Turning The Other Cheek Sounds Very Bleak

[proud2BlibKansan]

This is something a good friend wrote and emailed to me after coming home from the march in DC last weekend. I think it is really good and worth posting here.

Turning The Other Cheek Sounds Very Bleak Sept. 23, 2007


Non-violence is being met more often with violence. Civil disobedience is interdicted with brutality. There is an escalating war on peaceful peace seekers. That makes it very difficult for those of us who have extensive experience dealing with violence to remain peaceful. It’s unnatural for some of us.


Within the last few weeks, violence and, of course, corresponding injuries are growing in numbers and frequency. A reverend is gang tackled in the hallway outside a Congressional hearing. 6 cops fall on him, causing torn ligaments in his ankle. A Gold Star father is harassed and then knocked down and kicked all over his body by several cowardly thugs who label themselves patriots. The police intervene, but arrest no one. A female protester complies with orders to lie down and put her arms out. A cop then yanks her arm behind her back so hard it causes a partial dislocation of her shoulder and torn ligaments. A frail woman in her 60’s lies down and has a cop’s knee placed on her back as she is cuffed. A woman trying to aid protesters along a police barricade line is pepper sprayed in her eyes and mouth. A student in a University of Florida auditorium tries to ask Sen. John Kerry a question at the end of a question-and-answer session. Campus police drag him to the back of the auditorium and then taser him. He should not have been tasered at all. They do it twice.


A woman on a public sidewalk pulls out a copy of the U.S. Constitution and starts reading it out loud. The police arrest her for…. I don’t know what. Police issue “stay away” orders, forbidding people from returning to within, say, 2 blocks of the Capitol for example. Some judges enforce these, and some don’t. These “orders” are not uniformly enforced because they are not uniformly accepted as legal. One woman is stopped on a public sidewalk by a cop who says she looks like she’s on a stay-away list. She has court papers showing she is no longer on such a list. No matter. She was taken to jail and held in a cell in leg shackles overnight for…. nothing.


A recently discharged military veteran is stopped by police in a D.C. suburb because he was wearing camouflage pants. The police wanted proof he was a veteran who was “authorized” to wear these pants. Anyone can buy these pants in any Army-Navy surplus store. They are legal for anyone to wear, last time I checked. This is absolutely as ridiculous as it sounds.


I have way too much experience on both sides of the line. I worked as a cop at many violent protests and all out riots. When confronted with violent criminal behavior and personal attacks, I and those who worked under my supervision did not respond with the brutality I see used on non-violent civilly disobedient citizens. I know professionally that this excessive force is indefensible and needlessly endangers all involved.


Why are police everywhere apparently becoming harsher and more brutal? I believe they are being given tacit instructions, both overtly and covertly, to “get tough”. They selectively get tough on peaceful patriots while going easy on violent thugs. This bias is not just unfair; it is illegal.


I clearly see this as part of the fascism that is replacing democracy in this nation. I will try to resist this peacefully, as I struggle to follow others’ examples of non-violent actions. However, I will resist by whatever means necessary if this brutal crackdown continues and spreads.


Congress has, as a legislative body, forsaken those they are supposed to represent as they violate their oath of office. They capitulate to the executive branch with the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, No Child Left Behind, etc. All these clearly violate the U.S. Constitution and international laws. They just voted against restoration of Habeas Corpus. We are in serious trouble here. Someone please show me effective ways to non-violently restore our Constitution and democracy. I am preparing for the coming confrontation in every way I can. We cannot fail and still survive. Be strong. Be careful, too!


Walk In Beauty and PEACE

[fenriswolf]

1. actually

you can buy cam pants at a regular clothing outlet, and its not illegal to wear it as long as you dont try to missrepresent yourself. but yes it seems as we are accepting highschool dropouts and lowering the standards all over the police seem to be doing the same and as a result have become a haven for highschool bullies with nothing better to do.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. That's a good point

And one I had not considered.