A few months ago, two incidents involving the inappropriate use of tasers by law enforcement came home to Vermont, when police tasered two non-violent protesters in Brattleboro and a teenager at Brattleboro Retreat. These incidents prompted an outcry that prompted A.G. Bill Sorrell to conduct an investigation into the incidents. He released a statement today, as reported in today's Times Argus:
"I'm sorry to report that the Brattleboro police blew it in both cases," Sorrell said during a press conference in Montpelier Monday.
Sorrell said the protesters, Jonathan Crowell and Samantha Kilmurray, posed no threat to either the officers or the public and that police failed to exhaust alternate options for de-escalating the situation.
"They should not have Tased the two protesters even one time, let alone multiple times," Sorrel said.
He went on to also say that tasers are still a valuable tool for law enforcement, and refused to comment on the medical/health risk elements of tasering, and also suggested that law enforcement agencies should have written policies in regards to taser use. This does not go far enough, according to the VT ACLU:
The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, Alan Gilbert, applauded Sorrell's call for use-of-force policies governing the use of Tasers but said the attorney general should have been more forceful in his recommendations. "The report says law-enforcement agencies are advised to have written protocols governing Taser use. We feel really strongly that the protocols should be required," Gilbert said.
Gilbert also advocated for a statewide Taser-use policy to be used by all police departments. That very idea was in fact put forward by Sorrell at the outset of his investigation. However Sorrell said that upon review, Taser policies are best left to the communities in which they are used.
Regardless of Sorrell's reluctance to make policies compulsory, the silver lining in all of this is that due to the heavy-handed inappropriate actions of the Brattleboro police, and the ensuing negative publicity, hopefully these kinds of actions will not be so prevalent in the future. Or one can hope, at least.
Well, then. Today, I was witness to a truly inspiring day of direct action. With results, as you can see from the sign that was on the recruiter's office in Williston, today. All of you old coots who grumble about the youth of today, it's time to listen up. More below the jump...
On August 18th, 1950, Pete Seeger was called to testify before the House Unamerican Activities Committee. But first, just because it's amazing, here's Pete Seeger on the Smothers Brothers show from 40 years ago.
I've been playing guitar for more than two decades now. I had classical training at a conservatory and used to play some fairly complicated classical guitar pieces. I also played jazz and blues. My style is difficult to describe: eclectic and bizarre, but it's often joyful and intriguing:
In previous entries in this series I've discussed a wide variety of topics, focusing most recently on creativity. I'd like to continue with that concept of creativity, focusing more on music and how I use music to change and challenge perspectives.
But first, a quick note about the video. I used a low-end digital camera (hence the poor sound quality) to record the video clip shown. It's a simple project: clamp a tripod to the guitar's head and point it down the neck and then improvise something. Then, use the magic of youTube and there you have it. I get lots of compliments over this from people but I want to make it clear that this was ridiculously easy to do. Most contemporary digital cameras can pull this sort of thing off and clap tripods are cheap. I only mention this as one of hundreds of ways you can do something different and/or unusual that catches attention.
This is part of an ongoing series I've been posting over at Daily Kos that I thought might be interesting to post here as well --JulieSometimes it's complicated to talk about creativity in terms specifically of activism. So today I'm going to talk a bit about creativity of other sorts: artistic inventiveness, creativity and exploration, with a nod towards the end about how it applies to activism and political work.
But first, about the picture. There is no Photoshop effect at work here. This is a light sculpture (see Eric Staller's work for the original concept of light sculptures-- the man's a genius) which I created through a fairly simple process using long exposure shutter work. For technical explanations of long exposure work, I've written two pieces, one for digital SLRs and another for non-digital SLRs. The much shorter explanation is that you set the camera up in very dark settings and leave the shutter open for a long time, allowing the light that hits the camera's film to take prime focus in the frame.
In this case, I was in a parking lot that had very little light surrounding it and pulled out a couple of those glow-sticks you see people selling at fireworks displays and similar events (believe it or not, I keep some in my trunk for just such an occasion). I moved them into different positions, would hold them there for a moment to get the exposure, and then move them again. First I did them around my head, curving them, and then straightened them out to do form the lattice work grids.
My intent is to do a lot more of this, using all sorts of light sources: sparklers, torches, light-up toys. There are tons of possibilities here and lots of room for experimentation. Winter is perfect for this: when the nights are long, the darkness is my friend for this sort of shot.
So how does this apply to politics & political movements?
I'm going to start by explaining this picture. When I show people photos of fireworks, I often get asked how I manage to time the shots to get the fireworks just right. This is because they're under the impression that I wait until I see the perfect fireworks shot coming and trigger the camera at exactly the right moment.
