Calling All Peacekeepers - Non-Violent Direct Action

Calling All Peacekeepers - Non-Violent Direct Action
by Emerald Matra

Please Forward This To Anyone Participating In Peace Protests:

I was standing in a line at a store in Oakland today and the woman standing in front of me said to the cashier, "I don't understand it; they say that they want peace but they are violent!" I interrupted her conversation and told her that the police are the ones being violent. She told me that she saw on the news someone pulling people out of a passing car and beating them up. I told her that it was probably an isolated incident that the press picked up on to sensationalize the protests. Someone else in the store line reported about the cops that are in the hospital after the demos today.
I am in favor of civil disobedience. I am in favor of direct actions and peaceful protest. I believe that it is an important part of our movement for peace. I believe that social change happens as a result of education, consciousness raising and social evolution. The actions that the public sees on TV and reads about in the daily paper has the potential to raise a lot of awareness. As a grassroots movement we can't pay for that kind of advertising and media coverage. I am also aware that the press will portray our movement in a negative way and will sensationalize, exaggerate and outright lie to serve their own interests. Many times I have seen first hand what has been completely distorted in the news. We can't rely on the mainstream press to tell the truth or portray our story in a positive or neutral way. Our actions must speak for themselves. I realize that I am probably singing to the choir here. I am sending out a call for everyone participating in peace protests to do everything we can to maintain peace and non-violence regardless of any actions that may be directed toward us and other protesters around us.
If you see someone being violent grab two or three others and surround that person. Isolate that person before the cops get to them and before the person does harm to anyone. Create a kind of hug around that person and move closer and closer toward the person. The person will try to fight against you but will become unable to strike out if being held in a hug with three people. Talk to the person and calm them down. Refuse to let go of the person until they agree to be peaceful or, preferably, go home. We must take responsibility for the participants of our own protest movement so the cops don't have to. Also, be on the *alert* for agente provocateurre. These are people who deliberately attend to incite people to riot and deliberately try to undermine our movement and make us look bad. Don't allow them to do damage to our movement.
If you encounter a police officer be as courteous as possible. Remember that the cop in front of you did not wage the war that we are protesting. The cop may agree with the war but is not responsible for creating the war. Try to see the cop as a worker who is doing a very difficult job under stressful and dangerous conditions. I don't like cops and I despise the system that they are part of, but when you are facing a cop who has the power to harm you it is a good idea to address that cop in a civil way, maintain eye contact, and be as passive as possible so as not to threaten or entice violence from that cop. The cop is trained in using force. If you fight with a cop you will lose. If a cop is violent toward you go into a passive response. Sit down, cross your legs, put your head down toward your lap, cross your arms over your head. Hold this position as tightly as you can regardless of what the cop is doing to you. This non-violent pose protects the soft parts of your body, minimizes the threat to the cop, and makes it very obvious who exactly is being violent. In nearly all circumstances a cop will immediately stop attacking someone who is in this pose. If people see that on the news they will not be asking why peace protesters are being violent and far less people will be getting hurt at the demos.
Everyone... Everyone who attends a peace protest must take responsibility for what occurs at the protest. Don't leave it to the police to maintain the peace. More than likely the opposite will happen. Everyone at a peace protest is a peacekeeper. If you practice the two techniques I described at home before you go it will be easier to do at the demo. Find a couple of friends and practice isolating a violent protester as a role play. Alone or with friends, practice the non-violent pose by going to the floor and into the non-violent pose as quickly as possible. Learning this pose could save your life. If you get arrested, talk to the cops who are arresting you as best as you can. Be sure to say out loud, "I am not resisting arrest." This will minimize the amount of force that is used against you. If you don't want to talk to the cops then sing. Help them to remember that you are a human being. If they don't relate to you personally in some way they are more likely to treat you with harm or disregard.
Better yet, attend one of the many non-violent direct action trainings before going to a protest. Even if you don't commit civil disobedience you could get arrested.
Our movement, your movement, must stay peaceful or we will give the wrong message to the public. In the past 30+ years our movement has grown beyond what we ever dreamed possible. We must consider the long term impact of everything we do.
The whole world is watching us!
Peace is possible.
Love,
Emerald

Please forward this to anyone who is participating in the peace protests.