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This is the City…..Wesseattle Warshington…she carries a badge….her name is JaN….
;-)
Mike
Response to JV’s post at #118:
First, these are all very good points, regardless of what quarter they come from, the “rabid conservative” quarter included. ;-)
Believe me, we in West Seattle Neighbors for Peace think about this stuff all the time and so does Occupy! My sources tell me that, from almost the first moment, the Occupy Seattle group has been having a continuous debate about what methods they will use/tolerate/endorse.
And please also believe me when I tell you that this debate is not something new on the Left; in fact it has a rich history going back at least as far as the Quakers and the struggle to abolish slavery.
As to your worst-case scenario for the Junction protest, I should say that the protest was largely an Occupy-inspired event, with WSNPJ in a supporting role. I know many of the people involved, however, and I know that they would not sanction any violence. So there’s that.
So the next question is: Well, what if some Occupy outliers* just show up and start throwing rocks? What do you do then?
—OK . . . here’s what you do when something like that happens: First you de-escalate the violence using common sense and non-violence training that you’ve already received. And if that doesn’t work, you shut down the event and leave. Then you explain what happened to the public as openly and quickly as possible, disassociating yourself from the troublemakers and their methods, and promising to do better in the future.
If something like what you describe had happened, JV, you’d better believe that WSNPJ would have gone to Occupy West Seattle immediately and said: “Hey, you’ve got to get these people out of your group and clarify your position on non-violence right now, or we’re going to sever ties.”
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So, I hope that answers your question about what WSNPJ would do. I don’t officially speak for the group, but I’m pretty sure everyone in it would agree with me. It’s pretty common sense stuff actually.
I’ll speak more about WSNPJ and about my personal position on non-violent protest in an upcoming post. I’ll also speak more on this issue of political associations generally, because I understand that there was more to your question than what I’ve spoken to above.
*I don’t expect you to start digging into the history of political violence on the Left, JV, but it probably wouldn’t hurt, at least if you want to make sense of what’s been happening with Occupy now.
“History doesn’t repeat itself,” as Mark Twain probably didn’t say . . . “but it does rhyme.”
It might also interest you to know some of the more violent groups from the 1960s and ’70s were packed with police infiltrators and provacateurs. It’s almost certain there are a few provacateurs inside the Occupy movement as well. So please don’t assume that every rock-throwing or poop-dumping incident you hear about was really perpetrated by Occupiers. It could just be someone trying to discredit the movement.
Luckily, the best strategy for progressive social change also happens to be the best defense against police infiltration and provocation.
And that strategy is . . . (drum roll, please) . . .
Non-violence.
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TBC . . .
And certain people and animals have also been
especially helpful to me along the way.
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