Civil Disobedience

[Russell Kanning]

I can see what you are saying.

Another thing that comes up in that movie alot is Gandhi wanting to direct the attitude and actions of all those people. It makes more sense to me to live life a certain way and see if others follow you. I can't stop others from undertaking a violent revolution.
But overall the means and end that are portrayed in that movie are powerful and moving.

[Kat Kanning]

That movie had quite an impact on us, too.  I saw his provoking violence as just demonstrating for onlookers the true nature of government - force.  In each instance, the government had the choice of non-violent reaction, yet they didn't take those opportunities for the most part.

[FrankChodorov]

That movie had quite an impact on us, too.  I saw his provoking violence as just demonstrating for onlookers the true nature of government - force.  In each instance, the government had the choice of non-violent reaction, yet they didn't take those opportunities for the most part.

the Quakers called speaking truth to power "bearing witness"...

http://www.afsc.org/news/quaker-action/fall2004/bearing-witness.htm

the civil rights movement used it very effectively to portray via television to the their fellow citizens the brutality of the police

[Russell Kanning]

Seven Congress members arrested in Sudan protest
Tue May 16, 2006 5:34 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seven African-American members of the U.S. Congress were arrested on Tuesday at the Embassy of Sudan, where they were protesting atrocities in that country's Darfur region.

The members of the Congressional Black Caucus held a news conference in front of the embassy property, then moved to block the entrance to deliberately prompt their arrests, said Christopher Johnson, spokesman for North Carolina Democratic Rep. Mel Watt.

"It's time for the members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the world community to raise the ante on Sudan," Watt, the caucus chairman, said in a statement.

Also arrested were Democratic Reps. John Lewis of Georgia, Barbara Lee of California, Eddie Bernice Johnson and Al Green of Texas, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

The lawmakers were led away in plastic handcuffs and paid $50 fines, Johnson said.

"We must not forget that while we consider what to do, the situation on the ground is worsening for the millions of people affected by the crisis," Lewis said in a statement.

Five other members of Congress were arrested last month at the Embassy of Sudan protesting the Darfur situation after deliberately going on embassy property.

U.N. and U.S. officials have accused the Sudanese government of arming marauding Arab militias, who have raped, pillaged, and killed tens of thousands in Darfur, and driven more than 2 million villagers into squalid camps. Sudan has denied the charge.

The Khartoum government and the biggest faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army signed an agreement on May 5 aimed at stemming the violence, but a rival SLA faction and a smaller rebel group have refused to sign.

The international community fears the accord will not stop the war if only one rebel faction supports it. Refugees have rioted against the deal in several camps in Darfur.

The CBC members called for a U.N. peacekeeping mission to help the African Union mission control the violence, for President George W. Bush to press Sudan to release food aid to help people in Darfur, improved civilian protection and return of refugees, and full implementation of peace agreements.

[tracysaboe]

More proof that the dems and liberals are just as globalist as the repubs and conservatives.

tracy

[Russell Kanning]

Civil Disobedience Shuts Down School Board Meeting
http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2006/May-2006/05_19_06_Civil_Disobedience_Shuts_Down_School_Board_Meeting.htm

One of the officers went to the back of the room and ordered the kids to leave.

?I don?t want to say I?m the big bad cop but do what I say and move downstairs,? the officer?s voice carried through the crowded chambers.

Felix remained immobile and expressionless. One of the kids, a tall, Latino young man wearing a chain and a white T-shirt yelled, ?Unite?

A kid in the audience repeatedly yelled, ?Do what you want!?

Another yelled, ?Why don?t they call the fire department when our classes are crowded and we?re sitting on the heaters??

An Asian kid with blunt cut hair high-fived a smiling white girl in front of Felix.

The police officer?s face clenched. ?Let?s go!? he shouted.

The kids, about five of them, made a human wall around Felix, who still hadn?t said a thing or changed his expression. It seemed their action was spontaneous -- it didn?t look like he?d said anything to them.

[Russell Kanning]

Having a vision of a non-violent world:
http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/3488/1/187/

[Russell Kanning]

   A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
Mohandas Gandhi

[Russell Kanning]

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.

