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 Editorial: Despite press reports, it was about human needs, not property damage 12/12/00 - by Matthew Ruben - Philadelphia Daily News This month, and for many months to come, hundreds of activists arrested during the Republican National Convention protests will go to trial for voicing their convictions in the streets of Philadelphia. The vast majority of cases so far have been dismissed, acquitted or withdrawn for lack of evidence. But even as the newspapers run stories about charges dismissed and allegations of police misconduct during the protests, confusion still reigns about what the protesters' message was. That's because, during the summer, police and city government whipped up misinformation and hysteria about the demonstrators, drowning out the issues. The media were more interested in isolated incidents of property damage than in what drove thousands of people to demonstrate. So I and some fellow activists would like to talk about these issues. But before we can do that, we'd like to set the record straight about the protests themselves. The protests were diverse, nonviolent statements of political viewpoints and ideals. Incidents of property destruction were minimal, more like a Mummers parade than a terrorist attack. The Aug. 1 sit-down actions against police brutality, racial profiling and the prison industry were only one part of a weeklong series of nonviolent protests. The protests had a unifying theme: Human Need, Not Corporate Greed. The message was and is simple: We need a total change of priorities to put people's needs - housing, education, health care, political empowerment - ahead of profit. The Unity 2000 march on the Parkway united more than 100 social-justice, civil-rights, religious, peace, environmental and labor groups to decry corporate domination of politics. The Kensington Welfare Rights Union organized an anti-poverty march from City Hall to the First Union Center. Doctors, health workers and AIDS activists marched for universal health care. Reaction by city officials to these demonstrations was improper and, in many cases, illegal. In the weeks leading up to the convention, Philadelphians were harassed and intimidated by the police. Police officials claimed they weren't involved in surveillance or infiltration, but it was later proven that they lied on both counts. During the convention, police raided a warehouse used for making large parade puppets, confiscating and illegally destroying props and signs that would have communicated political messages. They harassed, arrested and beat medics and legal observers. They arrested trained peacekeepers who were supposed to help defuse potentially volatile situations. In the aftermath, the city has targeted demonstrators politically. It intends to criminalize organizers and activists who were engaged in legitimate, nonviolent dissent. Defendants charged with felonies still face long prison sentences for doing things like standing or sitting in a street talking on a cell phone that do not get a person arrested in Philadelphia under normal circumstances. No city has gone as far as ours has in trying to stamp out dissent through prosecution. The outcomes of the trials here will set a nationwide precedent. People who dissent from business as usual may face a chilling climate in which political or civic meetings are infiltrated. Anytime we speak up, or plan to speak up, we may be harassed or watched. As Americans, we have been at this crossroads before. McCarthyism and the Nixon-era COINTELPRO program illustrated the dangers of government repression in the name of "order." What's at stake here is liberty. As a resident of the city known as the birthplace of American democracy, the choice to speak up for liberty or retreat behind "order" is yours. Choose wisely. Matthew Ruben is a graduate student and teacher who has lived in Philadelphia since 1992. |
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