Your government is openly torturing people, and
justifying it.
The images of Guantanamo
and Abu Girab. A network of military
camps and torture chambers around the globe.
The treatment of prisoners at the hands of the U.S military is immoral
and sickening. The terms of debate in the
news has been horrendous and confined to outright justification or
petty squabbles
about what is ‘torture’. So when
Georgetown Law Students appeared in the New York Times with their backs
turned
to the architect of torture, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, it
interjected
a very simple message into the debate, if only for a day. Torture
is wrong. Period. The Georgetown Law Students turned their
backs on the future they were being trained for and projected an
inspiring message
to the world.
As we count down the hours to the 31st and days
to February 4th, we should learn from the example of the Georgetown
Law students who organized this protest in less than 24 hours and inspired
other students to join on the spot.
Below is an excerpt from a Georgetown Law Student who was
part of organizing the protest:
First, we didn’t find out that Gonzales was coming to our
school or giving an address titled ‘Intercepting Al Qaeda: A Lawful and
Necessary Tool for Protecting America’ until less than 24 hours before the
scheduled start. Students started contacting each other about taking action.
Ideas were exchanged. We didn’t know if we would all get in because of the size
of the room, and we didn’t know, if we would get stopped, searched etc. and
prevented from entering or entering with signs, especially because some
tattle-tale found out we were planning stuff and informed us he was going to
tell the dean. Some worked into the night writing press releases and making
banners.
Gonzales began speaking. As he spoke, other students stood
and turned their backs. Then a group in the back row stood up with black hoods
on and held the banner with ‘Those who would sacrifice liberty for security
deserve neither’ up to the cameras. It was beautiful.
Every few minutes more students stood and turned their backs, including some
who had not known any protest would be taking place, but chose to stand in
solidarity with us and to stand up against Gonzales. It was strong and
beautiful resistance. Over 30 students stood and turned their backs on Gonzales
as he tried to justify spying on Americans.
Several students walked out on him before the end of his speech. It was strong
and beautiful.
We should draw lessons
from the Georgtown Law Student protest going into the 31st
and the 4th. With the current
mood shift throughout society and the stakes acutely posed in the World
Can’t
Wait Call, there is a tremendous potential to marshal forces throughout
the day
and rapidly grow in the heat of the moment. People are capable of
extraordinary things when we take bold stands driven by an
uncomprimising moral certitiude.
A critical factor in being able to grow in
leaps over the next few days is being prepared to make the 31st a giant
political trampoline.
·Have flyers and make
announcements about a city wide meeting this Wednesday or
Thursday. Everyone should leave the rallies on the 31st being
able to plug into the next drop (in meeting or find out what’s next.
·Nobody should leave the
31st without an organizing packet/ kit with materials and a cover
letter. People need to have the means to begin organizing right
away.
·Have clipboards and collect
contacts. There should be phone banking sessions planned the next
day, Wednesday, to follow up with the contacts. Every person who
signs up should be seen a potential organizer and leader in this
movement. There should be different levels in how people can plug
in and stores/establishments people can go to pick up materials.
·Have Bus Ticket tables set up or plans to organize car
caravans to get to DC on the 4th and buckets or garbage buckets to
collect donations from the crowd.