I just made some Lentil Chili and right now it is in the slow cooker set to low for the next seven or eight hours. My friend Alex asked me to help her with supporting folks confronting the Proud Boys, Identity Europa (they have changed their name to something else now), and other assorted white nationalist fascists aligned with them. I wavered on what my commitment level would be for tomorrow. I was honest with Alex and myself, so I finally decided that the only support role I could see myself playing in this one was cooking up some righteous chilli, and picking up a couple baguettes at the new bakery that opened recently just up the street three blocks.
Yes, I am afraid of being seriously injured, but my even greater fear is being arrested by the cops on some trumped up charge when I try to defend myself from these goose stepping racist misogynistic homophobic wannabe gestapo thugs. So I knew right away I would not be on the front lines. And the more I thought about it, I truly did not want to spend my entire Saturday being a carebear inside a building removed from the action (yet likely seeing younger activists sustaining injuries). Furthermore, I still don't think I'm completely on board with the tactics of directly (often physically) confronting fascists in broad daylight with a horde of cops present. It strikes me as not very smart.
However, I am also beginning to recognize the value of confronting these hateful misanthropes as they continue to issue calls for utilizing lethal violence against vulnerable groups. These cretins and their followers flourish in darkness; when they are ignored. To ignore them is to fail in any real way to hold them accountable. And not only should they be held accountable -- they should be publicly shamed for embracing the most despicable aspects of humanity. The Proud Boys and their ilk praise the Nazis' final solution, and Chilean fascist dictator Pinochet's practice of dropping political opponents and journalists from high-flying helicopters.
Two weeks ago I returned from Canada. I was banned from our neighboring nation for 10 years due to a "Failure to Obey a Lawful Order" conviction in 2009. Now I was allowed to enter, visit my two younger cousins, and experience joy in exploring a few parts of Montreal. As I get older, I realize that I must choose more wisely what I am willing to risk arrest for and be held accountable for in a court of law. I continue to believe civil resistance is a powerful tool of transformative love. But there are only a couple precious causes I am willing to go the distance for, and only a couple activist groups I want to act with in that powerful and dramatic way.
I am glad there are some folks ready to directly confront the fascists when they hold public rallies. And I don't mind playing some sort of support role for these brave activists, but it just ain't my cup of tea to join them at the front. I have harbored rather violent ideas on how to deal with these folks' leaders, and it doesn't involve performative actions with the police as the audience. But, anyhow, I will reserve my practice of nonviolent direct action for those just causes I feel utterly called to act upon -- and it most likely will never be a counter protest.
My friend Alex has asked me a few times what cause would I be willing to die for. I really had trouble answering this because I truly do love life. There really is only one to be completely honest -- it would be in protection of the vulnerable immigrant children I have been recently involved with serving through two small Suburban Maryland groups. It is this direct service work that is giving me great joy.
Yes, I am afraid of being seriously injured, but my even greater fear is being arrested by the cops on some trumped up charge when I try to defend myself from these goose stepping racist misogynistic homophobic wannabe gestapo thugs. So I knew right away I would not be on the front lines. And the more I thought about it, I truly did not want to spend my entire Saturday being a carebear inside a building removed from the action (yet likely seeing younger activists sustaining injuries). Furthermore, I still don't think I'm completely on board with the tactics of directly (often physically) confronting fascists in broad daylight with a horde of cops present. It strikes me as not very smart.
However, I am also beginning to recognize the value of confronting these hateful misanthropes as they continue to issue calls for utilizing lethal violence against vulnerable groups. These cretins and their followers flourish in darkness; when they are ignored. To ignore them is to fail in any real way to hold them accountable. And not only should they be held accountable -- they should be publicly shamed for embracing the most despicable aspects of humanity. The Proud Boys and their ilk praise the Nazis' final solution, and Chilean fascist dictator Pinochet's practice of dropping political opponents and journalists from high-flying helicopters.
Two weeks ago I returned from Canada. I was banned from our neighboring nation for 10 years due to a "Failure to Obey a Lawful Order" conviction in 2009. Now I was allowed to enter, visit my two younger cousins, and experience joy in exploring a few parts of Montreal. As I get older, I realize that I must choose more wisely what I am willing to risk arrest for and be held accountable for in a court of law. I continue to believe civil resistance is a powerful tool of transformative love. But there are only a couple precious causes I am willing to go the distance for, and only a couple activist groups I want to act with in that powerful and dramatic way.
I am glad there are some folks ready to directly confront the fascists when they hold public rallies. And I don't mind playing some sort of support role for these brave activists, but it just ain't my cup of tea to join them at the front. I have harbored rather violent ideas on how to deal with these folks' leaders, and it doesn't involve performative actions with the police as the audience. But, anyhow, I will reserve my practice of nonviolent direct action for those just causes I feel utterly called to act upon -- and it most likely will never be a counter protest.
My friend Alex has asked me a few times what cause would I be willing to die for. I really had trouble answering this because I truly do love life. There really is only one to be completely honest -- it would be in protection of the vulnerable immigrant children I have been recently involved with serving through two small Suburban Maryland groups. It is this direct service work that is giving me great joy.
Comments
شركة تسليك مجاري بالقطيف