Civil Disobedience: Have you ever participated?

[undeterred]

What was the issue you were protesting?

Were you arrested and what were the consequences (fine, prison, etc)?

Would you do it again?

[Guaranteed]

1. I walked across the UCSB campus on 4/20 once, at 4:20 in the

afternoon (broad daylight) with a bunch of my buddies smoking the fattest doob I've ever participated in smoking. :)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

4. I smoked blunts with my arms leaning on the drug free school zone sign

with my buddies in broad daylight :)

[sniffa]

2. just once

i was waiting for the waLk signaL to fLash so i couLd cross the street; there were no cars coming so i just said, 'fuck it' and jaywaLked.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

3. Did it in college

to protest the firing of a professor.

Yes, I would do it again but it would have to be bigtime stuff.

But on second thought, the issues that would take me to the street would all involve tanks and such so it would not be a good idea.

Oh, I don't know.... what did you have in mind?

[cmd]

5. Does leaving the free speech zone count?

Several of us DUers left the free speech zone in Richfield, OH on Labor Day '03. We were in a group of about 450 people, including Congressman Sherrod Brown, who marched to the town square and jeered Bush as he drove through the middle of our group. No one was arrested.

edit: I've also been involved in some long and short Labor strikes. No arrests. Yet.

[MnFats]

6. Oh, yeah. it was great, despite an ass-kicking by cops

What was the issue you were protesting?
it was 1972: Vietnam, specifically, Nixon's decision to mine the harbor at Haiphong, North Vietnam, racheting up the volitility of the war when he had been promising to move in the opposite direction. 5,000 of us marched through the streets of Mankato, Mn., and about 1,500 blocked the Highway 169 bridge, bringing everything to a dead halt.
The police chief of Mankato ordered his officers to leave us alone and simply redirect traffic. He decided to let us have the streets for a few days without confrontation.
when we crossed the bridge and blocked the highway, we entered a different city and county, where officials were getting a loto f pressure to kick hippie/protester/lib/peacenik ass.
Our people announced we would leave the bridge and go back to campus at 6 p.m. At 5:45 a group of 100 to 200 cops, sheriff's deputies and state patrol officers attacked us.

Were you arrested and what were the consequences (fine, prison, etc)?
only a couple of people were arrested. they didn't care about arrests, they just wanted to kick ass, and they did. they hit us with tear gas and then mace -- me and my buddy got a terrific dose of that shit; it hurts. they moved in and thumped us with their night sticks; some people got it really bad.
There was a brief debate over whethe we should fight back. We opted for nonviolence and moved back across the bridge, carrying our wounded.


Would you do it again?
in a fucking heartbeat.

[bliss_eternal]

9. Now THAT'S civil disobedience--at it's finest!!

(...bliss falls to feet to worship and honor your protest).

:yourock:

Thank you--people like you made sure I had a better future!

[NMDemDist2]

7. tear gassed on the streets of Berkley and San Francisco, Viet Nam

no arrest (several different occasions)

Shut down major street in Sacramento CA with anti war march, Gulf War I, arrested, refused to pay fine, did community service in an Adult Literacy Program instead

Yes

[bliss_eternal]

10. Right ON!

You kick ass!

:yourock:

:applause:

[msongs]

8. yes, murder of a million people, no, yes nt

[HamdenRice]

11. Many times

As a student, anti-apartheid strikes.

As a grad student, support for unionization, including refusing as a TA to cross picket lines.

If demos count, as a young adult the 1980s nuclear freeze march in NY.


In South Africa, late 80s, many "illegal gatherings," one of which was broken up by tear gas and police shooting, and illegal research activities that got me detained in Tsetse.

I'll think of more.

<edited>

[bliss_eternal]

12. I organized a sit in at my highschool--

It was soooo lame. We sat in the quad, in protest of the ridiculous tardy sweep policies (all students that weren't on time to class were 'swept up' and taken to the cafeteria or other area--making them WAY later to class--which was far more disruptive in the long run).

Anyway, we sat in the quad and the damned school administration turned the sprinklers on us. Most of the students got upset because they were getting wet and left me and a few other die hards behind...

I would do it again for something more worthy. LOL!

[MnFats]

20. hey, don't call it lame! every step helps...

...i organized one with a bunch of other kids while i was in high school. It wasn't very big -- maybe 50 kids, and we had to water our signs down to "we want peace.'
but at least it was a start, and we got people in that little town talking about the waar
....Good for you!!

[bliss_eternal]

21. Thank you--

I didn't feel lame organizing it, or even participating. Looking back on it, I feel lame--especially the fact that they put the sprinklers on us...

:blush:

[pinto]

13. I got drafted and refused at the induction center. (Viet Nam era)..n/t

[mmonk]

14. I've been tear gassed

and rushed by police in helmets and shields while carrying billy-sticks. That was the 70's though.

[mmonk]

15. I should mention

this was the early 70's and I was just attending rock concerts. Nothing noble, I was just a long haired leaping gnome trying to run out of the way.

