Peacemakers
offer observations on police actions during the Republican National
Convention
[9-23-08]There has been no shortage of
opinions on the police actions during the recent Republican
Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Especially for those of us living
in the Twin Cities, the media have provided a wide range of
opinions, from comparisons with Nazi Germany to justifications in
the name of public order.
One group with a unique perspective was the
Minnesota Peace Team, whose volunteers, numbering about a hundred,
underwent training and then attempted during the week to put
themselves between demonstrators and police, and sometimes
counter-demonstrators as well.
A local group,
Friends for a NonViolent World, was one of the main organizers
and trainers for the Peace Team. And now that the dust has settled
about, Matthew Hunter, Executive Director of FNVW, has posted his
report on the whole experience. I think it’s worth a good look.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
We Have a Great Opportunity
Before Us!
Dear Peacemakers,
As you know, our town of St. Paul, Minnesota just
spent five days squirming under the international spotlight brought
by the Republican National Convention. A city known best for
Garrison Keillor and the Minnesota State Fair is now known, at least
for a little while, for pepper spray and mind-blowing police force.
Nagging questions kept bubbling up for me during convention week:
* What does it say about our current political
process when party conventions are held in domestic versions of
green zones?
* Should residents of St. Paul and the United
States be concerned about Hummers full of troops patrolling the
streets surrounding the Xcel Energy Center? About snipers placed on
downtown roofs? About National Guard troops firing chemical weapons
at unarmed U.S. citizens?
* Is democracy and free speech served when
police practice pre-emptive intimidation (i.e., squadrons of
helicopter gun ships doing maneuvers above individuals assembling
for the nonviolent Veterans for Peace march, police officers showing
up to peaceful gatherings already wearing their riot gear, U.S.
Coast Guard gun boats patrolling the Mississippi River, preemptive
raids on houses inhabited by journalists and videographers)?
* What should people committed to nonviolence
say about the diversity of tactics used in civil disobedience,
including sit-ins, obstruction of traffic, and breaking of windows?
* How best can nonviolent activists hold the
small number of violent protesters accountable while not deflecting
our intense scrutiny on weapon-laden, well-staffed security forces?
Police in Riot Gear Line Much of the Peace March Route
* How can we move local and federal police
away from the worst-case scenario mindset that seeks to justify the
showing and use of extreme force, regardless of threat level?
As a member of the Minnesota Peace Team (MnPT) throughout convention
week, I witnessed firsthand the truth of the saying "violence begets
violence." No doubt, the pre-emptive shows of force by physical
barricades, police and soldiers caused unrest. Also, the violent
language of a few protest groups raised the anxiety of security
forces. We could spend hours debating who or what deserves the
greater share of the blame for creating an environment of fear. But
one thing is certain: the hate radiating from the convention pulpit
and the chaos swirling around outside the Xcel Center offers us a
great opportunity to equip our communities to reduce violence in the
Twin Cities and beyond."Chaos" is an
accurate description of what peace team members encountered during
convention week. Peace team members were blasted with mace and
pepper spray while pulling fallen, unarmed young people out of the
middle of police-protester melees. Four peace team members were
arrested in a sweep while trying to de-escalate violence following
the Rage Against the Machine concert. On the final night of the
convention, many peace team members were caught between protesters
and security forces as the latter unleashed a barrage of 10 to 20
percussion grenades and tear gas canisters at the fleeing group of
young people. A portion of one percussion grenade even struck my
partner Amanda in the leg as we tried to avoid the projectiles.
Though we were not perfect, I do believe MnPT was reasonably
successful standing in solidarity with anyone threatened with
violence, proving that the non-violent social change movement can
provide witness to the world that human dignity, not homeland
security, should inform our nation's domestic and foreign policy.
While finding hope in the work of MnPT and in the
willingness of many thousands of people to protest peacefully
against government aggression and belligerence, I was also humbled
by the words of one young man interviewed by a local reporter. The
reporter asked why he chose to break windows in protest. He
responded: "Because you're here and that's what you (the media)
listen to." The young man was right. Our mainstream media has become
so comfortable with normal protests that only extreme or perceived
abnormal behavior catches their attention. I believe this
inattention provides us with an even greater opportunity.
What can the nonviolence movement do to get the
mainstream media's attention? Get creative! We can do "crazy" things
like offer a post-convention Truth and Reconciliation process and
stage a "cleansing march" along the protest routes to wash clean our
city and reclaim the Xcel Energy Center for our community (both in
the works). We can offer nonviolence training to police officers and
promote dialogue between the police department and the nonviolence
movement. We can educate the community on the power of restorative
justice as an alternative to current retributive justice models. We
can strengthen the Minnesota Peace Team and spread ideas of
non-violent, community-based policing to neighborhoods throughout
the Twin Cities. Such ideas will not change the mainstream media
environment overnight; however, through our efforts, we might just
get enough attention to give nonviolence more space in the realm of
social change ideas.
I am so happy to serve on the development team for
the Minnesota Peace Team. As a supporter of FNVW, I hope you too are
excited that FNVW has played an important role in launching the
peace team concept in Minnesota and in acting as fiscal sponsor for
MnPT. With your continued support, I know FNVW will continue to
offer creative alternatives to the violence in our world.
The author:
Matthew Hunter, Executive Director of
Friends for a NonViolent World,
was born in Tulsa, OK and raised in Edmond, OK. He earned a B.B.A.
degree in Finance/Economics from the University of Oklahoma, and an
M.Div. degree from Duke University Divinity School. Until recently,
he was Executive Director of The Shepherd’s Way outreach to homeless
families in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Matt has traveled extensively in
Africa, spending three months in Cape Town, South Africa working
with Congolese and Burundian refugees, and helping to plan a
pan-African conference on HIV/AIDS community-based caregiving. He
has presented many times on the theological imperative of
nonviolence, on the overthrow of the apartheid regime in South
Africa, and on nonviolent alternatives to national defense.
