I'll protest, but not by dousing myself with gas

Miriam, Ted and All Believers in Peaceful Protest,

 

Ted, I was with you on the subject of hunger strikes.  I would not last more than one meal.  Nor am I big on the idea of dousing myself with gasoline and striking a match.  I would like to be around to see the impact of any protest that I involved myself in. 

As for the Indians on the railroad tracks?  They made the fatal mistake of believing they were human beings deserving of fair treatment.  They had not heard the Great White Christian Government's proclamation, "The only good Injun is a dead Injun". 

And yet, if we are to make any change in how we deal with one another, passive resistance must be central. 

Of course we see what can happen to peaceful demonstrators.  The young woman who stood before her home as the Israeli bulldozer rolled over her, the young veteran whose head stopped a tear gas canister, and all of those nameless bodies that laid down their lives merely because they refused to step aside. 

The Empire uses violence and intimidation to maintain control.  Their hired Bully Boys attempt to beat the peaceful resistance into submission. 

But if we are really intent upon changing the corrupt system, peaceful resistance is our greatest weapon. 

If we strike back in an open violent revolution, we very well might overthrow the Empire Masters.  Then what have we proved?  Violence begets violence.  We have demonstrated that the only sure way of toppling a corrupt reteam is by mounting greater violence.  And dour new establishment will remember the lesson and build its own mighty army to protect itself. 

What future government do we want to build?  What principles will it be built upon? 

Speaking only for myself, I have to know what I am standing for before I put my life on the line.  But if I do, it will be through peaceful resistance. 

 

Carl Jarvis

 

----- Original Message -----

From: ted chittenden

To: Blind Democracy Discussion List

Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2012 8:20 PM

Subject: RE: Hunger/AIDS Medication Striker to Trinity Church: "Forgive Us Our Trespasses"

Miriam:
You know, I think your friend may have a good point. After reading this article, I've been trying to think of hunger strikes that ever changed government or social policy, and I can't think of one. On the other hand, I can think of at least one (Bobby Sands back in the late 1970s) where the person died because of lack of food, and nothing changed (the hunger protest was by an IRA member over the Brittish being involved in northern Ireland). It wouldn't be until somewhere around 20 years later when a deal for northern Ireland would finally be reached, and my memory is that the hunger strike of Mr. Sands played absolutely no role in any negotiations, including finally getting them to start.

I am also reminded of the native Americans who laid on railroad tracks to do battle with the "iron horse" (trains) that had been developed to carry (mostly) Caucasians from the east to the west coasts for colonization. None of these people ever lived to tell how they dismantled the iron horse, and the railroad tracks continued to be built and the trains continued to roll.

Finally, I am reminded of a recent (last year) Republican presidential candidates' debate in front of members of the so-called Tea Party in Florida. When Ron Paul was asked what he would do about the people who would never be able to afford health care insurance without some sort of reform, shouts from the audience rang out! "Let them die! Let them die!"

I do not want to mitigate the role of protesters and protests, but I am becoming quite convinced that those who go on hunger strikes and otherwise put themselves in harm's way in order to generate a humanitarian response may be sadly miscalculating how human many of their fellow citizens think they are.
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Ted Chittenden