time trying to make non-violent protests illegal.

And that brings us to today and the Floyd protests….we are hearing lots of woulda coulda shoulda talk and after all this subsides we will be exactly where we are today.

That conversation that ALL keep asking for is still waiting for someone to actually step up and start it in earnest.

I hope I am wrong and all this protesting will actually get the attention of those sitting in the Big Boy seat and change does finally start.

The House representatives have put together a package of bills to reform the criminal justice of the land….

The legislation would provide overarching support for the victims of longstanding and ongoing police violence and are intended to offer solutions for the deep-seated institutional racism that dominates U.S. policing. The suite also includes a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump’s threats to use the Insurrection Act against protesters.

The package consists of four bills:

  • The National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board Act; co-led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Calif.), forming a federal commission to investigate police killings around the nation.
  • The Bill to Criminalize Police Violence Against Protesters, which allows for the charging of police officers who attack protesters to be charged with a federal crime.
  • The Amending the Insurrection Act; co-led by Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), preventing the president from deploying the U.S. military against protesters.
  • The Federal Relief Fund, providing funding for communities rebuilding after social and economic disasters.

Again I hope that this will be effective but it must get past the barrier known as the US Senate….not an easy task….and some of the reps are just padding their resume for the next election.

One last question…why is a Special Ops unit being used as security in DC?  19th Special Forces Group.

Something is amiss when an SF group is used for crowd control….that is not their job…..so why are they being used?

Be Well….Be Safe….Be Heard….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Celebrate His Non-Violence But Not His Anti-War

Today is MLK Day….we celebrate his activism for those without a voice….he chose the tactics of Gandhi….those of non-violence…..which is a good thing but if we celebrate those tactics why not then also celebrate is antiwar stance?

US jets bombed villages. US soldiers machine-gunned combatants and civilians. The Vietnam War had hit a fever pitch of death when Martin Luther King Jr. stepped onto the podium at Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, and said, “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.”

The speech, “A Time to Break the Silence,” cost him. Newspapers damned him. Friends distanced themselves. President Lyndon Johnson, angered by what he thought was betrayal, reportedly called King, “that goddamn n***** preacher.”

King risked isolation to speak hard truths. The US’s endless war had depleted the money needed to end poverty. The war was in support of a corrupt, authoritarian regime that suppressed a peoples’ desire to be free. The US was poisoned by its militarism; it was not the beacon of democracy but its destroyer.

https://truthout.org/articles/the-us-celebrates-kings-nonviolence-but-not-his-antiwar-politics/

King was a pacifist…… a peace-nik back in those days….he abhorred all forms of violence….and we should embrace his antiwar work if we embrace his non-violence tactics……

And yet many disrespect King by ignoring his work to stop war in all its forms.

If have spoken….so I have written……

Turn The Page!

Why Not A Non-Violent Approach?

International Studies Desk

Subject:  Middle East

I realize I said I would not post on the Middle East conflict again and I will hold to that…this post was a post in waiting….and I feel compelled to post it…..

For the time being any Middle East peace is on the back burner…it has been overshadowed by the US mid-terms and Obama’s visit to India….but people need to keep an eye on the region……it could be the powder keg that erupts without warning and becomes front page fodder….again…..

I recall back in the day in the ME there was the first Intifada…..when kids were throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers and were met with bullets and tanks…this gave the Palestinian cause a shot to the arm in the world stage….and then as quickly as the sympathy began it was over….why?  Some moron thought that firing rockets at the Israelis was a good idea….and once they did all that international good will and sympathy went down the crapper…..

How about a non-violent approach?  Well that is just ducky….but what did Gandhi accomplish?  England would have given India up anyway…..the caste system is still prevalent….so what did they accomplish?  MLK in the Us, what did they accomplish?  Blacks can vote and eat at all lunch counters…but they are still seen as 2nd class citizens by many….so what did they really accomplish?

I have heard some say that the Palestinians should take a page from the playbook of Gandhi and MLK, jr and try the non-violence approach….but is that a good idea?  In an article written by Yglesias for thinkprogress.rg…..

………as it turns out the IDF isn’t just folding immediately upon contact with non-violent tactics. Instead, Abdallah Abu Rahmah who was leading non-violent resistance in the village of Bil’in was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in prison. Some people I’ve spoken to here say this goes to show that non-violence is hopeless and that a return to armed intifada is inevitable. They may be right about the inevitability, but I think they’re wrong about the hopeless part. Your Gandhis, your Martin Luther Kings, and your Nelson Mandelas all spent time in prison and prevailed in the end. The point, however, is that it only works if it captures the attention of the world so here I am paying attention.I know that a lot of decent people try to avoid commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because they find the debate too unpleasant. But I find that those same decent people tend to be the ones who like to muse about “where’s the Palestinian MLK?” and such. So if you’re one of those people, I implore you to pay attention and mention this. The alternative to there being some sign that this is catching the eyes of the world is a return to violence and counter-violence and disaster.

Contrary to popular belief….the theory of non-violent action is NOT appropriate or effective in every case…….and the Middle East Peace Process is one of those cases….with that said……it could be part of the plan to get Israel to the table……the one thing that is seldom mentioned when talking about non-violence….that is that your opponent does NOT have to abide by the technique……India comes to mind….Selma comes to mind…..