In my imaginary protest there is room for most everyone and everything. Because this protest winds like streams to a river to an ocean.........wherever needed.

Some of us walk silent with a lone voice lifted high in a funeral dirge, some of us walk proud and quick with all manner of noise. All ages, on foot and on wheel.

Food, shelter, and care is available along the way. Because this is a long trip we are on.

Very excellent post...made my day (just returned from some quiet time in nature).

I doubt I could imagine a better scene than the one you described, so thanks for putting such good thoughts into my head =)

No one is afraid of people who wear masks or hoods or black.

The police are disarmed and thus families feel safe and welcome.

People chant about building things rather than tearing them down.

Protesters are always courteous to their neighbors because we all protest something at some point, and we're all neighbors.

Participants sing appropriate songs but don't yell or scream.

Everybody smiles.

Participants practice self restraint and guide those who are straying from the rules which are arrived at through discussion.

No one destroys property or harms others.

People disregard paid representation and represent themselves.

Those that choose civil disobedience also practice enough stealth to get away with it without being caught.

The police no longer exist.

...you may say I'm a dreamer because I am. The reality of protest and especially resistance in the United States is that it suffers actual repression, predicated not on the supposed actions of the victims but on the need of the police to raise the cost of the protest / resistance until it disappears or turns violent. Why do they want it to turn violent? Because they know how to deal with that. It's self-discrediting, as long as it's "our" violence and not police violence. In all, I find the tendency to blame "the protesters" for violence or for confrontation to be seriously naive. Just stop and think for a moment: who trains more for using force? Police or peace activists?

until you had to put the picture of the Patron Saint of secular socialism, and made reference to his song Imagine.

If you are bored with Olyblog, come have some fun at the cool forum spot in Olympia, "olyforums.org/forum"

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

thanks Gug.

If you are bored with Olyblog, come have some fun at the cool forum spot in Olympia, "olyforums.org/forum"

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

Paranoid post Drew.

JT, what's wrong with secular humanism? Perhaps we should take our back and forth to another forum. 

Most important, the protest would be less of a protest than a social gathering. It would be above all and most importantly - totally inclusive. Everyone and anyone (who doesn't intend to do harm, to hurt, or to damage the purpose of the gathering) ought to feel welcome and comfortable in their participation.

The "protest" would be fun, it should be provocative and engaging. It would inspire action and thought, communication and diverse dialogue. It would challenge any pre-conceived notions, both of the participants and the "on-lookers."

The "protest" gathering would seek to reconcile differences and to promote healing, understanding and peace.

The protest would be nonviolent - in the Satyagraha sense of the word (i.e. not the simple absence of violence). The gathering would be in the service of life - all life (mosquitoes and hornets possibly excepted).

Participants would be held to the principles of truth, of The Golden Rule (that is to treat others as you wish to be treated, without exception.)

There is maybe more, maybe a lot more. But I wanted to add to this discussion before I ran out of momentum for it.

peace, bert