RE Cindy: Why is getting arrested a "good" thing? [View All]

[mikelewis]

Apparently Cindy was arrested today for sitting down in the street and refusing to move when ordered to by the local police.



Excerpt:
"Sheehan and several dozen other protesters sat down on the sidewalk after marching along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9493139/
And on the DU homepage...www.democraticunderground.com

Now, I support Cindy 100% but I fail to see how getting oneself arrested serves any purpose. The rally was a success which means she does not need to draw attention to herself to gain attention for her cause. No one infringed on the protesters rights to demonstrate, to my knowledge. Hell, the President even made sure he was not home so he wouldn't have to view it. Throughout her whole ordeal, the police seem to have been behaving very reasonably. I know they stand there in their jackboot stances and look intimidating but they are there to maintain order and ensure the safety of the demonstrators as well. I am probably just ignorant of the methods of civil disobedience but I view the police as I do our soldiers. They are not enemies of democracy, to me, they are Americans trying to do a difficult job. Now don't get me wrong, I know cops are corruptible and being from Cleveland, that's an understatement. But I don't think they are hostile to our demonstrations. In fact many police officers I know agree believe Bush is a bastard just as much as I do.
I know the police will side with the powers that be and that makes them easy targets for anti-establishment anger since they are the only representatives of state "opposition" but I fail to see how intentionally provoking them serves any purpose. Now I am not assuming to say that Cindy was wrong in doing whatever it was that got her arrested, I am merely stating that I do not understand it. According to the article, Cindy stopped and blocked a sidewalk. This is hardly a federal case but I understand why a large group blocking pedestrian traffic in a major city could prompt an arrest. The arrest may seem harsh but as long as their only intent was to remove her from the area temporarily to allow the remaining people to disperse, I have no problem with them doing.
So my question is basically, does Cindy's arrest constitute an act of civil disobedience and how does this serve our "cause"? I will of course wait for the truth to come out as to what really happened. But just from a cursory read of the event, it seems as if she tried to get arrested. Is getting arrested in this instance a benefit or does it detract from the credibility of the protesters?