When one people have declared war on another, and have plotted to injure, oppress, and subdue those peaceful peoples, when is it right to rise up and defend those peaceful? And is defense simply removing oneself from harm’s way or does it involve an active offense? I don’t have the answer; instead, I’ve got ideals that say no violence is OK, no attack is OK, only living the way you need to live is, come what may. But these ideals don’t address the rage inside of my body, that every single cell pulsates with, as I watch videos like this. I have have been photographed, videotaped and, I’m sure, taken a little notice of. I don’t delude myself that I would be so important to the police state that they would plot against me; however, it seems you don’t have to be very important.So, as I’m watching this video, I’m contemplating the strategies that could be used in a co-Co-intel-pro operation: The same tactics they use, but without the cumbersome command and control structure. It’s not hard to imagine:
There’s 100,000 people at rally/march/whatever and that number far surpasses the enemies ranks. There might be 1,000 or 5,000 cops – that’s 20:1 to 100:1 in our favor. Now picture this: camera’s getting pictures of the pigs, people following them back to their Police Bases; waiting to watch them go home. Surveillance all way back to their safe zones. Then publish the information; the same way they do for the FBI’s Most Wanted, etc… right here, on the internet. Now, you’ve got an address, a face, a name. When you’re ready, you sit down with your pen and paper and draw up the how’s and whys. A small assault force of 3 to 4 people arrive at the target’s location armed with stun guns, OC Pepper Spray and riot cuffs. It’s about 3 AM in the morning, the sun won’t be up for another 4 hours – the teams split into 2 – one for the back one for the front. A nice looking young lady; early 20’s is knocking franticly on the door, holding a cell phone. The pig is awakened from his peaceful slumber, dreaming of the rights he’d violated that day, goes to the door somewhat alarmed – but it’s a nice young lady saying her phone has died and so has her car and she needs to call for AAA. He opens it feeling assured he could handle anything she may be bringing to the table; but he’s not expecting 3 others, or the Pepper Spray on her key chain. A quick spray right in the face, and the guy standing just out of view of the doorway steps in and drops the Pig with a rifle butt to the nose. It will shatter and blood will be everywhere, but this is as much about a message as anything else. Down on his stomach with riot cuffs cutting off the circulation of his hands, the girl lets the one in the back in, and then it’s an Urban House Search for others. Once everyone, women and children included, are on their knees in the floor of the room with the least windows, the interrogation begins: What do you do with the information you acquire at the rallies? Where is it stored? Who runs these shows? How do you get assigned to this kind of thing? Names and addresses of others you’ve worked with? Then the pictures come out: Do you know this person? What are you feeling when you raise your Baton to strike peaceful people? What authority do you call on to provide you with this right?
They won’t always talk right away – note where the bathroom is. Take his wife into the bathroom and lay her face down in the bathtub. The Pig will want to watch this. Turn the water on to a slow stream and set the stopper. You can control her by simply placing your foot on the small of her back. Eventually he will talk. Then you acquire every single thing you can that might possibly gain you entrance to their Base; key cards, badges, other identification, etc. Find uniforms, weapons, etc. Remove all access to the Enemy’s reinforcements. Besides, these things will come in handy when you go into the Bee’s nest.
But I can’t advocate this scenario: it is our actions that make up who we are. The people in the streets suffering the oppression will simply become the oppressors. The Pig’s children will grow up the new victims and the pendulum of Get-Backs will swing to their side. That’s the failure of every revolution; those revolting become those to be revolted against. Acceptance and tolerance are never to be found on the muzzle side of a gun barrel.
I am reminded of a song from Suicidal Tendencies: Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right (But they sure make me feel a lot better).
I don’t have the answers, but I’ve been down the road of Victim and it’s a dead end; as is the road of oppressor. Is there really strength in forgiveness? Perhaps a better question, is there the strength within myself to forgive?
And then I’m hit with an entirely different scenario; one that doesn’t involve violence, one that doesn’t lower itself to the depths of depravity the state will. It occurs to me that forgiveness must come from everyone, the victim, the victimizer, and the people in the society – just like in the courts but without the badge of guilt; rather, it’s the badge of forgiveness:
There’s 100,000 people there to express themselves and there’s 1,000 to 5,000 there to stop them via force. Allow them to by being peaceful and resistant; like the flower that cracks the concrete by its sheer will to live as it must: as nature prescribed it. Note the breakdowns and the failures of peace – video them, collect them, post them so that both Victim and Victimizer can see themselves from other perspectives. Then, with this information, you simply organize a display. Imagine the cop getting up for work in his comfortable suburban home, sun rising over the one story rambler, as the cars begin to fill his street, in both directions, and there are thousands of them; a veritable traffic jam at 7:30 AM in suburban Portland, Oregon. All of them just going around the block in right turns, with large trucks with Video screens strapped to their back like those mobile advertisements running the displays of violence with full identifications; the prosecutions case in video, if you will. The community will have to confront the actions of one in their midst and the question may be posed: “Will you forgive this person for his transgressions?” His wife will have to decide if that’s the person she’s going to subject her children, herself to. Will it just be a job and following orders when the community at large is able to see you perform; perhaps see the rage in your eyes as you lunge forward; the clenched jaw of determination while you twist some poor young mans arms around into painful submission? All of this on display for the very people this person is victimizing: the community around him, the society he belongs to. Perhaps in their forgiveness, he’ll forgive himself and refuse such offenses to his community and society and environment.
Perhaps that’s not as long and gory, or filled with disturbing thoughts (sometimes my thoughts do disturb me), but it seems a better way to getting at acceptance and tolerance and a world without false authorities, or gods, if you will. That seems a better way to freedom, wisdom, understanding, and a true ideal to me.