[Russell Kanning]

 The only way to overcome evil is to let it run itself to a standstill because it does not find the resistance it is looking for. Resistance merely creates further evil and adds fuel to the flames. But when evil meets no opposition and encounters no obstacle but only patient endurance, its sting is drawn, and at last it meets an opponent which is more than its match. . . . By willing endurance we cause suffering to pass. Evil becomes a spent force when we put up no resistance. By refusing to pay back the enemy in his own coin, and by preferring to suffer without resistance, the Christian exhibits the sinfulness of contumely and insult. Violence stands condemned by its failure to evoke counter-violence. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

[Russell Kanning]

"Some have said that we marched in the Sixties and got the VRA, we marched in the Seventies and the war went away.  We should march again.  That's probably true.  But the custom nowadays is for marches to look more like picnics, and for everybody to go home the next day.  That's not how it worked in Belarus or the Philippines and it's not how it worked here forty years ago.  Back in the day, people stayed in the street till something changed.  A march is one day.  A movement continues till it obtains a victory or something changes.  Or until misguided leaders send it home."

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=10580

[mvpel]

"Some have said that we marched in the Sixties and got the VRA, we marched in the Seventies and the war went away.  We should march again.  That's probably true.  But the custom nowadays is for marches to look more like picnics, and for everybody to go home the next day.  That's not how it worked in Belarus or the Philippines and it's not how it worked here forty years ago.  Back in the day, people stayed in the street till something changed.  A march is one day.  A movement continues till it obtains a victory or something changes.  Or until misguided leaders send it home."

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=10580

Perhaps these folks are overestimating the righteousness and popular appeal of their cause.

[mr.apathy]

I've always thought it would be fun to go to a bank and demand the Federal Treasury to repay it's debt to what ever currency one could bring in. What kind of container would you need to hold "the faith of the US government to repay it's debt"?

[Russell Kanning]

Protesters 'plan' non-violent ways to oust Chen

2006/8/26
The China Post staff


The "depose-Chen" campaign organizers emphasized yesterday the movement to oust President Chen Shui-bian will proceed under the supreme principles of "love and non-violence" with an aim to set up a model of democracy and deepen the democratic system in Taiwan.

The organizers made public a 10-point action guideline for all people who plan to take part in the massive sit-in led by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Shih Ming-teh.

More than one million people from all walks of life, including government employees and teachers as well as police officers and military servicemen, have each remitted NT$100 or more to support the cause out of the belief that Chen should step aside so that Taiwan will not remain lame for another two years.

Only a portion of the financial donors will physically join the mass rallies in Taipei because they still have to report to work.

But more than 100,000 are expected to show up at least on the first day and it will be a daunting challenge for the organizers to maintain peace and order while avoiding confrontation with police or provocations.

The guidelines tell the protesters to always maintain a friendly attitude, including treating those who oppose the campaign with sympathy and understanding.

Other key points include:

Bring no weapons or anything that can be used as a weapon to the gathering ground.

Bring no home-made slogans or placards that do not conform with the ones produced by the organizers.

No fighting back, shouting back or revenge and malicious criticisms when encountering violent conduct.

Obey the decisions of campaign leaders and the organizing panel.

Prepare for the naming of substitutes for the campaign leaders whenever necessary.

Accept arrest and surrender to law enforcement officers instead of fighting against them.

Uncooperative conduct will be taken only when the dignity of the participants or partners is smeared.

To ensure the success of the campaign, the organizers will also ask all participants to sign an oath pledging to achieve the goals of "fighting corruption, saving Taiwan, and deposing Chen Shui-bian under the principles of perseverance, discipline, love, and non-violence with an aim to set a democratic model and deepen the democratic system in Taiwan."

Prof. Ho De-fen, spokeswoman for the campaign, conceded it would be a staggering challenge to direct such a large number of people with diverse backgrounds.

She joined the condemnation of former DPP Legislator Lin Cheng-chieh who drew the "first blood" between anti-Chen and pro-Chen camps by punching and kicking pro-DPP political commentator Chin Heng-wei during a live political talk show on Formosa TV Thursday night. Chin needed several stitches for his broken nose.

Ho named Lin a persona non-grata for the campaign led by Shih.

According to Ho, Lin had suggested that a team of bodyguards be organized to protect Shih's safety during and before the sit-in. Ho added that Lin's suggestion was rejected immediately by campaign organizers despite reports that fanatics could take action against Shih.

"We condemn any act of violence," Ho said.

She stressed that supporters of the depose-Chen campaign are not political activists resorting to violence.

Lin enthusiastically backs the campaign to oust President Chen, thinking that Chen has betrayed both the DPP and the people by deviating from the principles of diligence and integrity.

He explained that he was forced to give Chin a warning after Chin constantly cut in and blocked his talk when the moderator gave the time allotment for his turn.

Many analyst cast doubts on Shih's peaceful strategy to unseat Chen considering the president's strong determination to hang onto the power.

Prof. Ho said the bank accounts receiving people's monetary contributions have been closed.