[niallmac]

16. San Fernando Valley State College during the 60's

I was late to the party. I witnessed this while walking toward the assembly so I was not arrested.
The Dean prohibited an assembly protesting the war after a week of pretty active protests.
The Dean (yes I have forgotten his name!) said they had information that Black Panthers were going to smuggle guns on campus to the gathering so it was thereby ruled illegal... (fear fear fear!!!) A big crowd assembled anyway. No problems. People just refused to be cowered into not protesting. Anyway, my eyes bugged out when I saw the biggest Los Angeles police officers I had ever seen come marching around the corner with these calf high black leather boots that I will never forget. They looked like a squad of large motorcycle cops. They herded everyone on buses and booked everyone at the Northridge? ...station.
Again? I wish I was one of those arrested! It was pretty moving to see people as a group defiant and proclaiming the first amendment as uniformed gestapo ushered away democracy.

I think that civil disobedience will soon become our only option.

[Coloradan4Truth]

17. On the Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament

in 1986, I trespassed onto the grounds of the Strategic Air Command in Omaha, NE with a bunch of other wild women for peace.

This was an organized event and we had counter-protesters and very polite air force personnel to take us to a building on grounds, take our fingerprints, and release us within a few hours.

I thought my young female "Guard" was very cute. And at 18 I was rather unconcerned about any future consequences. I guess I'm not really that concerned now even, but I sometimes wonder about big brother.

:patriot:

[Luminous Animal]

18. Several times

During Bush One's reelection campaign, I participated in a protest at a Republican fundraiser. 30 women in pink slips protested outside and 4 infiltrated (we sent in a donation the day of the event, and canceled our checks the same day). We had excellent seats because (as the host said) they were short on women and sat us with some unescorted big movers and shakers. When George One appeared on the huge TV to give his show-me-the-money speech, the four of us jumped on the table, stripped off our conservative suits to reveal our pink slips. We chanted George Bush, we give you the pink slip. The local constabulary were summoned. It got great national airplay. Charges were dismissed with no court appearance.


Twenty women protested UC Berkeley's feet dragging on a rape investigation and lack of response to our demands that they provide better education for rape prevention and better support to women who had been raped. We chalked the campus and chalked frat row (where the rape had occurred). Arrested for vandalism. Case was dismissed because the judge deemed chalking city surfaces does not equal vandalism. Due to bad local press, Berkeley upgraded their response to education and support services


During city budget cutting season, the idea was floated that amongst city supervisors to downgrade the services at the San Francisco Rape Treatment Center, the first comprehensive rape treatment center in the nation and a model for other treatment centers in the country. At one of the budget hearings when public health was being hashed out, 30 women were dispersed amongst the audience, at intervals of 4 minutes, all of us would stand up holding signs of rape statistics and 6 of us would shout, "A woman is being raped, right now." Those six were arrested. Charges were dismissed with no court appearance. The result, the city reinstated the Rape Treatment Center's budget. I still have the plaque from the center thanking us.

During another slash and burn budget session, 11 women costumed themselves in the manner of each of our city supervisors. We were backed by several city unions and other interested activist groups. Seconds before the meeting started, we jumped over the railing that divides the supervisors from the public and each took the seat of the supervisor we were disguised as. We proceeded to conduct business, and in an hour we passed a slate of progressive taxes that would cover the budget short-fall. This action was part of a months long campaign conducted by many groups in the city. No clear winner here, but the budget looked a lot better in the end. All 11 women were arrested. Charges were dismissed with no court appearance.

Those are some of the flashier actions that I have been involved in.

My advice.
1) Be creative.
2) Be part of a larger protest.
3) Get legal advice before your action (National Lawyers Guild has always been helpful)
4 Appoint several people as your "legal" team. That is, people who will take down badge numbers, videotape the arrests, follow the cop cars to jail (so that everyone knows which jail you've been taken to), and someone to take charge the bail money.
5) Prepare a media kit and have at least 3 media spokespeople on hand.
6) Alert the media (but don't tell them about the civil disobedience).
7) Make sure that only those who want to be arrested will be arrested.
8) And never ever ever let anyone incite you to violence on person or property. In fact, if someone mid-planning or mid-action suggests violence, you've probably been infiltrated.



Edited for spelling.

[bliss_eternal]

22. I love the visual

of the pink slips! That sounds so incredibly cool--sorry I missed that!

:yourock:

[Mountainman]

19. I refused to get dressed on a nude beach so that I could go to court

to have the arrests stopped. The cop would not arrest me. He only warned me not to come back there again.

[undeterred]

23. Cool.

:bounce:

[Just Me]

24. If you count war protests in the last three years, I have,...

,...numerous times. Never arrested though. I'm a single momma and act within limits necessary to fulfill my responsibility to my son. Once he is on his own two feet, I'd be willing to step over the line and be arrested for refusing to allow my freedom to speak to be isolated/confined by the government.