That, of course, isn't how it works. This picture is one of dozens I took that same evening. Some of them were excellent: crystal clarity and perfect motion, with the fireworks cascading through. Most weren't.
I made errors.
I got many shots out of focus.
I didn't leave the shutter open long enough.
I left the shutter open too long.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
But I've never tried shooting fireworks and failed to get a shot that I wanted to use.
But there's still a trick to all of this. This picture isn't a quick exposure that I timed perfectly. The shutter was open for about thirteen seconds. I wasn't trying to get the fireworks timed perfectly so I'd have them at the exact right time. I started at the beginning, opened the shutter and waited for the blast to leave the base, fly into the air and do whatever it would do.
That's because even though I do make mistakes, I also know what I'm doing and have experience with this sort of photography. But that's not particularly meaningful if I won't take risks from time to time as well.
So let's talk about risk taking.
And experience.
And why you can make all sorts of mistakes and still come away from it proud of what you did.
Yesterday I wrote about fascism, with little optimism. Today I'm going to write about someone who fought authority in a big way. After she died two years ago, I wrote about Rosa Parks:
I've always loved the real story behind Rosa Parks, which is a bit different than the one most of us read about in school. The mythology runs that she was a tired lady who just got fed up with having to give up her seats one day.
This isn't quite how it happened. Rosa Parks was an activist and she knew exactly what she was doing at the time. The bus boycott didn't just happen spontaneously. It was planned and executed masterfully.
More on Parks, her legacy, and what we, as activists, can learn from it, after the fold.
The Occupation Project, who inspired last week's non-violent protest at Peter Welch's office last week is having another sit-in at Bernie Sanders' office tomorrow in hopes that he will not vote to approve the supplemental funding for the war. From the press release:
Citizen Sit-In and Call-In at Senator Bernie Sanders' Office to Protest War Funding
Meet in front of Burlington City Hall on Church Street at 2pm Tuesday, March 27 to plan
Walk to Bernie's Office, 1 Church Street, between 2:20 and 2:30 pm
There will be a Citizen Sit-In and Call-In at Senator Bernie Sanders' office in Burlington on Tuesday afternoon to voice dissent about the $100 billion supplemental war funding up for debate in the US Senate. Inspired by a national movement called The Occupation Project and Voices for Creative Nonviolence, participants from all over the state will be asking Senator Sanders to vote no on the funding approved by the US House on Friday. Iraq Veterans Against the War, college students, members of local peace organizations, and concerned citizens are all planning on participating either by visiting Sanders' office or calling the office. They will meet in front of Burlington City Hall on Church Street at 2pm Tuesday, March 27 to plan.
They will then walk to Bernie's Office, 1 Church Street, to arrive at 2:30 pm. Participants will each decide for themselves how long they would like to stay at the office.
Odum's post here last week discussed the war bill, and many of you were not in support of it. I called Sanders' office a few moments ago, and the person on the phone told me that Sanders has not indicated how he will vote. His statement on the website isn't clear, either:
In the coming week, the Senate is set to debate legislation that calls for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. Having originally voted against the war, Senator Sanders has been an outspoken advocate for bringing our troops home as soon as possible. "We have got to use the budget to tell the president that this war cannot go on. We have to bring our troops home as soon as possible," Senator Sanders told Thom Hartmann during his weekly Air America interview program "Brunch with Bernie."
So, if you are in opposition to the continued funding of the war, this is an opportunity to let Bernie know loud and clear.
I'm one of those people who's participated in quite a few marches in my lifetime, and with the exception of one that landed me in jail, I always leave them with an empty feeling, that although there was a 'support group/community' feeling to be gained from it, the reality is that the people in power could really care less about us marching in the streets. And half of the time, many on the left have a bit of a focus problem, in that instead of staying on task with a single-minded objective, we get the Free Palestine/Mumia/The Whales/Go Vegan/insert-liberal-cause here crowd, and it dilutes the message. So I've resolved not to do it anymore. Sure, I'm jaded. I'm not saying you shouldn't continue to do it, it's just not for me anymore.
One complaint we've heard is that Iraq protesters don't really go far enough. Some people have singled out the people who vigil in front of the Federal Building in Montpelier every week. Although I thoroughly respect the people who do it, and would never say they shouldn't, I am inclined to agree with the critics in terms of its lack of any real effectiveness.
It's a much different world than it was thirty years ago. The idea of civil disobedience, of really laying one's body on the line, sometimes at the risk of bodily harm was something that, up until recently, has had a rich tradition in the United States, and you don't have to go back to Henry Thoreau to see it. Just go back 30 or 40 years.
