Preliminary Plan for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience

Y2k17.10.18

What the hell happened!?

______________________________Jake Holeman, Sand Pebble

 

We MUST begin a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience, the likes of which have never been seen in our besieged USA. They must be planned, targeted, and consistent. They must be as extreme as the extremist threat we are now facing. So far, the response to Creepident CheetoTrump has been inspiring, especially the actions of the Resistance, including Indivisible, the actions of the Anti-fascists, and, especially, the non-violent civil disobedience of the ADAPT group. We must, of course, continue our fight in the ways that we are used to, letter writing, picketing local representatives, and even running for local office. We must also consider a massive push to take over the Democratic Party to make it represent liberals in the same way that the GOP is representing conservatives. But in the wake of more assaults on our democratic republic, on our planet, and on our human dignity by the TrumPutinCheeto, we must consider that, with 270 nightmarish days into the Russian takeover of our federal government, the time has come for the next stage of resistance to this threat.

The first thing is acceptance. I accept the fact that my country is at war with the Russians, that they have installed their puppet into our federal government. I accept the fact that Puppet TrumPutinCheeto, additionally, is a white supremacist who supports white supremacist domestic terror. I accept the fact that Trump and his enabling GOP (who have failed to check the power of the creep) want nothing less than the destruction of our federal government to be replaced with a religious extremist corporate oligarchy. I accept the fact that every single word that comes out of this sewer white house is a lie. I accept the fact that TrumPutin Cheeto is dangerously mentally ill and should, at least, be Article 25’d. I accept the fact that TrumPutinCheeto will get us into a nuclear war and destroy our entire planet.

The second thing is that we pay attention to what the occupiers are doing, not to what they are saying, especially when they are trying to distract us. TrumPutinCheeto never revealed his taxes. TrumPutinCheeto never put his businesses into a true blind trust. TrumPutinCheeto is going to allow road building in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge. TrumPutinCheeto is going to destroy our national parks. TrumPutinCheeto never condemned the white supremacist attack in Charlottesville, Va., climaxing in the death of Heather Hyer. Four soldiers have been murdered in Niger. The Cheeto-in-chief has yet to acknowledge our nation’s loss. TrumPutinCheeto is sabotaging the Affordable Care Act. The Cheeto-in-chief, his cabinet, and his family are running up hundreds and thousands of dollars in bills at the tax payer’s expense. TrumPutinCheeto has decimated the state department in preparation for the wars he is dying for. TrumPutinCheeto is a narcissistic psycho-sociopath, unstable and ready to literally push the red button. When I wake up each day, I wonder what new horrific assault is being perpetrated on our country, and always my dread is answered with news report reality.

The third thing we must do is prepare for the consequences of our actions. Gandhi and Dr. King pledged to fight oppression, injustice, and racism non-violently no matter what. Before I list what we could do, we must understand that we could be brutalized by both counter-protesters and by the police. Yet we cannot respond with violence in return. This means that many could be hurt and someone even killed. I never want to play with peoples’ lives nor encourage them to do something that I would not do myself. The least we could do whenever we engage in massive civil disobedience in these fascist times is to wear protective gear. I suggest that all of us buy the same football helmets and emblazon them with our logo. This way we may get some head protection. Participants in these protests should also be prepared to pay for bail and/ or court fees. I was arrested with a group for disorderly conduct. We were rounded up by the cops and placed in paddy wagons. We were not locked up but instantly ushered into a court where we were issued fines. Full disclosure: this was in New York during the 1970’s. Disorderly conduct arrests are probably done differently today. I would gladly pay into a fund to help anyone who is arrested doing civil disobedience. I am sure, we are going to need a lot of that green stuff to help bail out our compatriots. Also, protests must be organized and disciplined. Before civil disobedience actions, planning and logistics are vital. For example, the 500 people who show up at TrumPutinCheeto Tower to sit down and to block traffic, are not going to wear those football helmets on their way to the event, for example. And how do you deal with fellow protesters? Maybe I show up for civil disobedience and start giving the cops the finger? What if I appear to be unhinged? What if I use the kind of language outside the intention of the event? There must be leadership and organization. There must be a person who comes up to me and tells me to behave or to leave.

Now here are some ideas for non-violent civil disobedience: 500 people a day show up to sit down in front of TrumPutinCheeto tower a day. 500 people a day show up to sit down in front of Jared Kushner’s building in Manhattan or wherever his nasty business is contaminating the public. Let’s find out where all the members of Trump’s malignant cabinet live and, every day, 500 people show up and sit down in front of their homes so that people must be literally picked up or dragged away by the police. What would happen if 500 people showed up every day to block the entrance of Mar a Largo? Can you imagine the kind of publicity massive actions such as these would get? Maybe we can even make a reality TV show out of it, or at least an educational documentary. Let’s get 200 people a day to disrupt the halls of congress. When they want to desecrate Indian lands to build their excrement stained pipeline, we should have 1000 people or more a day sitting down in front of the desecration equipment. When the fascist religious extremist oligarch scum come to put a road through the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, 500 or more people a day should show up to block their progress. If Trump’s face appears on TVs in bars or in restaurants where we are trying to enjoy a good meal or a good drink, we should make our feelings known: please get the tax evader Nazi’s face off the TV or simply please shut it off. I was on jury duty on Staten Island and was offended that there was no place for jurors to get away from the sound of the TVs, especially when they were showing a Trump speech. I calmly asked the clerk to please change the channel to something more innocuous. Thankfully, he grudgingly complied with my request because, after all, I was bound by law to be there, and they were obligated in some way to make it as easy for me as possible. Had I not spoken up, I would have had to suffer with that creep for as long as I had to be there.

If we don’t recognize evil when we see it, if we don’t stand up to injustice when we see it, the bullies who practice it will wield their blood-stained swords with impunity. Now is the time for Non-violent civil disobedience.