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Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Guide to Civil Disobedience and Nonviolent Direct Action
Thanks to United for Peace and Justice, the American Friends Service Committee, and ACT UP for portions of this information.
We will post information specific to the Sept 26 Washington DC action as more details are confirmed. Stay tuned….
Introduction
Most political protests are safe and perfectly legal. When we engage in civil disobedience or direct action, however, we run the risk of arrest.
Civil disobedience is a refusal to obey an order from a civil authority or public nonviolent violation of a legal prohibition. It can be an individual or corporate act. Those undertaking civil disobedience seek to understand and act on a higher law.
We can bring our dharma and mindfulness practice into the act of civil disobedience so that it embodies the most powerful principles of nonviolent action, including seeking reconciliation rather than defeat of the adversary.
Being arrested and going to jail can be an unpleasant and even traumatic experience, but it can also be empowering and liberating. For many people of more privileged backgrounds, it is an invaluable education! Even in the post 9/11 climate, arrests for peaceful acts of protest are not necessarily detrimental to one's future life—in fact, they can be a badge of honor. In practicing civil disobedience, we continue in a long line of peaceful heroes including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
The experience is more likely to be empowering if we are prepared, and have organized support. The information provided here is intended to help you if you decide that you are going to risk arrest, or if you want to support others who do so.
Why Civil Disobedience?
Henry David Thoreau (whom Bill McKibben dubbed "Buddha with a receipt from the hardware store") in his classic work "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" summed up our challenge, saying, "Dissent without disobedience is consent.”
The timeless lesson of Thoreau is that to protest up to the point of legal limit [and no more] is to accept the chief legitimizing tool for the crimes of state - the use of law and the legal protection provided the war-makers.
More thoughts on civil disobedience:
Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote:
"During my student days I read Henry David Thoreau's essay 'On Civil Disobedience' for the first time. Here, in this courageous New Englander's refusal to pay his taxes and his choice of jail rather than support a war that would spread slavery's territory into Mexico, I made my first contact with the theory of nonviolent resistance. Fascinated by the idea of refusing to cooperate with an evil system, I was so deeply moved that I reread the work several times. I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.”
From the American Friends Service Committee CD Guide:
"When contemplating civil disobedience, an individual should be aware of its potential for good or ill, and before undertaking it, carefully examine his or her options, motivations, and attitudes. It should not be undertaken lightly, but only when there appears to be no other practical option within the law. There should be no element of selfish advantage in the violation, a discipline of non violence should be observed, and one should be willing to suffer without complaint the punishment that society may exact. Civil disobedience so undertaken does not subvert the rule of law.
In undertaking civil disobedience, or indeed any dramatic public action, the challenge is one of perspective and humility. Daring actions growing out of the frustrations of desperate times can lead to a distorted sense of our power and place in the scheme of the universe. Civil disobedience can become purely a technique, over-used and detached from its spiritual roots. Actions undertaken routinely can run counter to the practice of civil disobedience as a disciplined act of the individual conscience and an expression of faith, concerned with results in that context."
Preparation for Civil Disobedience
1. Formation of Affinity Groups
Affinity groups are self-sufficient support systems of about 5 to 15 people. A number of affinity groups may work together toward a common goal in a large action, or one affinity group might conceive of and carry out an action on its own. Sometimes, affinity groups remain together over a long period of time, existing as political support and/or study groups, and only occasionally participating in actions.
If you are planning to do civil disobedience, it is a good idea to either form an affinity group or join an already existing one. Affinity groups serve as a source of support and solidarity for their members.
Feelings of being isolated or alienated from the movement, the crowd, or the world in general can be alleviated through the familiarity and trust which develops when an affinity group works and acts together. By generating this familiarity, the affinity group structure also reduces the possibility of infiltration by outside provocateurs.
For the Washington DC day of action on Monday, September 26, 2005, BPF is working on building an affinity group of dharma practitioners who either plan to risk arrest or are willing to support those who do so. By sharing a commitment to dharma practice, we will have a powerful container for our action. Some of the tasks outlined below can be a delegated to various members of an affinity group, or held as a shared responsibility.
Another good strategy is to print, copy, and distribute BPF's "Maintaining a Nonviolent Presence" cards. These can help remind everyone about the importance of making a collective commitment to nonviolence, in order to increase the effectiveness and impact of our action.
2. Before embarking on an action which risks arrest:
Arrange home support, someone who will take care of your cats, plants, kids, excuses to the boss, or whatever else you need.
Arrange day-of-action support, someone who will be onsite to witness the action from a safe place, or offsite, whom you will call at a prearranged time. If you don’t call, your support person will know you are in jail and take action.
Arrange legal support--someone who will be your lawyer and guard your interests. The National Lawyers' Guild has branches around the country, and many members are willing to volunteer to support activists. You may have friends or contacts in the legal profession who are willing to help. Do them the favor of letting them know your intentions ahead of time. If you have no money, and no prearranged legal counsel, the court will appoint a public defender.
3. Before the action:
Write or email your friends and relatives, let them know what you are planning to do and why, and ask them to stand by to call or write letters should you be arrested. Doing this will also help to get them involved in the issue.
Write down the names, jail names if you are planning to use them, contact numbers and relevant emergency information for all who are taking part, and leave it in a safe place. Your support person should have access to it.
Take thought to where you leave identification (if you choose not to carry it), car keys, money and other necessities. Your support person should know where all of it is, and have access to it.
You may want to dress in layers; if you are taken to jail, you will most likely be asked to surrender any jackets or sweaters, so make sure to have warm layers of clothes on if coldness is a concern.
Steps in the arrest/arraignment process…coming soon
4. During the action:
Don't wear or carry anything that you cannot bear to lose.
Write the contact numbers for your legal support and general support on your body in ink, as paper and pens may be taken from you.
When you are arrested, you may get a phone call. You may have access to a cell phone. If so, contact your legal and general support people. Try to consolidate and pass on the names of all who have been arrested with you.
While you are in jail, your support people can vigil at the jail, attend arraignments or trials, let your friends and relatives know where you are, visit you, and mobilize people to write letters or call officials on your behalf.
5. After the action:
When you get out of jail, supporters can greet you, feed you, help you get where you need to go, and provide massage, cheers, and healing.
The role of support can be as stressful or more as going to jail. Supporters also need support, cheers, massage and healing!
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