Well, anyways, thankfully, some people haven't forgotten. Enter the Occupation Project. The O.P. is a coalition of several anti-war organizations such as Veterans for Peace, United for Peace and Justice, CODE PINK, and many others, whose objective is :
"a campaign of sustained nonviolent civil disobedience aimed at ending the U.S. war in and occupation of Iraq. The campaign will begin the first week of February 2007 with occupations at the offices of Representatives and Senators who refuse to pledge to vote against additional war funding."
And to those of you who are hungering for a more direct, somewhat confrontational activism, the Occupation Project has targeted Peter Welch's office, this Wednesday, March 21st. They'll be meeting at at the Peace and Justice Center in Burlington at noon, where they will then proceed to Peter Welch's office. Anyone of our readers that attend, please post a diary with your experiences, if you feel so inclined.
Note: I realize I'm going to catch some hell for this from some people. My posting this is simply because there are people that think Welch hasn't gone far enough, and would be interested in this. I personally think Welch has done okay on the war, but could definitely be more visible and strong, so spare me the tongue-lashing. It's definitely VT political news, and therefore appropriate.
(Crossposted to Daily Kos)
Between me and Odum, we'll keep you on memory lane....plus, I'l give you the latest on a dear friend.
Rosemarie Jackowski is an advocacy journalist living in Vermont. On March 20, 2003, her 66th birthday, she was arrested for participating in a peaceful protest against the war. After her arrest, she was incarcerated, hand cuffed, booked, finger printed, photographed, arraigned, tried, convicted and sentenced. The jury arrived at a guilty verdict in less than 10 minutes. The conviction has been appealed in the State Supreme Court. The decision of the court is expected to be rendered sometime within a year. If the appeal is won, the government will retry Rosemarie. If the appeal is lost, Rosemarie will most likely go to prison.
Principles are not always convenient....
The legal struggle continues below the fold.
Take these broken wings
And learn to fly again
And learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in
Take these broken wings
You got to learn to fly
And learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in
-Mr. Mister
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Well, actually, he didn't. The traffic was pretty constant, and had he tried, he could have ended up as roadkill. But when you think about it, that might be a more merciful and quick ending than what endless flocks of chickens experience at the hands of the Colonel, just so bachelors with no cooking skills beyond Top Ramen and TV dinners can stop by and grab a bucket or two on the way to the church potluck. Citizen journalist kestrel9000 was on the scene as activists from PETA stood in defense of his flightless brethren. Not that kestrels don't eat chickens - we do, when we can get them - but for Christ's sake, at least we're SPORTING about it.
The fowl truth about KFC - and pictures and videos of PETA activists delivering the word to the people of Harrisonburg, VA - is below the fold.
I sure wish I were in Vermont this week. I could join writer/environmentalist/deep thinker Bill McKibben and whoever else shows up for a four-day walk seeking to kindle federal action against global warming.
Billed as "The Road Less Traveled, Vermonters Walking Toward a Clean Energy Future," the march will begin Thursday noon at Robert Frost's old writing cabin near Ripton, stop in cities along the way for Conversations on the Green, and end 43 miles up the road in Burlington. Knowing McKibben's work and the kind of people he attracts, I imagine those are going to be eye-opening conversations for participants and bystanders alike, a traveling teach-in, if you will. You can get a taste of this in my five-question interview with McKibben below.
Many here, I know, downplay the value of a public demonstration, even public action of any kind outside the realm of lawsuits and legislation. Sooooo '60s, they say. Doesn't work anymore. If it ever really did. I couldn't disagree more. Perhaps the reason people say this comes from their being so comprehensively saturated with a megamedia caricature of the era. They don't believe most or any of what the megamedia tells them about the times they themselves live in, but they accept as gospel what's been told them regarding one of the periods of greatest social change since the Civil War.
The public intellectuals and other activists who spurred that change worked inside and outside the governing system, using whatever megaphone seemed proper at the moment to capture public attention and increase the pressure on public policy. What you mostly hear about that era today is the media-mediated version, a distorted fraction of the story. That's not my way of trying to sanctify the "protest" movements or say that we made no mistakes, no strategic blunders, or engaged in no counterproductive activism. Surely, we did more than enough of that and were paid for it with half-victories and outright defeats, some of them long-lasting. But, please, most of the focus, even most of the public events, had nothing to do grubby street demonstrations.
Yesterday I wrote about fascism, with little optimism. Today I'm going to write about someone who fought authority in a big way. After she died two years ago, I wrote about Rosa Parks:
