After the Seattle riots there was a lot of
over-reaction. When Bush visited London the British
police refused to conform with the odious American
practice of penning up demonstrators in "free speech
zones". Good show, Brits!
If people want to protest peacefully, the
organizers of the event need to to make it clear that
"direct action" protesters are not welcome at the
peaceful protest.
It would be much better if people wanting to do
civil disobedince did not do it in the middle of a
peaceful event. People who want to do peaceful civil
disobedience need to make it clear that "direct
action" is not acceptable.
There are many ways rights can be lost. The Seattle
rioters and groups like the Ruckus Society should
share part of the blame for "free speech zones".
Ed Fesler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Corcoran
--- Peter T Schmitz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> EF: Appointing an African-American chief would have
> the effect of
> weakening the anti-police brutality movement
> because an African-American chief would be much
> harder to criticize.
>
> PS: There's some truth in what you say, Ed. A few
> years ago, when some
> corporatists (centrist democrats of the Clinton
> mold) came close to
> taking over Pacifica News, they deployed a few
> African American women to
> do the dirty work of firing the few remaining
> lefties. When journalist
> Alexander Cockburn cried foul in his biweekly column
> for The Nation, he
> was accused of being racist and sexist.
>
> Thankfully, most people in Minneapolis are willing
> and able look beyond
> race and gender, even when the power elite exploits
> chronic and
> persistent racism and sexism in order to uphold the
> status quo.
>
> In the early nineties folks in Minneapolis
> frequently mentioned how proud
> they were to be living in a city where its Mayor was
> a woman of color,
> and its two most powerful council members were women
> (Jackie Cherryhomes,
> President, and Joan Campbell, majority leader and
> chair of Ways and
> Means). But several years later, when it finally
> became clear what a
> mess these three politicians made, they were voted
> out of office with no
> race or gender card being played.
>
> Does this mean the new guard (which is more male,
> more gay) is better
> than the old guard? Absolutely not. I've made this
> clear on this post
> over and over again.
>
> Truth is, the machine of power--a machine that has
> little regard for
> planet Earth and our most vulnerable populations--is
> very strong. So
> strong, that basically decent and honorable people
> like our former and
> current mayor become seriously compromised to avoid
> getting crushed
> beneath the wheel.
>
> And this is where I part company with Carol Becker,
> who's recent
> clarification I deeply appreciated. While its all
> very good to recruit
> more women and minorities for elected public office
> and appointed to
> postilions of greater power and prestige (e.g.,
> Police Chief of a large
> city), decent citizens, irregardless of race, gender
> or sexual
> orientation, make a more profound impact in the
> streets, not the suites.
> But this truth gets lost in our consumer-driven
> nation where most of us
> have been taught that the responsibilities of
> citizenship begin and end
> at the ballot box (and you've no right to complain
> if you refuse to
> choose between tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumber).
> Meanwhile the machine
> persists at a more reckless pace. And as long if we
> can plaster black,
> feminine or gay faces on the machine, so much the
> better for ruthless
> global capitalism.
>
> For example, we have a police officer of higher rank
> like Sharon Lubinski
> who showed little regard for dissent in her handling
> of ISAG, but
> so-called progressives and liberals, who claim to
> honor free speech,
> didn't so much as bat an eye because the officer in
> charge was a lesbian,
> the mayor a woman of color, and the most powerful
> council members women.
>
>
> Diversity without dissent is meaningless.
>
> BTW, thank you Dave Phiel for your comments
> regarding how William McManus
> was recruited for the position of Minneapolis Police
> Chief. It puts my
> mind at ease regarding the longevity issue of his
> current position.
>
> Peter Schmitz CARAG
>
>
>
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>
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>
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> Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
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