What is direct action? Why is it necessary?

by Supporter Fri Feb 28, 2003 16:26

Civil Disobedience & NonViolent Action
"Nonviolent resistance ... is based on the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice. Consequently, the believer in nonviolence has deep faith in the future.

This faith is another reason why the nonviolent resister can accept suffering without retaliation. For he knows that in his struggle for justice he has cosmic companionship."
(Martin Luther King)

This article presents a comprehensive description of NonViolent Action. One in which your opposition is transformed internally, as you yourself change. You place pressure on your opposition by putting pressure on yourself.

Background -how it was practiced by Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Thoreau and others.http://www.kids-right.org/civil_back.htm

Lessons Learned - an attempt to summarize the comment elements from the case studies.
http://www.kids-right.org/lessons.htm

Implementation - what it means to us and a Kid's Right. http://www.kids-right.org/checklist.htm

Checklist - to prepare for NonViolent Action

by Fr. John Kelly, Co. Leitrim Fri Feb 28, 2003 16:30

http://www.fatherjohndear.org/pdfs/jesus_and_civil_disobedience.pdf

by Maryann Boyle, women against war - WAW Fri Feb 28, 2003 16:34

Don't Underestimate Civil Disobedience
By Sunni Maravillosa
Published 10. 3. 02 at 18:44 Sierra Time

Many people seem to have a skeptical attitude about civil disobedience. Some discount its effectiveness, using the argument that "one guy doesn't matter," which I've already rebutted. Others imagine scenarios like the civil rights or nuclear energy protests, with people getting beaten and arrested, and understandably say, "Not for me, thanks." There's more to civil disobedience than these examples. It can be a highly effective tactic that will help educate individuals as well as bringing about desired change. It's also a very flexible tool that every freedom lover ought to have in his or her tool kit. MORE AT http://www.sierratimes.com/02/10/04/sunni.htm

by Simpson Eh? Fri Feb 28, 2003 16:54

Best of luck tomorrow - will be there in spirit (I'll probably the the spirit who slips and falls off the fence!)
This article is on the unison site:

Riot squad to lead charge on airport protesters

GARDAI clad in riot gear will spearhead a major security operation to thwart plans by anti-war demonstrators to pull down the perimeter fence at Shannon airport tomorrow. Up to 500 gardai backed by additional troops will be deployed at Shannon in the biggest joint operation to maintain law and order in more than a decade.

The cost to the taxpayer of the massive operation was estimated last night to be over €1m.

Gardai have gathered intelligence indicating that some of the agitators intend to create further havoc at the airport if they can breach the security lines.

The confrontation plan, organised by a group calling themselves Grassroots Network Against War, has led to a deep rift in the anti-war movement and several other protest groups have withdrawn from tomorrow's demonstration as a result.

Senior garda officers under the control of western regional commander, Assistant Commissioner Dermot Jennings, last night put the final touches to the security operation.

It will include:

Extra garda resources being drafted in from each division in the State including a huge input from Dublin.
Special units trained in public order tactics will be to the forefront of the garda effort to prevent large-scale criminal damage and trespass.
Riot squads will be deployed in the background and sent into action if trouble erupts.
Additional armed troops are being put on duty to complement the current 150-strong group already there.
Special courts are being organised to deal with troublemakers if there is a spate of arrests.

Garda and military resources at the airport will be beefed up from current levels even after the march because of fears of further attempts to attack US military aircraft.

The protest plan has enraged local community groups and trade unionists who are contemplating staging a counter-demonstration at the airport to show their disgust at the proposed violence.

Intelligence gleaned by the gardai has also confirmed that some of the organisers of tomorrow's demonstration were also involved in masterminding the Reclaim the Streets protests in the centre of Dublin on May Day last year.

A senior garda officer said last night: "From the information we have gathered we are satisfied that a small group who represent a tiny minority of those who took part in previous anti-war demonstrations are hell-bent on causing trouble.

"We are determined that the law will not be broken. It is almost impossible to secure a seven-mile perimeter fence but we are taking measures to ensure that the protest does not get out of control," he added.

Gardai are also aware that while many of the protests groups are dissociating themselves from the action, the organisers are actively trying to whip up support for their aims.

On Wednesday the Irish Independent disclosed that organisers were advising participants to split into two groups when they arrived in Shannon - marked out by white and pink flags.

The white group will attempt to storm the fence and dismantle it while the pinks are being called on to provide back-up by "swarming about" to prevent the gardai carrying out arrests. The organisers say it will be "an entirely non-violent protest" but warn that those who take part face "certain risks".

In a statement last night Grassroots Network Against War said its planned action was "the only way that we can have any real effect on this war. In Dublin 100,000 people marched and the government did nothing.

"We feel that the potential damage to a fence, although regrettable, is utterly irrelevant if it can help to stop this brutal war and the attendant slaughter of Iraqis," it added.

Tom Brady, Security Editor

by Eoin O'M. Fri Feb 28, 2003 17:17

I am off to Shannon tomorrow morning along with many others. I am registering my protest at the abuse of Shannon and its facilities by the forces of a tyranically dangerous US government.

If the proposed hot-fence-action tomorrow is carried out as planned we can expect a few reactions in the Sunday papers (admit you don't care and you are irrelevant):

1) if there are many thousands there protesting and only a few are determined on destroying portions of the perimeter fence, the media will cast it as a few hardline nutcases who ruined it for many more but sure, didn't we all know they were hippies anyway? Result - failure

2) if there is a handful made up of the usual suspects plus a few more like me who have only woken up to the abuse recently, the mainstream media will cast it as a sign that F15 was a blip in an otherwise uninterrupted bourgeois paradise punctuated only by the odd Herald headline about asylum seekers / Travellers / criminals who ever! Result - failure

3) if there is a moderetely sized crowd who are seen to be making our point in the same way as we did in late January (my memory!) and Grassroots are a largeish contingent of this crowd, the mainstream media will cast it as a a blip in an otherwise uninterrupted bourgeois paradise punctuated only by the odd Herald headline about asylum seekers / Travellers / criminals who ever! Result - failure

4) the very public way in which the IAWM seems to have been portrayed as fraying at its core serves nobody but the right and the mainstream media. Can the movement / collective / political parties not think strategically about this one. Iraqi people do not see any distinction between the People's Front of Judea and the Judean Peoples' Front. Result - failure.

Each way we look at this we have failed abysmally to capitalise on F15. Blame falls squarely on those who do not see the larger principle as being more important than who does what, i.e. those heading PANA, SF, Labour whoever else has refused to show representaion tomorrow. No doubt some of the people from these groups will be there tomorrow. I'll be there tomorrow, shouting with the rest of you but be assured, many of my now disillusioned friends have already seen this for what it is - high farce.

We have played right into the hands of the mainstream media and the right who see no difference between one bunch of idealists and another. For Christ's sake let's start looking like an outfit and not a shower!

by Phuq Hedd Fri Feb 28, 2003 18:27

March 1st's direct action is one of the mildest Direct Actions undertaken recently.

In Seattle people have constructed huge tripods in the middle of motorways to block them.

In Italy trains have been blocked.

In the Netherlands a woman demolished 3 military satellite dishes with a sledgehammer

This proposed Direct Action is very low key compared to them and to some of the stuff being talked about above.

Again: there will be two groups. Those under the white flag will attempt to push forward with linked arms and rip down the fence. Those under the pink flags will observe and provide solidarity.

by Phuq Hedd Fri Feb 28, 2003 19:33

Protestors turn up the pressure on USAF Fairford

protest pic from fairford Sunday 23rd February saw around 500 people protest at the USAF base at Fairford in a mass civillian weapons inspection. The protests followed on from previous demonstrations, civil disobedience and direct action held at Fairford over the last few months.

The main gate was pulled open and dozens of civillian inspectors made it into the base with their high-tech array of "hypocrisy detectors" and "collateral damage anticipation indicators". Oppressive police tactics and around ten arrests were reported as riot police moved in, but the good natured protestors, as always retained the moral high ground against a war machine hell bent on destruction in the middle east. There was also a march around the base (where other breaches of the perimiter occured), which ended at the recently established peace camp.

Fairford, like several other military bases, is fast becoming a focus for direct action and civil disobedience against the war. March 22nd will see a national demonstration at both Fairford and Menwith Hill.

by IMC Editor Sat Mar 01, 2003 01:10

Direct action and responsibility
by Finbarr Gerald Fri, Feb 28 2003, 7:25pm
I have been wondering if there has been any discussion anywhere on the subject of "masking up" in relation to saturday? Two reasons I'm bringing this up: 1. This has so far been a wholy open call for action, and I believe that underlying that is the assumption (always a dangerous thing) that this is going to be an accountable, responsible action against war. 2. There is likely to be an interest in discrediting the anti-war movement and the direct action component of that movement. Hooded and masked 'protesters' offer both cover and possible motivation for individual acts of irresponsibility.

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COMMENTS
Masks
by Odin Fri, Feb 28 2003, 8:04pm

Well I have no problem with people masking up - but yes it can be used by the media - so hallowen, etc...

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hee hee
by billy bragg Fri, Feb 28 2003, 8:38pm

yeah, face paints and colourful masks would be better

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Hmm.
by Sparks Fri, Feb 28 2003, 9:49pm

Seems like a bit of a cop-out to me. If you want to take direct action, there's little point in evading capture - look at Dubsky's example as a case in point. The fact that he stood up afterwards and said "I did it, and this is why" was the most effective thing about the action he took. (okay, not afterwards, during)

It's a responsibility thing - you can't be irate at cops shucking ID patches on one hand and hide your face like this on the other. It's got to be the same rule for everyone or there's no point in having rules.

To say nothing of the fact that twenty guys in balaclavas pulling down a chain-link fence is not going to be a settling sight to the guys on the other side of the fence with the automatic rifles. And a jumpy, stressed armed man is not a recipe for a long life and happiness. So it's a safety thing as well.

by Kevin-Scott Sat Mar 01, 2003 04:00

Covering one’s face would be an attempt to turn an overt action into covert action.  One can not have covert action when the intent has been publicly
announced in advance.
 
The idea of protest is to be visible. Protest must be, sans peur et sans reproche.

by King Mob Sat Mar 01, 2003 20:47

After today's farce at Shannon. I hope some of you are happy.