But she said people or enterprises may still help produce campaign banners with slogans calling for Chen's resignation or fans bearing the thumb-down depose-Chen logo.

People or organizations wishing to deliver supplies or materials may ship them directly to the plaza near the Presidential Office when the rally officially gets under way because Shih and other organizers have no storage facilities.

Exactly when the sit-in will start, Ho said that the time will be announced soon pending the exact timetable of activities to be adopted by President Chen.

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[Russell Kanning]

Betty Krawczyk on Civil Disobedience

BETTY KRAWCZYK ~ The First Time is Scary. It's true.  Doing something important the first time is scary, whether it's sex, inviting the boss  for dinner, getting behind the wheel of a car, or committing your very first act of civil disobedience.
   
But hold on, you may say.  The first three instances are legal, right? As long as it's non coercive and between consenting adults?  Civil disobedience is another matter.  Besides having a bad reputation, civil disobedience is against the law, right?
     
Not exactly. There is no law against civil disobedience as such. However, many different actions of civil disobedience are described in law books as obstructions of one kind of another that citizens might indulge in when they get fed up with business as usual.  Which is exactly what happened
at Eagleridge Bluffs.  Gordon Campbell's promise of "The Greenest Olympics Ever" while he was in the very act of blasting Eagle Ridge Bluffs to bits was just too galling.
   
Nobody wants to find themselves afoul of the law.  Nobody wants to stand before the icy stare of a judge who is displeased with them.  It's not comfortable.  But let's look at the big picture.  When citizens are willing to take the responsibility of civil disobedience, civil disobedience evolves
into the body of law.  Instead of civil disobedience threatening the structure of law, it actually strengthens it.
   
How's that?  Civil disobedience strengthens the law?  Yes.   The history of the evolution of law that governs human rights is primarily the history of civil disobedience.   It is citizens, by their actions, who turn unjust laws into just ones, not the courts or the legislatures.  In Louisiana (raised there) I witnessed how civil disobedience of the black people morphed into laws of equality for all races.  And I've studied the history of the WOBBLYS (our first unionists) who were jailed and even killed for trying to legalize unions.  And along with these pioneers were all the women who resorted to civil disobedience in order to gain the vote, or even be considered persons under the law.  First Nations?  Look at their history
of trying to regain some of their ancestral lands in BC.  Civil disobedience is huge for them.  In some areas it is the only way First Nations have made any gains.
   
In fact, every law and ruling in the criminal code and the charter dealing with the humane treatment of citizens is either the direct result of, or has been heavily influenced, by some group of citizen's previous civil disobedience.  And because of this sensitivity to the evolution of law (never seriously taught in history books, or even in law schools for
that matter) I actually love the law.  And because I love and respect the law, I want its language to reflect an accurate description of what I did at Eagleridge Bluffs.
     
I blockaded a roadway.  I want to be charged for blockading a roadway, which is covered under the criminal code and the Highways Act.  I did not blockade the court.  I did not feel contempt for the court. I did feel contempt for Gordon Campbell's lying promises (still do) and his utter lack of respect for Canadian (BC) sovereignty, and contempt for Kiewit and Sons, a US firm who doesn't even mention the environment in their braggadocio and who wants BC citizens to pay for their court costs, I also feel a healthy contempt for the way Sgt. Almas arrested me and others, waiting for a foreign company to order our arrest rather than arresting immediately, if he thought we were breaking the law.  And Attorney General Wally Oppal?  He is the one who instructs police on how they should arrest, and why is he under
the control of a foreign company?
       
In spite of this stacked deck (alliance between courts, police, Kiewit and Sons and Gordon Campbell) we accused have a right in court to declare that we are not guilty of the charge of contempt of court.    We all have the right  to say that section fifteen of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees everybody equality under the law and that when the contempt of court charge (which stands outside the Charter and the criminal code) is used to place us into a special  category where there is no defense, then that's wrong.
   
We also have the right to use section 2b of the charter, which protects the right of citizens who attempt to give meaning to others when involved in protests.  Certainly, all of the Eagleridge protectors were trying to convey meaning that is, trying to make sense out of a mercenary provincial premier using the Olympic banner to hide eventual multi billion dollar deals with private foreign contractors.
   
We, as citizens, have a right to fight for our rights under the charter, and for our complaints to be taken seriously.  All of us arrested at Eagleridge Bluffs, have an absolute right to plead NOT GUILTY in the courtroom.  We have a right to ague that we shouldn't even be accused of contempt of court, that the charge itself is wrong.  And in this process we may be influencing the law, even nudging it forward.

Anything is possible.

  Betty Krawczyk   604-255-4427