Organization: The American University
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.catholic
Date:         Fri, 25 Dec 1992 14:26:14 EST
From:         Jim McIntosh <JIM@AMERICAN.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Operation Rescue
              24 Dec 1992 08:23:26 CST from
              <elendil@SEASHELL.MINTIR.NEW-ORLEANS.LA.US>

On Thu, 24 Dec 1992 08:23:26 CST Edward J. Branley said:
>Which is classic civil disobedience.  If that was all that OR was doing, then I
>would not have such a problem with their actions.  However, since the clinics
>have switched from passive (letting the police just clear the
>sidewalks/entrances) defense to a more active form of defense ('clinic
>defenders'), OR's tactics have become increasingly more violent.  There have
>been documented cases of attacks by OR protestors on clinic defenders.  Six
>people arrested two weeks ago in Baton Rouge for aggravated battery in
>connection with an attack on a clinic guard.  That's not the stuff of
>non-violent civil disobedience.

During Desert Storm I had to travel to San Francisco on business. I had
been to some of the marches and protests here in DC, and so when I heard
about one while I was out there I went to join it. It started out fairly
calmly as the fairly large group of people marched down Market Street, up
through the Castro and then back down Mission Street. When we reached the
Federal Building, however, the mood of the march had changed. Suddenly
people were wearing masks and seemed intent on destroying property and
throwing things at the poor police trying to guard the building. When
reinforcements arrived the people started marching again towards
downtown. I decided this was not the kind of protest with which I wished
to be associated and left the march to return to my hotel.

I went up to my room and then went back downstairs to get something to
eat. As I went to leave the hotel I found the march had somehow worked
its way to the street outside my hotel, but the situation was now very
different. This time the police, who had been quietly following the
marchers were on the attack. I watched with horror as squads of police
swept down on groups of demonstrators with their clubs and sticks flying.

I realized as I watched the naked violence happening practically in front
of my face that the two groups in San Francisco, the demonstrators and
the police, were in the midst of a dance. Each side had their roles,
which had undoubtedly been choreographed over some period of time, and
each side was trapped in these roles. The protesters were violent because
on previous protests they had been violated by the police; the police
were violent because they and their comrades had just been savagely
attacked by the demonstrators.

It is easy to be nonviolent as long as the people on the other side are
also nonviolent. The true test of a commitment to nonviolence is when
your opponents act with violence towards you.

Far be it for me to criticize anyone here. It is not easy to maintain
your nonviolent stance when confronted with violence. It is perfectly
natural to want to strike back against the one who hits you. It is
understandable that clinic people would turn to violence first, since
their commitment to life is less, and it is also understandable, though
unfortunate, that the OR people would respond with violence.

It was only with great difficutly that MLK was able to keep the civil
rights movement nonviolent in the face of fire hoses and police dogs. It
would be only with the active and continued work of their leaders that
the OR movement could remain nonviolent. This means constant lecturing on
nonviolent principles; required nonviolence training sessions for
everyone who will block a clinic; and the willingness to immediately
cancel a demonstration if it appears your people are wavering in their
ability to remain nonviolent.

Nonviolent demonstrations remain a very powerful tool, because they show
the strength and commitment of people willing to suffer injury and even
death for their cause, and also because they highlight the savagery and
brutality of the people on the other side.

Finally, why do I write today, on Christmas, about things like this? The
Church is clear with her message. The day after Christmas we celebrate
the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr. Two days from now we will
remember the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. It can be painful to be a
Christian, and we, through our faith, are called to be Christians. My
favorite Christmas song is "Go Tell It On the Moutains." Christmas should
inspire us to again get out there and start again in our task of building
the Kingdom.

Hope you all had a great one! May the peace and message of Christmas be
with us the rest of our lives.

Jim McIntosh, SFO (jim@american.edu)
The American University
Washington DC 20016-8019 USA