Long winter ahead for American dissent
Providence Journal
By Michael Shaw
December 27, 2001
ATTY. GEN. JOHN Ashcroft's recent statement that critics of the administration's
crackdown on civil liberties are "aiding terrorists" does not bode well for the future of
healthy dissent in our democracy.
Since the founding of this country, citizen activists have served as catalysts for
furthering American democracy. The abolition, suffragist, and civil-rights movements
all started small, but grew to transform America for the better, steering society
towards more democratic and humane ways. But reduced civil liberties, suspicion,
and sweeping anti-terrorist legislation could muzzle this vital and unique tradition of
American political life.
Many grassroots groups that my organization, Haymarket People's Fund, works
with in Rhode Island and across New England are already feeling the pinch.
The American Friends Service Committee, a pacifist
Quaker organization with branches throughout New
England, has received phony "anthrax" letters and death
threats in response to its peace activities. In Hartford,
anti-war activists were stunned by the virulence of the
police reaction to their Oct. 25 rally, and the
out-of-proportion penalties that 18 of the protesters
received. Last month, hundreds of pro-choice groups and
clinics nationwide received letters filled with white powder.
Though they were hoaxes, the effects have been
destructive, the message ominous.
Nowhere has the impact been more devastating than
among immigrant groups and communities. Mario Bueno
of Providence-based Progreso Latino notes that "there is a generalized fear, an
expectation that it's going to be tougher." News of over 1,100 people detained with
no legal recourse (the largest such act since the 1920 Palmer Raids), new secret
military tribunals, and plans for a new INS police to hunt down immigrants is sending
shock waves through most immigrant communities. The new requirement that
non-citizens carry identification documentation at all times strangely parallels the
similar requirement made of Jews, gays, lesbians and Gypsies in 1933 in Nazi
Germany.
Community groups across New England report that immigrants in general must
grapple with much higher levels of intimidation and uncertainty. In the current
atmosphere, the simple act of going outside, let alone confronting abuse, entails the
prospect of being physically or verbally assaulted. Somali girls were attacked last
month in a Boston high school because they were wearing Muslim headdresses.
Latino youth are afraid of being mistakenly rounded up in a police dragnet operation
because they look "Arabic." With immigrants already struggling with labor
exploitation, racial harassment, and civil rights violations, this new situation only
sets the stage for increased abuse and tragedy. As one Hartford-based Cambodian
war refugee grimly noted, "This doesn't look like America any more."
The ripple effects of this new situation are spreading beyond immigrant
communities. The USA Patriot Act, which allows wiretaps, surveillance,
"sneak-and-peak" house searches, and preventative arrests, raises up the specter of
past abuses of ordinary American citizens. Four decades ago, under the guise of
protecting national security, the FBI resorted to wiretapping, surveillance, threats
and media manipulation to destabilize the civil rights, gay-lesbian, and peace
movements. Many community organizers worry that the Patriot Act could similarly
pave the way for the harassment of any group that incurs the wrath of the political
establishment.
At a time of job layoffs and budget slashing, poor communities, contingent workers
and women who no longer have welfare benefits will be the first to feel the brunt of
the economic and political crisis. More than ever, they need to organize to defend
their rights, and they need strong community groups to organize with them. Yet, as
moves toward crackdowns evolve from predictions to reality, these same groups are
rightly becoming concerned about what the future may hold for them.
Dr. Martin Luther King once said "We're at a terrible stage when we confuse dissent
with disloyalty, and we view every protester as a traitor." Community activists are an
important part of our democracy. Without them, we wouldn't have abolished slavery,
and women wouldn't be able to vote. But if intimidation, fear, and war end up
muzzling this vital form of dissent, then our society will be the big loser. Community
activism and dissent must be supported.
Michael Shaw is chair of the Rhode Island board of Haymarket People's Fund, a
foundation for social change. |
